Family by God&#039;s Design

The Family Saboteur

A saboteur is attempting to kidnap the thought life of our children and shape the way they think about ourselves and others. This saboteur has become so pervasive that we often don’t even recognize it. It has infiltrated the media and our thinking with a message that damages our children and their ability to manage...

Family Shepherds Honor

cognitive health emotional health mental health self-image self-talk

January 12, 2026

Weeding Resentments

Resentments arise so easily in life. We may fall prey to resentment because we believe our parents favor our siblings, a neighbor’s barking dog annoys us all night, or our partner contributes little to maintaining our home. Whatever the cause, these everyday resentments pile up and affect our well-being, our happiness, and our joy. If...

Celebration Grace

emotional health family intimacy family relationship gratitude

December 27, 2025

Resolve: Enjoy a Year of Christmas

I wish we would celebrate Christmas all year round. I mean…I’m not big on the hustle and bustle, the rush and hurry. I can do without the Christmas tree needles spreading through the living room and the whole house. But the Christmas spirit…I love the Christmas spirit, the heart of Christmas. I’d like to keep...

Celebration

emotional health family intimacy generosity healthy development kindness

October 25, 2025

Finding Sleep in a Grocery Store

Do you ever struggle to get a good night’s sleep? Do your children? A lack of sleep has many problematic outcomes ranging from a craving for foods higher in fat and sugar to increased suicide in teens. However, a study led by researchers at the University of Chicago Medicine and Columbia University offers a way...

Family Shepherds Honor

diet emotional health mental health sleep

October 11, 2025

A Happier Family for Pennies a Day

Research out of Shenzhen and Peking Universities suggests a way to decrease depressive symptoms and increase positive emotions for just pennies a day. They conducted 3 randomized, controlled trials with a total of 880 participants. These participants all exhibited enough symptoms of depression to reach diagnostic criteria. For the purpose of this study, they were...

Celebration

challenge depression emotional health family generosity

September 8, 2025

Your Brain on Forgiveness

Forgiveness is one of the necessary ingredients for a healthy marriage. It is also a hallmark of a healthy parent-child relationship and a crucial component of any healthy community. A lack of forgiveness, on the other hand, devastates relationships and it ripples out to impact so much more than just the relationship between the offended...

Grace

brain emotional health forgiveness

August 11, 2025

Nature, a Chat, & Family

I read the summaries of two studies, and I’d like to share the results with you and your family. The first study involved over 220 participants in a program of weekly “nature-based activities” for either 1 to 4 weeks, 5 to 8 weeks, or 9 to 12 weeks. The “nature-based activities” included one of three...

Celebration Family Shepherds Honor

communication connection emotional health family family intimacy happiness nature

August 4, 2025

Challenge & Joy of Connection

Research seems to suggest that each generation reports a lower sense of happiness and well-being than the generation preceding them. In the past, happiness and well-being was high in young adulthood, dipped some during middle age, and rose again in older adults. Now, it simply seems that each younger generation has a lower sense of...