Family by God&#039;s Design

Old School Time to Nurture Your Marriage

I hardly remember the day (even though it was not so long ago) when we had no cell phones or even pagers. Remember what it was like to have only one phone in the house…and that one attached to the wall? What did married couples do to stay in touch? How did married couples know...

Celebration Honor

communication connection intimacy marriage

January 28, 2017

Strengthen Your Marriage…Old School

Sometimes the best way to get something done is to go “old school on it.” Throw out the newfangled gadgets and just go old school. Drop the gizmos, the 140 letter limit, the memes, and the gif’s…just go old school. In fact, I think going old school could really strengthen your marriage. For instance, go...

Celebration Honor

admiration adoration communication intimacy marriage

January 7, 2017

Build Your Child’s Success Mindset

I overheard two college students talking about their classes. I was eating a bagel but I couldn’t help overhearing. Their conversation went something like this: “I can’t believe you got an ‘A’ on that test. I’m just not that good at math. But you’re smart.” “Not really. I just sat with the study group and...

communication encouragement parenting power of words success

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

December 5, 2016

Parents, HOW You Say It Is As Important As WHAT You Say!

I remember hearing people telling me, “Think before you speak.” As a child and teen, I could avoid saying hurtful things, stupid things, and unnecessary things when I remembered to “think before speaking.” Unfortunately, I sometimes spoke before thinking…and then suffered the consequences. Well, that advice holds true for parents as well as children. Parents,...

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September 24, 2016

Parenting a Teen Starts Early

One of the best kept secrets in parenting a teen is to start early; in fact, the earlier the better. You can begin parenting your teens when they are children. That may sound strange, but let me explain. If you want a teen to listen and talk to you about “anything,” start by listening to...

communication parent child relationship parenting teen

April 30, 2016

What To Do With Rude, Argumentative Teens

Research from the University of Virginia suggests argumentative, rude teens who pressure others to side may “grow up” to be argumentative, rude adults. More disturbing, these rude-teens-turned-rude-adults report high levels of communication and high levels of satisfaction in their relationships in spite of friends and romantic partners describing them as “impossible to get along with”...

adolescence communication family relationships relationships success teen value

March 21, 2016

A Communication Decoder Ring for You

Family communication is not the simple process I once thought. I’ve decided I need a communication decoder ring. I say something to my spouse or children and think they’ll understand it…but they don’t. What I want to say gets filtered before I speak. Then, what the listener hears gets filtered before they understand. The whole...

Honor

communication family intimacy intimacy

February 22, 2016

The #1 Action for Improving Your Marriage

If you want a stronger, healthier marriage take this simple action every day: express gratitude to your spouse! That’s right. Expressing gratitude is the most consistent predictor of marital quality according to research completed by the University of Georgia. Researchers interviewed 468 married individuals about financial stress, communication style, and expressions of gratitude for this...