Okay, I don’t REALLY know how to parent teens, but I’m right in the middle of it (3 boys–17, 15 and almost 13) so I thought I would share a few observations I’ve made along the way. First of all, there are a gazillion blogs and articles about parenting babies, toddlers, and single digit age…
Meditation and Your Sanity
Meditation. Have you tried it yet? Because honestly, it’s the only thing I have done in my life that has helped me find the peace that passes all understanding that the Bible talks about. Stick with me here. Some of you may be scared off by the term, meditation. Growing up in a conservative Christian…
When you can’t fix it
It’s hard when you can’t fix it. When you feel you’ve done what you can, you’ve stretched and grown and tried and tried again but your efforts don’t help. Your efforts only seem to make it worse. Despite that, you keep trying. You feel hopeful. You get discouraged. But you keep going until one day…
Accepting Anxiety
I wrote this post in October and have decided to share it now. I hope that it offers some solace to those who are experiencing anxiety right now. I have come to understand that I have anxiety. And I’ve been working on recovery. But for a long time…most of my life up until about a…
How To Let a Man Be a Man
So the phrase, “Let a man be a man” keeps floating around in posts I see about relationships. And I see it come up in the faux YouTube therapists who think they have some knowledge to drop. Growing up in a conservative Christian household I definitely was exposed to the idea that the wife needs…
Household Hack #184–The One Laundry Tip That Will Transform Your Life
Laundry is……complicated. I remember the day I had the sad realization of how much time I spent managing our laundry. I hated the amount of time I spent washing, folding and putting away. I’ve spent countless hours trying to figure out what I can do to make it more efficient and less time consuming and…
5 Ways To Deal With Anger
Back in January 2016 we had a contractor that didn’t finish a job on our house that we paid him for. Then in February my sister and I had a falling out with my mom. Throw in some marriage struggles and the contentious 2016 presidential election cycle and the proverbial camel’s back was broken….
Life Transformation in Very, Very, Small Steps—-STEP SIX: DECIDE TO DO IT
DECIDE TO DO THE ACTIVITIES YOU NEED TO DO REACH YOUR GOALS THEN DO THEM EVERY DAY You must start. As you start, you will figure it out along the way. You can’t expect yourself to know all the steps but you can expect yourself to take the next step. And you take those…
Life Transformation in Very, Very Small Steps–STEP FIVE: ACTION PLAN
You have identified the habits you want to change. Great job! Now action can begin. Look at your list of habits you would like to change. Spend some time thinking about how you will overcome those habits and make new ones. Don’t get bogged down in this, just make sure you are prepared for the…
Life Transformation in Very, Very Small Steps–STEP FOUR: IDENTIFYING HABITS
Did you ever play “hot lava” or “sharks in the water” as a kid? This basically entailed throwing pillows and couch cushions on the floor and jumping from couch to chair to pillow without touching the floor, lest you get burned by the lava or eaten by the shark. I’m pretty sure we have all…