Family by God&#039;s Design

We Need a Recess!!

If you’re old enough, you might remember having recess at school. It was a break from the classroom as well as a chance to run around, socialize, and engage in unstructured play. After WWII, 60-90 minute of recess became the norm for elementary school students. And research supported it, suggesting that children benefit academically, socially,...

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May 17, 2025

An Amplifier Your Family Needs

Gratitude doesn’t come easily. We have a built-in “danger alert system” that keeps us keenly aware of the threats and dangers around us. This negative bias captures our attention, screaming warnings about safety and caution, keeping us ever vigilante of potential dangers. Of course, this does play an important role in our lives. The danger...

Celebration

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May 12, 2025

Growing Neighborhoods by Growing Children

Who wants to improve their neighborhood and the well-being of our youth? We all do. We desire safer, more well-connected neighborhoods; and we know that safe, well-connected neighborhoods will enhance the well-being of our families and our children. But how can we accomplish this? At least one person offered an idea that I believe holds...

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April 28, 2025

Reading, Language, Empathy, the Brain

We all know how important reading is for our children. A study published in Neuroimage showed that this benefit reaches all the way down to the very structure of our children’s brains. That’s right. A study involving over 1,000 participants suggests that reading strengthens at least two regions of the left hemisphere. One region is...

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April 21, 2025

Sedentary Activities Good for the Family Brain

Sometimes we just need to relax, kick up our feet and rest. But not all sedentary activities are equal when it comes to the brain. A study conducted by researchers at the University of South Australia looked at 397 adults over 60-years-old and found that some sedentary activity had a more positive impact on the...

Celebration

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April 19, 2025

What Parents Learn from Driving Rats

In a previous blog, we learned What Laughing Rats Teach Us About Family. Well, now I found a study in which rats that drive teach us an important lesson about children and family. Yes, you read that right. Rats learned to drive in this study. The researchers constructed little cars made of plastic, complete with...

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April 12, 2025

Personal Beauty & Kindness…Really?

A study published in the International Journal of Research in Marketing revealed interesting findings about perceived personal beauty and kindness. The study actually confirmed findings over a series of seven experiments. Specifically, this research suggests that people who feel good about their appearance channeled that good feeling into deeds of kindness toward others. In one...

Celebration

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April 7, 2025

6 Practices to Build a Haven for Family Connection

Family life can become rushed…and the more rushed it becomes the more stressful it feels. Unfortunately, that’s the mode of our world today—rushed and stressed. But you can make your home different. You can incorporate some simple practices in your home that make it a place of respite, connection, and calm. Let me offer a...

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March 24, 2025

One Question to Save Your Marriage

Relationships tend to drift unless we become intentional. Today, they drift into the stream of a culture that threatens overwhelm with busyness and stressful events, robbing us of joy. Or they drift on negative feelings that, left unaddressed, eventually accumulate and drown our joy. A simple “research-approved” question can turn that drift around, giving married...