Are you adjusting to an empty nest? This series will help! Part 1 and Part 2 offer parenting strategies for strong relationships with your adult kids. In part 3 we examine how to strengthen your marriage in this new season. (Stay tuned for a follow-up later this fall, when we’ll reveal what our adult kids say they need from us, courtesy of a brand-new short survey!) When our daughter was in school, we had lots of friends among the other... Read more
No matter how much great groundwork we’ve laid by nudging our kids toward autonomy in their teen years, going “hands-free” on decision-making is an exercise in trust all on its own. Especially since our adult kids will not make all the same decisions as us! They are navigating the landmines of “adulting” – and if they are early in their adult years, they are doing that for the first time. They are decades behind us in age and (hopefully) maturity. There will be stumbles. Just like we had stumbles during those years. Read more
So in the span of a few very short weeks or months, as our kids become adults, graduate from high school, and move on to college or work – often moving out entirely – we must almost immediately trade our “take charge” hat for a “coach” hat. Suddenly, our job is to expertly support and motivate our adult kids as they are now (mostly) responsible for their lives. It’s enough to give any parent whiplash! So what to do? Read more
Well, the summer heat has been on (literally) and the school year is beginning again for many (cue the kids’ groans), so this is a great time to be a little more lighthearted and highlight the top 6 fun and meaningful things that I’ve been loving lately. In reverse order. Read more
By Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn Are you and your spouse on two different pages around money? The two of us certainly had that problem. In fact, we had such a disconnect that one of us pleaded with the other, year after year, to go the church’s financial management class – and finally went alone. But as we interviewed and surveyed couples for Thriving in Love and Money, we finally discovered what was underneath that dynamic – and that most couples... Read more
I have been waiting for a year to write this blog. (Actually, I’ve been waiting for twenty years, ever since my research began taking me into the minds of men and how they think!) About a year ago, I had dinner with author Nancy Pearcey, who shared some advance findings from her upcoming book The Toxic War on Masculinity: How Christianity Reconciles the Sexes – much-needed truths that push back on the popularized notion that the way men are wired... Read more
. If we want to create a great relationship, we have to recognize that what is second-nature to us isn’t always second-nature to our spouse! Just as important, what they need probably doesn’t come naturally to us, either. Read more
Friends, in the end, if we decide to trust God with our seasons of life, we’ll see how trustworthy He is. He’s been with us before and He’ll be with us again. Our best bet is to focus on what God wants us to do now and embrace the beauty of our current season. Even if we are not all called to run half marathons – thankfully. Read more
It is very easy to feel inferior with this snapshot of womanhood taped to my mirror, calling me to look like this someday. But the Proverbs 31 woman is not a real woman! This is not Mary or Elizabeth or Rachel. This is not a portrait of an actual woman at some ultimate moment in time when she “has it all together.” Proverbs 31 is a big-picture view of the life of a woman of noble character— not a description of someone who does all these things perfectly, all at once. Read more
Have you ever stopped to think about all the events that would appear on the timeline of your life? From childhood, through the teenage years, and then into the ever-changing adult years, our lives are a pretty wild ride, right? We have family dynamics, education, careers, travel, joys, losses, financial ups and downs, children, long hours, health issues, friendships, aging parents, aging ourselves—and about a million other factors that make up life’s tapestry. Read more
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