Family by God&#039;s Design

The Power of “The Dad Joke”

My daughters have accused me of telling “Dad jokes.” I don’t know what they’re talking about. Even some of their friends have accused me of telling dad jokes. I asked for clarification of the “Dad joke” and knew their answer could not describe my jokes…”lame,” “silly,” “sarcastic,” “uncool.” Well, maybe I do that once in...

Celebration Family Shepherds

November 23, 2015

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A Fact & A Challenge for Your Marriage

FACT: Researchers at the University of Georgia recently published the results of a study involving 468 married individuals. The study looked at the impact of financial stress, the demand/withdrawal communication pattern, and the expression of gratitude on marriage. They found expression of gratitude toward one’s spouse was the “most consistent significant predictor of marital quality”...

Honor

appreciation gratitude intimacy marriage spouse

November 21, 2015

H.A.L.T. Family Conflict

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in April, 2014, showed one source of conflict and aggression in marriage: glucose levels. Specifically, the lower the level of glucose in a person’s blood, the higher the level of aggressive impulses and the more likely they were to “blast their spouse” with a...

Grace

anger conflict family intimacy family relationships sleep

November 16, 2015

“One Plus Eleven” Ways to Improve Your Family Life

Do you want to decrease arguing and conflict in your family? How about increasing intimacy? Would you like to increase the amount of influence you have with your spouse and children? Here is a single action that can do all that and more: listen! That’s right. Listening to your spouse and children will decrease arguing,...

Grace Honor

defensive emotions listening value

November 14, 2015

Parents, Do You Feed Your Insecurity or Your Confidence?

Raising a child is a demanding and difficult task. It raises our anxiety and brings out our greatest insecurities. I don’t know about you, but I have enough personal insecurity without bringing my parenting into the mix! Even worse, the more insecure we feel about our parenting, the less effective we are as parents. Effective...

Family Shepherds

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November 9, 2015

An Amazing Parenting Insight Learned in Three Parts

I love research with infants. I find research it amazing and so very informative…and funny at times. One of my favorite studies is unpublished and came in three parts. I heard a conference speaker describe it. Let me share it with you. Part 1. An infant is seated in an appropriate chair at a table...

Celebration Family Shepherds

intimacy parent child relationship priorities value wisdom

November 7, 2015

What Your Kids (and You) Really Want!

Walt Mueller of CPYU (see CPYU blogs here) recently posted this 2-minute-42 second video from IKEA. It communicates such an important message for families that I wanted to post it as well. As the holiday season approaches, this video serves as a crucial reminder of what our children really desire. As one comment notes, parents...

Celebration Family Shepherds

family bank of honor family intimacy parent child relationship parenting

November 2, 2015

Don’t “Phub-up” Your Marriage

A study out of Baylor University suggests that married couples can damage their marriage and romance by “phubbing” their partner. Specifically, a survey of 145 people found that “phubbing” your partner creates conflict and leads to lower marital satisfaction. So, quit “phubbing” your spouse! If you’re like me, you have no idea whether you phub...