If you are not currently seeing the mobile version of the website on your mobile device, click here.
5 Reasons Families Need To Give Thanks
Life gets tough. And busy. And distracting. And even discouraging. Right? While it may take many different forms from family to family, I love that our country continues to recognize a holiday that is all about giving thanks. Whether as individuals, families, organizations, communities, or nations – we are better when we periodically stop to verbalize clear words of thanks for our blessings. Here are five reasons families need to take time for expressing thanks:
1. Giving thanks helps families keep a healthy perspective. Sure, we have our struggles. Money gets tight. Family members face illness. Conflicts happen. Loved ones move away or pass away. Disappointment hits hard. But good things are happening, too. Even throughout the trials. And we need to recognize and celebrate that positive reality. Things could be worse. Our family members, and those who love and care about us, are doing good and blessing us. We do very well to keep this in view and in our conversations.
2. Giving thanks encourages individual family members. When life gets tough, sometimes the most important thing in the world is to have someone gently lift up your face and remind you you are loved and appreciated and recognized for more than your failures or struggles. It brings fresh life. Fresh motivation. Fresh hope. Have you lifted the head and heart of your spouse, kids, or other family or loved ones lately with clear, specific words of appreciation and thanks? There is no better time than today – in or out of a holiday season.
3. Giving thanks trains us to see the good that happens in daily life. I love the encouraging challenge from the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:8 – “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” When we take the time regularly to express appreciation for the good in people and the world around us, we rewire our negative, jaded, discouraged minds to be on alert for positive words and actions. And when we begin looking for the blessings, so we can articulate them, we find that they were happening around us all the time. We just needed to learn to look for them.
4. Giving thanks as a family reminds us who we are. When we let the difficulties and demands of life swallow our focus and our energy, we can steadily forget why we dearly love those who are closest to us. Taking the time to say thanks and recognize blessings together keeps us from forgetting the unique love and fondness we have for our family and dear friends. Whether we use spoken words, written words, gifts, or acts of appreciation, we need to remind ourselves and one another of how special we are to one another. Even if we do get frustrated or hurt by each other at times.
5. Giving thanks grounds us in spiritual reality. Sometimes the darkness within us, between us, and around us looms so thickly that our spirits begin to faint or break. A spirit of discouragement, defeat, or despair moves in and sets up shop. Giving thanks regularly offers a spiritual housecleaning. It keeps us in view of the light that God is shining through us and around us. We are not alone. And we are not defeated. We are overcomers. We are light-bearers. We are instruments of love and grace. If only we remember. Let us be people of thanksgiving!
Six Things Your Teen Needs To Get Back On Track
1. Specific correction of where they are off-track. Giving them generalized or vague feedback about how they are “screwing up,” “disappointing you,” “missing the mark,” etc. is not helpful to your daughter or son. It is unclear, and may even further discourage your teen. Instead, be very clear about where you see them missing the mark and where you are concerned, disappointed, or upset with them. Be specific. And focus on the behavior in concern – not making character attacks on them.
2. Clear expectations of what you want to see improved. This means going beyond telling them where they are off track, and helping them understand what getting back on track will actually look like. Don’t assume they understand this contrast, and are just being difficult or obtuse. At times, teens can be exceptionally bright in some areas while totally missing the point somewhere else. If you want them to make clear improvements, give them clear expectations and instructions. This is part of what I call “setting them up to succeed.”
3. Personal motivation to make improvements. This is where things get really tough for us parents. We can’t surgically implant motivation in them. The motivation to change and improve must come from within them, if they are going to be truly successful in moving forward on the right track. And what motivates one of our kids may not motivate another. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: while rewards can be a sufficient motivator at times, most often it is suffering that motivates all of us to make the real lasting life changes. Do your best to help shift the dynamics so that your teen is the one suffering as a result of their poor choices, until those choices begin to shape up. For example, my son frequently forgets to take his important medicine. My son LOVES playing on his Xbox, especially with his friends. My wife and I were growing weary of constantly reminding, checking, fussing with him regarding taking his pills. New policy: You forgot to take pill either last night or this morning, you don’t get any Xbox after school today/tonight. The Lad has suddenly become very conscientious (thanks to his setting phone reminders) about taking his pills twice a day. Hmmm…
4. Loving encouragement of the good you appreciate in them. Don’t let your frustration with one or more areas of trouble in your teen’s life draw you away from sharing words of encouragement and appreciation with them. They need to hear how much we love them, as well as what we see in them that is admirable and good. If you can’t think of what those things are off the top of your head, you need to spend some time thinking on this. Because your son or daughter NEEDS to hear from you about the good and respectable things you see in him or her. Even during times of needing improvement. Especially during times of needing improvement!
5. An adequate toolbox for the job. Even if you have eagerly followed all the preceding guidelines, your teen may still fall short of the expected improvements if you haven’t helped her/him acquire the right tools for the job. This may mean connecting your teen with professional resources such as tutoring, counseling, or classes for skills training. It may mean personally taking the time to give some demonstrations and lessons. It may mean actually buying some kind of new tools or devices of some kind to facilitate improvement. Maybe you need to have weekly check-in conversations to be both consultant and coach. You may need to point your teen toward more personal communication with their teacher, coach, or youth pastor. Just remember that having access to the right tools for the job can sometimes make all the difference in the world.
6. Recognition and celebration of progress. You may not be thrilled with your teen getting a C- on a test. That’s understandable. But if they’ve been bringing home low Ds or Fs, recognizing the improvement to a C- is actually really important. When you see your wayward teen making genuine effort in a new or more determined or more focused way, by all means… tell them you see it! Not all effort and progress warrants a party or whatever. Of course. But recognition? Yes! When you express that recognition of effort and progress along the way, you help your teen maintain the all-important motivation required to keep going. Have you ever run in a local race event? Whether a fun 5K event, or a bigger more competitive race that requires ongoing training, what difference does it make to have people cheering for you along the way? If you’ve ever run a race, you KNOW the answer to this. If you’ve never done it, maybe you should. It will help you understand why your words of encouragement and recognition mean the world to your teen who is struggling to keep running a race that has become more difficult in the last mile or two.
Family Inspiration
As parents, we should aim to inspire our kids whenever we can. It isn’t easy. It takes purposeful effort. It takes seizing the right moments. It often takes discipline. But our kids, from infants to teens, need our inspiration. And counting on their inspiration to come from teachers, coaches, and pastors just isn’t enough.
We parents should aim to be a primary source of inspiration in their lives. Showing them the way to live well. Modeling how to get up and move forward from failure. Teaching them how to manage money. How to manage time. How to develop and maintain healthy habits. How to utilize healthy boundaries. Yes, it takes a lot of effort. But our growing kids are better for it, and so are we.
And sometimes, the tables are turned. Sometimes, our kids inspire us! And when they do, they need to hear about it. I’ll not go into a lengthy narrative about my son, his fitness journey, and the impact of his school’s cross country program – mostly because he would really hate that. Just know that the picture above represents a lot of work, self-discipline, and determination in my son’s life. And the results speak for themselves. And as I now begin training for my first ever half-marathon this January, and hopefully lose some significant weight/fat in the process, my son is my inspiration.
I’m doing my best to tell him what an inspiration he is to me, without embarrassing him or driving him crazy in the process. Because he needs to know that he is already making the world around him a better place, even though he has not yet fully matured into adulthood. He has within him tremendous capacity for impacting this world – for good or ill. And I want him to know it. And to act on it in the best possible way. And to know that whenever he struggles, falls short, and fails (and he will – we all do), that he is good. That his life matters. That he is already a success in ways that really count. And I am proud of him. And inspired by him. And I am honored to share the journey of growth together with him.
How have your kids inspired you? Have you told THEM about it?
4 Reasons Teens Need Healthy Physical Affection from Parents
My own teenage son is currently 14 and getting closer to looking eye to eye with me every day. (Seems like he’s grown a foot since we took this pic six or seven months ago.) My wife and I both have warm, affectionate personalities. So it has always been natural for us to have close, physically affectionate relationships with our son. But with his growing age and changing development as a man, I can feel this natural connection being challenged. Especially with me. My little boy is no longer a little boy. He’s not even a big boy anymore. He is undeniably a young man now. Still a lot of growing up yet to do, no doubt. But the boyhood days are now in the rear-view mirror, adolescence is the here and now, and adulthood is not far away on the horizon. And I can feel the impact and tension when it’s time for hugs and kisses.
And the crazy part?
It’s me. Not him. My son is still as affectionate with his Mom and me as he has ever been. Hugs and kisses still mean a lot to him, and he obviously wants them from both of us. And today as I was telling him goodbye before he leaves on a little trip, I realized it: Mr. Marriage and Family Therapist Dad needs to get over the natural awkwardness that is coming with this life transition. If you are a parent of a teenage son or daughter – especially if you are a Dad – I’ll bet you know what I’m talking about. Whether it is something hardwired inside, or something programmed from our rapidly changing culture, we feel something that tells us to be more physically guarded and less physically affectionate with our adolescents.
But you know what? They still need that healthy, close physical affection from us. And that means we need to adjust, deal with our own discomfort, and be intentional about continuing to share positive physical touch with our teenage sons and daughters. Here are just four of the many reasons this is so important for Moms and Dads of teens – especially us Dads.
1. It affirms them deeply during a time when they may be filled with self-doubt or searching to find a solid sense of identity. Let’s face it. The teenage years are often marked by turbulence, doubt, and searching. Life becomes so much more complex for them as they emerge from childhood into the layers and opportunities and dangers of adolescence. And they desperately need a foundation of strong love and acceptance from the most important adults in their lives – Mom and Dad.
2. It helps them feel healthy and confident about their body. At a time when their bodies are going through so many intense changes, they need those healthy hugs and kisses from their parents to help them continue to feel good about their physical selves. Positive touch from Dad and Mom shows them their bodies continue to be normal, good, and lovable – even though everything about them seems to be changing.
3. Research continues to show teenage sons and daughters are much less likely to seek unhealthy physical affirmation when they have regular healthy affirmation from parents – especially Dads. They are less likely to get into legal trouble and less likely to get into major school trouble. In short, adolescents with a strong healthy bond (marked by healthy physical affection) have a stronger sense of self and healthier boundaries. And this means a better self-image. It means better relationships. And it basically means a better life. Fellow fathers – our kids need those healthy touches, hugs, and kisses from us so much, especially during their teen years!
4. It reminds them you will always love them and be available to them as they face the changes and challenges of life. Yes, our relationships with our kids do need to change and grow over the years as they develop through all the seasons and stages of life through adolescence and adulthood. But they need to feel the reassurance from us that our love for them will not waver. Feeling that strong connection with us throughout their adolescent journey helps to impress upon them a lasting compass they can take with them wherever adulthood may lead them.
“But my son/daughter doesn’t seem to want closeness or affection from me.” Well, we certainly don’t want to smother them or express physical affection to them that is not really reflective of our overall emotional relationship. And, of course we need to respect proper physical and sexual boundaries. Crossing those lines means abuse – not affection. But, whether they seem to naturally want your affection or not, they really do need it. Work on building the kind of conversational and emotional relationship with them so that expressing love through healthy hugs and kisses is a natural part of your connection.
And I’ll be working on it, as well. I could tell when my son left earlier today, he was eager for meaningful goodbye hugs and kisses from me. And I probably gave him a C+ effort. When he gets home, I’m gonna aim for a solid A. No, I don’t want to weird him out. But I don’t want to let him down, either. He means too much to me to let him down on something where I know what he needs. Know what I mean? Happy hugging!
Seven Ways to Improve Parenting Teamwork
Searching for “parenting” in the books section of Amazon yields a mind-boggling list of over SIXTY THOUSAND results! There are enough competing opinions and voices out there to make your head spin. But what if those differing parenting perspectives aren’t just “out there,” but right in your own home? What are you supposed to do when you and your own spouse disagree about how to handle parenting decisions? For the sake of your relationship, and for the benefit of your kids, you will do well to find peaceful, mutually respectful ways to cooperate and parent from a united front. (For tips on co-parenting with an Ex, see my previous post here.) Here are some practical suggestions to help you do just that:
1. Read parenting books, listen to parenting podcasts, or attend parenting classes or workshops together on an annual basis. This can help you stay on the same page on an ongoing basis, minimizing the occurrence of major philosophical differences regarding parenting dynamics. It can also provide some great ideas for resolving those differences whenever they do arise. The resources at ScreamFree.com and LoveAndLogic.com are some of my favorites. Also, be sure to check with your church of school to see if there are any classes or upcoming workshops or seminars on parenting. If the answer is no, request that they bring someone in to provide something like this. There are a number of professionals like myself who are available for parenting events and classes such as this, and it is an extremely cost-effective way to get practical help to larger numbers of parents. (Discover more about my speaking engagements here and get a sample of my presentation style on my YouTube channel.)
2. Discuss parenting goals together before trying to decide practical solutions. So often when we discuss something as important to us as decisions about our kids, we tend to jump right into solutions. “Let’s do bedtime this way! The right age to start doing chores is this! This is the best school option! Here’s how social media is going to be monitored! Curfew should be this time! Etc.” But before we even try to start hammering out final decisions regarding the many important issues along the way of our children’s lives, we should begin with the end in mind. “What is the big picture, and what is the point? What is our goal regarding this issue? How do we want our child or teen to learn or grow as a result? Is this issue more about child development or our marriage?” These are the kinds of questions that will help us be sure our solutions are purposeful. And the more we are aiming to parent with purpose, the more likely we are to come to agreement and parent like true partners in the journey.
3. Agree to hold off on making major decisions, pronouncements, punishments, etc. until it can be privately discussed together as a parent team. The old “good cop, bad cop” routine may work in some places, but it is a disaster for parenting. Don’t undercut one another by making the big calls without first having discussed it privately, so that you can do your best to present a united front to the kids. If the circumstances demand an immediate decision, and a direct discussion is not possible, at least consider how your spouse would likely see and respond to this situation. And give genuine weight to that perspective, even when you disagree.
4. Plan for new decisions to have a trial period with a parenting assessment/discussion to follow at a set time to decide if adjustments should be made. You are less likely to feel frustration or resentment about your spouse and the parenting choices being made if you know it isn’t a forever decision and will be re-evaluated together with a respectful dialogue. Depending on the issue and the dynamics involved, plan to have a follow-up discussion in a week, a month, or a quarter. If you agree things are going well…GREAT! Keep it going, and be a big enough person to acknowledge when your spouse’s differing ideas are working well. If you agree something needs to change, make a reasonable adjustment. If one feels good about it, but the other does not, be willing to try something different for another trial period in respect to both of you as parents.
5. Never verbally undercut your spouse with your kids. Even when you disagree on decisions being made, and may even be thinking, “See! I knew this would happen!” (or some other criticism), show respect to your spouse and your kids by NOT throwing anyone under the bus through open criticism, wisecracks, etc. Presenting a united front to the kids doesn’t always mean you agree on decisions. But it does mean you respect and support one another. And it also means you don’t openly give your kids opportunities to exploit or manipulate you through divide and conquer tactics that will just lead to worse for your kids, your marriage, and your family as a whole.
6. Have occasional discussions with your kids where you ask for their feedback on how things are going. If you really want to be brave and get some valuable insight, invite them to grade your parenting skills. Some “subjects” could include: Fairness, Consistency, Listening, Disciplining, Fun, etc. And if you are going to ask for your kids’ perspectives, be sure you keep an open mind as you listen. Sometimes hearing directly from our kids can help us see things in a different light than going round and round with our mate about those same issues.
7. Get professional help if you’re really stuck. Far better for your marriage, your kids, and your own peace of mind to invest some time and money in counseling from a qualified professional like a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist than to stay stuck in frustrating patterns that just aren’t getting any better. There are some great professional helpers available. Let us help you!
7 Keys to Healthy Co-Parenting
Parenting kids has become more complex today than ever before. The digital explosion of entertainment and social media has created layers and layers of options, opportunities, dangers, and decisions that we must navigate as we do our best to love and lead our children well. Add to all this the challenging dynamics of dealing with another parent who lives in a different home with different beliefs, values, and expectations, and the whole process can feel totally overwhelming. And it’s especially hard when you and your Ex are disagreeing and butting heads. And if it’s hard on you, think about how hard it must be on your kids, who desperately need you to work it out with as much cooperation and respect as possible. Well, take a deep breath and take heart. Because I’ve got some simple, practical, real life tips to help you navigate the difficulties of c0-parenting with sanity and balance:
- Keep your kids’ well-being first and foremost, above your own personal feelings and preferences. Regardless of how right you think you are, and how wrong you think their other parent is, you’ve got to remember the only person you can ever really control is your self. Are you still speaking and making decisions out of your beliefs about what is best for your child… or are you allowing your self to turn this into a power struggle and personal grudge match? Always come back to asking, “How will MY choices, actions, and words right now affect my child in the coming days and beyond?”
- Aim for consistency between households as much as possible, but DON’T sacrifice a basic climate of respect and peaceful cooperation in your efforts for consistency. Yes, it is much better for our kids to have similar rules, values, and routines in both of their homes. It nurtures a foundation of security and clarity in kids’ hearts and minds. As much as it depends on YOU, make this possible for your precious children. But if your zeal for consistency between households leads to a climate of tension, blame, drawing kids into unhealthy conversations about their other parent, or escalating legal action, then you have made life far more burdensome and difficult for them in the process. For the sake of your kids’ well-being, be wiling to relax and cooperate on some things that aren’t the way you like them, if it will promote a climate of more peace and security for them.
- Plan regular co-parenting conversations regarding how each of the kids are doing physically, emotionally, academically, spiritually, etc. If you make these important conversations a regular and predictable occurrence, they are much more likely to be constructive and helpful than if you wait until problems or frustrations have escalated to near-crisis level. For younger children, aim for monthly co-parenting discussions – more frequently if you have a child with special needs. For teens, quarterly talks along these lines should be sufficient most of the time. Of course, any time something new comes up, be proactive in communicating with the other parent. Depending on the nature of your relationship and personalities, these regular conversations may take place face to face, by phone, or by email.
- Utilize email or an app like Our Family Wizard for communication, planning, and record-keeping of time and expense. DON’T USE TEXTING or other instant messaging apps for communicating important information or discussions. This form of rapid-fire communication is ideal for drawing immediate attention to a critical situation or email. But for regular communication exchanges and discussions, texting is way too likely to lead to emotional escalation, miscommunication, or lost information. Email is a much better method, especially if dealing with your Ex is difficult. And if you don’t know about Our Family Wizard, check it out as soon as you finish this article. It is an outstanding tool for facilitating communication, planning, record-keeping, financial cooperation, and more.
- Focus on giving your kids the healthiest experience you can give them at YOUR home – where you are actually in charge. This is not about competition with your Ex. Not at all. It’s about remembering YOUR HOME is the only place where YOU are really in charge. So your kids need you to focus primarily on what is going on there, and how YOU are doing as a parent. Don’t spend time and energy complaining about or comparing with their other home. And don’t fall into the trap of overcompensating in your home for what you believe are deficits in their other home. Instead, emphasize how life works in your home, and WHY you do life the way you do. Take responsibility for discussing the morals and modes of living you want to see your kids adopt for life, and be sure you practice what you preach. Your kids need you to be a leader, not a reactor.
- Continue to read good parenting books and discover other parenting resources to help you stay on a healthy path for your kids. There are so many great books, websites, podcasts, classes, and other resources to help us on our journey of parenting. Some good ones are: ScreamFree Parenting, Parenting with Love and Logic, and Smart Stepfamilies. Continue to be an eager and open-minded student of parenting and living well, even as you actively teach and lead your kids. And any time you find a resource that is particularly helpful for you, for goodness sake, share it with your kids’ other parent! Just don’t be preachy or judgy about it. That won’t help anyone, no matter how “right” you think you are about it.
- Utilize a professional as needed. If concerns or conflicts reach a high enough level, you may need to reach out for help from a qualified professional, such as a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Don’t let pride, stubbornness, or cost stop you from reaching out for help when your kids need you to get it. You don’t have to do this alone. Reach out. Your kids are counting on YOU!
Posted in parenting encouragement
Leave a comment
Three Ways to Help Your Teen Grow Toward Adulthood
As parents who love our kids, our aim is to raise them to become fully capable and responsible adults who will strive to make a positive impact on the world around them. Right? And that sort of theoretical statement sounds all great and wonderful when our kids are little. But once they hit their teen years, we all start finding out how much we really mean this kind of “mission statement.” Because in adolescence, the line between childhood and adulthood gets really blurry. That’s just the way it is. And our teens need us to stay on the adult side of the line, even as they desperately long to reach grown up status for themselves. Here are three fundamental ways we can help them get closer to becoming strong healthy adults:
1. Let them fail. Yep. That’s what I said, and I meant what I said. If we go about rescuing our teens every time we see them on the verge of blowing it, how do we expect them to be able to handle the tough parts of life when they are adults? Or do we plan on continuing to bail them out through their adult years? YIKES! Equip them? Yes, absolutely! Coach them along the way? You betcha! Step in to redirect of save them whenever we can see they are about to fail? Hold up. I will follow up and expand on this point soon, but we must be able to tolerate seeing our teens fail if we are going to give them our very best as their parents.
2. Admit our own failings and shortcomings to them (in an appropriate way). If we want our teens to arrive at a healthy adulthood for themselves, we need to be willing to paint a realistic picture for them of what that is. Allowing our kids to see our own process of making mistakes, facing them, and doing the work of cleaning up our messes helps them see that adulthood isn’t about attaining some sort of perfection. But it is about humbly admitting our mistakes and doing our best to make things right as we move forward by God’s grace. Just ask my teenager about the bad words he heard me say the other night about half an hour before our family devotional reading from James 3 about taming the tongue. Let your teens know you are still a work in progress. But be sure you share with them how that process of progress works in your life.
3. Share more of our decision-making thought process with them as they mature through their teen years. The older our teens get, the more we should take time to consider their input and the more we should explain to them our own process of making decisions. This doesn’t mean we hand over our parental authority to them while they are still growing through their teen years. But they will be far better equipped to make mature adult decisions if they have seen and heard how their own parents weighed out possibilities, costs, benefits, and consequences, rather than always just giving them rulings from on high, so to speak.
I will expound on each of these points in the coming weeks, but I hope these simple concepts help you gain better clarity in living out your role as parent to the kids in your home who are transforming into emerging adults faster than we ever imagined possible. I mean, it only feels like about three or four years between the images below…
Parental Celebration
Today’s post is all about celebration. Enjoy the Kool & the Gang tune playing in your head now. You’re welcome!
I frequently write about things you can do to improve your relationship with your teen, or things you can do to help get your teen on a better life track. It is easy for us parents to be constantly looking at what our kids can do to improve or what we can do to improve as parents. And aiming for improvement and growth is certainly a positive thing. But today, I thought we would do well to stop and celebrate our parental victories.
What positive character qualities do you see in your teen? Take time this week to celebrate those qualities with your daughter or son, and take a moment to celebrate the reality that you have almost certainly helped contribute to that aspect in your teen’s life. Have you recently held your tongue from making an unnecessary critical comment with one of your kids? Take a moment to celebrate that victory and recognize your own growth as a parent. Have you invested some extra time or energy lately in your teen’s life in a particular way? Give yourself a quick pat on the back for being intentional about pouring into your kids. Has someone complimented your teen for some positive quality or achievement? Of course you should celebrate that compliment with your teen! But you should also have a bit of celebration in what you are doing right as a parent.
Just as our teens and preteens thrive on positive energy and wither on negative energy, so do we as parents. So let’s take a bit of time for some celebration today for all those things we are doing right as parents! Seriously, take some time to list some things. I’ll betcha the list will be longer than you think.
Posted in parenting encouragement
Leave a comment
Today
Ever see the movie, Groundhog Day? It is a rather insightful story based on a very farfetched premise. Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is a local weatherman who is utterly miserable and discontented with his life. He basically thinks his job is beneath him, and that he should be further along in his life and career than where he is. And then he gets stuck in a time-loop, doomed to repeat the same day over and over and over again – Groundhog Day, the day that most highlights how much he hates where he is in life. The only way he can emerge from his torment is to find contentment today – to see the best in others, make efforts to be a blessing to others, and to find moments of joy in his least favorite time and place. He’s got to stop looking at what he wants beyond today, and be willing to celebrate whatever he already has – today.
How many days of our kids’ lives have we missed because we were so focused on something beyond today? Whether we are dwelling on a future season of our kids’ lives, a future point in our careers, a future home or vacation or vehicle or whatever…if we aren’t focused on today, we are missing it. Just ask yourself how often does the phrase, “I can’t wait until…” escape your lips?
Maybe it’s time to start a revolution in your life. In your home. In your family. In your neighborhood. In your office. You don’t have to stop making plans for down the road. There’s really nothing wrong with that. But let’s decide – for the sake of our kids, our families, and even our own sense of joy and peace – we are going to start living fully engaged in today.
Look around for something beautiful in your everyday routine environment today. I’ll bet there’s something beautiful. Share an encouraging word with someone. I’ll bet there’s someone who would deeply appreciate it. And whatever else you do, notice something amazing in your kids today. I’m sure there’s something amazing to be discovered. And don’t keep your amazement to yourself – share it with your kids. Whether they are preschoolers, preteens, teens, or beyond. I guarantee they would have a better life today if you begin to make it a daily priority to see the wonderful things in your kids right now, and take obvious delight in who they are.
And for a bit more inspiration, enjoy this stirring song by Chris Rice:
