Sitting in a counselor’s office as an early 30-something, I remember the psychologist introducing me to the conflict triangle. It appeared that I had been part of one since childhood without even understanding how I was participating. What I discovered was that when the two people in my life were in conflict, I was the emotional support for both […]
I remember the event vividly. One of my sons did something that that had me questioning whether I could trust him. He had done something that was against our family rules; it was something that could have negative consequences to him and we had been explicit in explaining the reason for our decree. But he […]
This is a hard post to write. As I sit here contemplating what to say to those of you who are at a place where you think it is time to kick your kid out because of behavior issues, I hope you’ll read last week’s blog before this one. My prayer is that if there […]
My heart breaks for parents who are struggling with their teens. Most have us have had those fleeting thoughts of “I just wish they would move out”, but we quickly come to our senses. Sometimes we think that it would be easier if they were gone, but we know deep down that they aren’t ready […]
It seems like almost daily I get a question from a parent on how to handle situations that have become real frustrations in their home. You may have seen similar scenarios in your own family. You know the ones. Your teen makes a request and you say “yes”. After all, you want to connect with […]
A number of years ago my husband taught a junior high boys small group. One of the topics that would always come up was how to treat members of the opposite sex. I remember one of his lines well: “Remember, you don’t know whose wife you are dating. Treat your girlfriend the way you hope […]