Family by God&#039;s Design

Smile for a Happier Family

Ever wake up feeling kind of blue and irritated? I have! When someone wakes up in a bad mood, the whole house feels the weight of that mood. Everyone becomes more cautious and quiet, less carefree. Smiles become scarce. The whole house seems heavier, tired, even more depressed and burdened. When days like this occur...

Celebration

family relationships happiness smile

August 5, 2017

Beatitudes for a Happy Family

Happy the family in which all family members recognize their deep need to receive and give love and acceptance. They will experience the true joys of intimate family relationships. Happy the family who openly shares emotions with one another, embracing one another in times of sorrow and pain, and celebrating one another in times...

Celebration Grace Honor

family intimacy family relationships happiness

July 31, 2017

Teach Your Children to Live Happy

I’m always on the lookout for ways to promote happiness in my family and teach my children how to live happy lives (Family Fun Night). Researchers from the University of Zurich just added another tool to my Family Happiness Training Toolbox (Generous People Live Happier Lives). In this study, fifty people were given 25 Swiss...

Celebration Family Shepherds

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July 29, 2017

An Ounce of Prevention

Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” That’s a wise saying for many areas of life, including parenting. It is much more satisfying to prevent the crisis rather than deal with a problem after it arises; to look ahead and avoid the trouble rather than deal...

Family Shepherds

behavior boundaries limits parenting

July 24, 2017

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The T.A.P. Garden Could Save Your Marriage

A couple of friends recently went to Haiti with Team Tassy to “Run Across Haiti.” His wife sent beautiful pictures and wonderful descriptions of the work they did while in Haiti. One post in particular caught my attention. I wanted to share it with you. With her permission (thank you Kristen Mauclair), here it is…a...

Celebration Honor

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July 22, 2017

The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree…Or Does It?

We hear certain folk truths all the time. Three folk truths I hear for parenting are: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” “Like father, like son,” and “He’s a chip off the old block.” But a recent study published in the British Journal of Psychology (Read How Far Does the Apple Fall From the...

Family Shepherds

kindness legacy parenting values

July 17, 2017

Book Review: Forgiving Fathers and Mothers

A mature adult life and healthy marriage begins with leaving home. I don’t mean simply moving out and living in a different house, paying your own bills, and maintaining your own social and vocational life. Many 16-year-old teens can do that. To truly become a mature adult who can contribute to a healthy marriage, we...

Book Reviews

forgiveness leaving home

July 15, 2017

Add Meaning to Life by Building Routine?

Meaning and routine…those are two words we don’t often think of together. Instead, we think of routine as dull, the “same old thing,” and “stuck in a rut.” Who finds meaning in that? Research, on the other hand, suggests that we gain a greater sense of meaning in our lives when we practice routines. Yes,...

Celebration

family intimacy purpose routine security values

July 11, 2017

My Cell Phone is Ripping Me Off!!

Let me just give you the quote right here, at the beginning of the blog. “The mere presence of one’s smartphone reduces available cognitive capacity and impairs cognitive functioning, even though people feel they’re giving their full attention and focus to the task at hand.” This is the finding of a study out of the...