Maybe you thought he or she was the ONE. You were making important life decisions around him or her, planning your future together, dreaming of the life you were going to have. And suddenly it’s all over. He or she decided you weren’t the ONE for them. And you are broken. Maybe you were in a toxic relationship and it needed to end, yet you still feel attached to the person. Maybe you are the one who ended the relationship and now you’re having second thoughts. You miss “belonging” with someone. How does a wounded heart heal…
Some sources say the average age of exposure to pornography is around 11 years old, others say around 8, and still others, around 4 years old. The internet has brought it right to our doorstep whether we want it or not. 6 year olds discover it on google on the family computer even though they can’t spell the word ‘naked’ (thanks, google, for correcting our spelling?). 12 year olds ask 10 year olds for nude pictures. Teenagers look at it on their iPad in the living room – under their parent’s noses. Husbands show their wives porn videos…
Preparing your kids to be responsible, sensible teens requires a bunch of things – many of them overlapping with things I talked about last time in staying connected with your teen. This week we’re going to look at the one thing that has the biggest impact on what kind of teen you will raise. Here it is: Self. What is self? Self is that thing that rises up when your child’s will is crossed. The “I don’t want to”. The crying when they don’t get what they want, the arching of the back when you…
If you are the parent of a teen or have raised teens you know that the teen years can be pretty turbulent. Your happy, easy-to-manage child suddenly starts doing things they never did before – like questioning why they have to do what you say. Hormones are doing their thing and your child may become moody, sensitive, tearful, or quiet for no apparent reason. You long for the prepubescent days when your kids were… not quite so complicated! It can be difficult to figure out what your child needs – one day they feel like a child and…
Did you know that at one time teenagers didn’t exist? The term teenager came into being sometime in the early 1940s. Before that, people were either children or adults. There was no in between stage. Friedrich Heer, a historian, writes about how things used to be: “Around 1800 young people of both sexes could reckon on being considered adults as soon as the outward signs of puberty made their appearance. Girls attained marriageable age at fifteen… Boys could join the Prussian army as officer cadets at the age of fifteen. Among the upper classes entry to university or to…
I once left my small children with my Mom-in-law for a few days. As Richard and I drove away, anxiety gripped me and I begged God over and over to be with my children. In the middle of my begging I realised I did not have faith. Had God not promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us? (Hebrews 13:5) Immediately I took that promise and turned it back on God (in a nice way, you understand J). Instead of begging God to protect my children and be with them, I began to thank God…
For the men and husbands out there: please read this so you can understand and support your wife. If you’re not married it will give you insight into the struggle women face and help you understand your future wife. Hormones are wonderful things. And terrible things. They make you feel great one moment and awful the next. If you’re a woman you most likely resonate with this. It’s estimated that as many as 3 of every 4 menstruating women have experienced some form of premenstrual syndrome. [i] I am definitely one of those 3 out of 4…
Did you know that 90% of kids learn about sex for the first time through pornography and that this usually happens by age nine? [i] With awful stats like these, we should be talking to our kids about sex long before age nine. Last week I asked my kids if I told them enough about the facts of life. They said I did OK when they were young but could have told them more as they got older. Don’t get me wrong, they weren’t ignorant, but because of the world we live in – I should have…
What are you looking for in the person you will marry? Should they read their Bible? Be fun to be with? Like the things you like? Be physically attractive and intelligent? Allow me to let you in on a secret – most divorces don’t happen because a spouse was not intelligent or attractive enough, or because they were boring or didn’t read their Bible as much as the other person did. Most marriages end over issues like lack of emotional connection, infidelity, anger, or criticism. It’s OK to have preferences and tastes (and you should have…