Family by God&#039;s Design

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...

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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...

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December 23, 2023

What I Miss About Christmas (& What I’m Doing About It This Year)

Do you know what I miss? I miss those simple Christmas holidays of childhood. Remember those? We sang Christmas carols and even went “caroling” in the community. We enjoyed the magic of “good ole St. Nick” somehow bringing gifts to everyone in a single night. And we experienced the joy of watching someone’s face light...

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March 20, 2023

Generosity is Great…But What Kind?

A study completed through the University of Virginia’s Marriage Project looked at the role of generosity in marriage. The researchers asked 2,870 participants how often they behaved generously toward their partners. Those who scored the highest in generosity also reported they were “very happy” in their marriages. The association between generosity and marital happiness was...

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December 24, 2022

Scrooge or Cratchit Revolution This Christmas

The “Christmas Spirit” seems to have faded some. I don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong. But it seems like more people have a “Bah-humbug-get-to-work-and-stop-wasting-time-on-frivilous-celebrations” view of Christmas, or a “give-me-give-me” view of Christmas than an “excited-generous-grateful-and-celebratory” view of Christmas. In other words, I encounter more Scrooges than Cratchits. Worse, I feel the pressure of society pushing...

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April 25, 2022

In Family, Is It Better to Give or Receive?

If you are a student of ancient Biblical sayings, you probably think you know the answer to this question already. In fact, you will quote the words of Jesus in response to the question: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Researchers from Ohio State University put that to the test in a...

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April 18, 2022

6 Tips to Make Your Marriage a Taste of Heaven on Earth

Marriage can provide us with a taste of heaven on earth…or leave us living in hell on earth. Unfortunately, we don’t generally receive training in how to make our marriages a happy, fulfilling experience. I know you can’t learn everything you need to know about a wonderful marriage in a blog but let me give...

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April 11, 2022

What A “Pittsburgher” Learned About Family in Cleveland

My wife and I enjoyed a trip to Cleveland. We had a great time and met some wonderful people. (Yes, I am from Pittsburgh AND I found Cleveland fun & enjoyable…go figure.) After breakfast one morning we strolled through the Arcade 5 and saw this sign outside the Johnnysville Woods store. It lists “The 5...

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February 21, 2022

The Highest Form of Kindness

We live in a society starved for time. We are swamped and over-scheduled, running from activity to activity. We don’t have the time or the patience to wait for anything. Instead, we want immediate gratification. Running behind for practice, grab some take out. Feeling a headache coming on, take some fast-acting aspirin. Too worked up...