Index: Relationships

There is a myth that parents from past generations didn’t understand or care about the feelings of their children as much as they should have or as much as modern parents do. This isn’t true. I’m never a fan of putting whole generations of people into boxes just because there are a few horror stories. It’s absurd to assume we… Read more »

“Calmness is the rarest quality in human life. It is the poise of a great nature, in harmony with itself and its ideals. It is the moral atmosphere of a life self-centred, self-reliant, and self- controlled. Calmness is singleness of purpose, absolute confidence, and conscious power — ready to be focused in an instant to meet any crisis.” (William George… Read more »

It’s difficult to know what other people are processing about a situation or experience. Parents often assume they know the thoughts of their children, but sometimes they don’t. Each child is so unique, and their view of a situation is unique to them too. This is a story about a young girl we’ll call Megan. She was processing a situation… Read more »

My son, Porter, loves to visit a restaurant near our home named “Porter’s Place”. Recently our family was eating there around a big round table and one of the children said, “Dad, tell us that story from your childhood about the fire you shouldn’t have started in the field near your home.” At this point Dad told his rather wild… Read more »

“He’s not breathing really well, and they tell us he’ll likely die in a day or two…” a mother was explaining to a group of adults about her father-in-law, and her young son’s grandpa. Her son was sitting in an adjacent room with his good friend, but he wasn’t playing as his mother likely thought he was. He was looking… Read more »

Much emotional agony is avoided and more relationship healing is possible when a person learns to listen with love. There were two similar conversations that had very different results. The first conversation was between a mother and her son. The son told his mother about a problem he was having with a friend, but she began a chore while he… Read more »

One of the most difficult parts of modern parenting is maintaining strong bonds with family members. We are not only busy, but have lots of distractions and ideologies that are tearing our family relationships apart right before our eyes. No matter the ages of your children, it’s never too early nor too late to build powerful bonding habits. In fact,... Read more »

While swimming with my family one day the calmness of our pool experience was interrupted by one very loud, very stressed mother. If only this mother was able to see the hearts of her children and everyone else in the pool area. If she could have taken a moment to do just one simple skill she, and everyone else in… Read more »

“Do you see those sweet sisters over there? They inspire me. They couldn’t be more different, but they also couldn’t be more full of love toward each other than they are,” a friend of mine pointed out to me one day about two ladies who were her good friends.She went on to explain, “One of them is an unmarried, non-religious,… Read more »

Our world is a world of law and order. The laws of the land may be just or unjust, but for all time there have been laws. There have been laws for government, laws for clubs and organizations, laws for the workplace, laws for God’s people, and laws for homes.… Read more »

There are times when our children just seem to be at a low point. Have you ever noticed that? Why is that? There is something that every person has: a ratio system. There needs to be the right amount of positive moments to balance out any negative moments that may happen.… Read more »

I have a daughter who frequently rages and manipulates. She is out of control almost as often as she is in control. When I talk to her about her behaviors she doesn’t listen. She looks away and tries to manipulate our emotions. We tell her that her behaviors are bad and that she needs to be better so that our… Read more »