Family by God&#039;s Design

How to Spend Quality Time with Your Children

Our children crave quality time with us, their parents and families. In fact, they need quality time with us. Quality time is the currency of love in our children’s world. It purchases their sense of security and it is crucial to their emotional and mental health. Quality time creates a sense of safety that allows...

attention independence involvement parenting play time

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

attention commitment intimacy marriage patience time

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...

Celebration Honor

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March 25, 2017

Help, My Child is Always Angry!!

All children get angry. It’s a part of life. In fact, anger can be good. For instance, our children’s anger can help us identify what they find important. After all, a person rarely gets angry about something they don’t care about. Anger also gives us the energy to address that priority. The trick is to...

anger attention consistency emotions listen observation parenting

December 12, 2016

Vitamin “Be” Encourages Your Children to Talk to You

When I was in college, one of our professors preached a sermon on “Vitamin B.” It was a sermon on the “Be”-attitudes from the Sermon on the Mount. It was a fun sermon. Thinking back on this “got me to thinking about” what “vitamin be’s” might benefit our families and children. Here is the “Vitamin...

attention availability communication family intimacy parent child relationship

October 1, 2016

Nurture Your Child’s Attention Span

I love to watch parents interact with their children. Over time, I have observed at least three ways parent tend to interact with their children. The parent points out a toy or some object in an effort to direct their child to play with that particular object. If you watch closely, you’ll see their child’s...

Family Shepherds Honor

attention healthy development parent child relationship play

May 14, 2016

Catch the Little Rascals Red-Handed

Children love to get attention from their parents. They will work to gain your attention by any means necessary. I’m sure you’ve noticed this truth on more than one occasion. For instance, the time your child quietly played until you received an important phone call and they suddenly “needed you.” Or, the time you tried...

attention behavior encouragement parent child relationship parenting

January 23, 2016

Parenting-The Most Important Thing

I have enjoyed teaching a Lifespan Development course at a local university for over ten years. For the last assignment I ask students to interview an adult over 65-years-old. I love reading these assignments. The students interview grandparents, neighbors, friends…anyone they know over 65-years-old. They interview adults who have been homemakers, newscasters, WWII veterans, political...

Family Shepherds Honor

attention availability intimacy parenting

August 2, 2014

Begin Operation M.O.R.E. in Your Family

I have begun a covert operation in my home and with my family. I have named it Operation M.O.R.E. for More Oxytocin Release Events (MORE). I have left the operation covert at the time so I can assess the impact of my actions. After the initial evaluation, I plan on taking this operation public and...