Family by God&#039;s Design

Nice Guys Finish Best, Not Last

You’ve probably heard that “nice guys finish last.” I beg to differ; and this study, published in Social Psychology, also begs to differ. More specifically, this study involved two experiments. In the first experiment, 463 participants responded to statements measuring their tendency to show “everyday niceness,” their level of social connectedness, and their attitudes toward...

Honor

connection cooperation kindness marriage relationships smile

May 4, 2026

Argument Intensifiers & Argument Busters

Families have arguments. Couples have arguments. In those moments of argument, we can engage in “Argument Intensifiers” or “Argument Busters.” Argument Intensifiers, as the name implies, will increase the incidence and intensity of our arguments. Let me share two Argument Intensifiers to avoid. Of course, we can learn to catch the Argument Intensifiers and replace...

Grace Honor

arguments conflict resolution marriage

May 2, 2026

What Would You Do?

Jean Twenge describes two scenarios for parents to consider: Stated that way, most of us have no problem saying, “No way” and putting an immediate stop to the potential damage that such behaviors could cause. However, when we give our children smartphones, we have essentially said “Yes” to both scenarios. Smartphones have made these scenarios...

Family Shepherds

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April 27, 2026

Growing Old with Family & Music

Music is a wonderful gift. Listening to music, playing music, or making music together…it all enhances our emotional, cognitive, & relational health. In fact, a recent longitudinal study of over 10,800 participants suggests that music actually decreases the risk of dementia. Specifically, those over 70-years-old who “always listen” to music showed a 39% decrease in...

Celebration

cognitive health emotional health family intimacy family relationships music

April 25, 2026

Be Careful What You Teach

Children are voracious learnings. They even learn lessons from us that we don’t want them to learn. Let me share a few examples I’ve seen over the years. No parent wants to teach their child that nagging or throwing a tantrum will help them “get their way.” We don’t want our children to believe they...

Family Shepherds

behavior consequence discipline misbehavior parenting teaching

April 20, 2026

Imagination or Resistance?

I recently read a paper in which the author described imagination as resistance in one of the chapters. Imagination, the author explained, allows people to stand against oppression and imagine a world in which they lived as liberated people. It gives hope and vision, which translates to a level of internal freedom and joy in...

Celebration

dreams imagination intimacy marriage vision

April 18, 2026

Sticks & Stones May…What? And Words?

Remember the saying that “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.” It’s a lie. According to a study involving over 20,500 participants, we need to change that saying to something like “sticks and stones may break my bones and words will rewire my brain and possibly detract from my...

Family Shepherds Honor

parenting power of words verbal abuse

April 14, 2026

Parents, Walk the Talk

I heard my children upstairs yelling at one another. I listened for a moment hoping they would stop, but they didn’t. Slowly, I walked to the bottom of the stairs and yelled, “We don’t yell in this house.” As soon as I said it, I realized what I had done. I yelled that we don’t...

Family Shepherds Honor

child development moral development parenting role model

April 14, 2026

Lost “Accidental Learnings”

We live in a new world because of technology. Our children were born into this technological world and, although they learn things we never had to learn, they also experience greater difficulty learning things we learned “by accident.” Let me share a few of the “accidental learnings” I think we learned before the age of...