Category Foundation
Tired of Not Feeling “Christian” Enough? This is for You.
“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13) I remember the sign on the men’s dorm wall during my freshman year at a Christian college. A spiritual disciplines checklist was posted…
Your Parenting Skills Are Not the Most Important Thing. This Is.
Jesus said that “smart carpenters” build a sturdy house on solid rock. Then when the storms of life hit, nothing will move the house. This doesn’t mean storms won’t pelt the house from time to time, and even inflict some…
How to Be a Safer Parent
Today we’d like to share with you a story from the blog of Bo, a dad who with his wife Jen took our online course and shared with us this beautiful story of their journey to become safer parents. We…
One of my favorite parenting videos
At Connected Families we teach that focusing on getting right behavior as your primary goal is a setup for power struggles and frustrations of all kinds. We teach instead to focus primarily on the messages your kids get from you…
“How can I be loving and supportive when I think my spouse is wrong?”
Recently we received this question from a mom in response to one of our posts. Q: When I watched the video about Jim and daughter Bethany’s conflict I realized that Lynne answered the phone but didn’t intervene. My impulse would…
How to Not Take Sides When Siblings Fight
In our family, one of the realities we face is siblings who fight. I tend to want to stop my children’s rivalry in its tracks, but I have found that I sometimes contribute to the problem rather than solve it. Ultimately, I really…
A New Serenity Prayer
A prayer to memorize: God, grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change, courage to change the one I can, and the wisdom to know that it’s me.
The most sure-fire road to respectful kids!
“Knock it off! Stop it! Get over here, NOW!” These are familiar phrases for most parents. When kids act up we get frustrated. We get demanding and even disrespectful. Kids may comply with our demands in the short run…
The Conundrum of Trust
When kids trust they feel safe; they know they’re loved. Trust leads to respect and true obedience. Kids who trust look to their parents for wisdom and follow their parents’ examples in desirable ways. Where trust fails, relationships fail…
My Worst Parenting Nightmare…
It was every parent’s nightmare – over two hours at the allergist’s office with three young children. The kids and I all took turns alternately getting poked for blood draws, scratched all over our backs and arms for allergy testing,…