Every Monday, I’ll post about discovering genuine hope and authentic answers for living a healthy life. — Joey came to my home to cut off the dead limb from a tree in my front yard. I noticed it dying this winter as bark occasionally fell off. I wanted the limb cut off mostly so it wouldn’t break off in one of our frequent wind and thunderstorms. Of course, it was a bit ugly, too, as compared to the rest of the tree. I was concerned a disease might have caused the limb to die. I was relieved to learn that wasn’t the case. (Apparently when fruitless mulberry trees reach a certain age, limbs often begin to die.) Joey told me cutting the limb off was wise because the tree was still expending energy to that limb. By getting … [Read more...]
What Puts a Smile On Your Face?
Every Monday, I’ll post about discovering genuine hope and authentic answers for living a healthy life. — Certain things always put a smile on my face. What about you? What causes you to smile? Is it small things, big things, or some of both? Who could you make a list with? You’ll learn a lot about the person’s priorities, desires, and joys and they’ll learn a lot about yours. You’ll see the core needs showing up in your list. Dads holding children’s hands. Grandchildren hugging grandparents’ necks when saying goodbye. Young teens playing with yo-yos in the airport to pass time rather than texting or playing a game on a hand-held device. (This is such a fun memory for me to come back to.) The first buds on a … [Read more...]
Explaining Our Smarts Part 4 – Music Smart
Every Wednesday, I’ll post about multiple intelligences so we can better understand children and why they do what they do. — We determine how strong people’s intelligences are by looking at both how much interest they have and how much ability they demonstrate. Both are essential for an intelligence to be strong. Interest in music is high in our culture. Just look at the number of iPods in use, the number of people who have downloaded music to their phones, and the number of iTunes accounts accessed regularly. But, not all the people listening to music have music smart as a strength. Are they interested in a variety of musical styles, are they open to discovering new styles and musicians, and do they remember music … [Read more...]
What do you think about perfection and perfectionists?
What do you think about perfection and perfectionists? Over the past month, I’ve posted several blogs related to perfectionism to help promote Jill Savage’s book. I hope you’ve been thinking about the topic and wondering how you’re influenced by it. Today, I’ve asked Jill to share with you directly. I love what she writes near the end: “While we’re pursuing perfection, we’re missing out on the most precious parts of life: the laughter of silliness, the joy of spontaneity, the lessons found in failure, and the freedom found in grace.” Do you agree? Read on…. Guest Post—Jill Savage www.JillSavage.org www.HeartsatHome.org www.NoMorePerfectMoms.com When child number one threw a fit in the grocery store one … [Read more...]
Parents Appreciate Learning About Their Children – Pick Up “No More Perfect Moms”
Parents appreciate learning about how their children are smart for several reasons. One I’ve seen evidenced in many of my audiences is that “imperfect” is redefined as “different.” That’s a powerfully important change! Some children are very word smart so they learn to read and write easily and enjoy both. Others aren’t as word smart and they may struggle to learn and/or they may not enjoy reading in their spare time. That doesn’t make them imperfect. It just makes them different. I’ve seen children damaged by perfectionism. And, I’ve talked with more moms than I can count about the damage they do to themselves when trying to be perfect. Unrealistic expectations they have for themselves and their families are … [Read more...]
“No More Perfect Moms” – Book Launch
Every Monday, I’ll post about discovering genuine hope and authentic answers for living a healthy life. — Monday’s blogs are about how we and our children should and can meet our core needs of security, identity, belonging, purpose, and competence in healthy ways. As I’ve written before this month here, it’s not wise to try meeting our needs by being perfect. Yet, I see people doing this so often. Honestly, before God did a beautiful work in my life, I was perfectionistic. I was very hard on myself when I made mistakes and I know other people were afraid to be wrong when around me. I still have regrets about that period of my life. This is why I was happy to join the launch team for Jill Savage’s important new book, … [Read more...]
Dream. Dream big. Dream large. Dream gigantic.
Every Monday, I’ll post about discovering genuine hope and authentic answers for living a healthy life. — Change. It’s a word and a concept that results in many strong reactions. There’s not a person alive who doesn’t have something they could change in order to have a better life. More productivity. More peace. More joy. More friendships. More hope. Less fear. Less trouble. Less trauma. Less loneliness. Less despair. Change will more likely work out well when all five core needs are met in healthy ways. This gives us a lot to count on during the sometimes shaky transitional times surrounding change. How do we get started? Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose life and legacy we celebrate in America today, … [Read more...]
Have a Right Attitude Toward Personal Weakness
Every Monday, I’ll post about discovering genuine hope and authentic answers for living a healthy life. — Right attitudes toward our weaknesses are essential. Without them, we may struggle to meet our five needs in healthy ways. For instance, as I explained to a group of teenagers last week and as I’ve blogged about before, spelling isn’t my strength. Imagine if it was a bigger deal to me than it needs to be. Imagine if I hadn’t found ways to compensate. I might answer the core questions like this: Security: Who can I trust? I can’t trust myself. I can’t even spell well! Identity: Who am I? I’m stupid. Spelling is hard for me. Belonging: Who Wants me? I have friends, but I better not let them know spelling … [Read more...]
Motivating Children is Not a “One Size Fits All” Situation
Every Wednesday, I’ll post about multiple intelligences so we can better understand children and why they do what they do. — Encouraged. That’s how I feel when pondering the reality that God generously created us with eight different intelligences. After years of studying, writing, and teaching about this topic, I’m still in awe of God’s choice. Our smarts help us and our children in so many ways. We can learn and study with all eight and learn to communicate in a variety of ways. They can also help us when disciplining children and motivating them to be successful. Sometimes children need more than our words and teaching to help them behave in proper ways. Consequences (punishments and rewards) may be necessary. … [Read more...]
December Calls for Planning and Flexibility
Every Monday, I’ll post about discovering genuine hope and authentic answers for living a healthy life. — Hold your schedule lightly this month. I prefer planning my schedule and knowing in advance what I’ll be doing. Given my travels, it’s almost essential that I do. Almost. This month, maybe more than most, it’s appropriate to be flexible. Even though it’s not my preference, I’ve learned I can go with the flow. A friend might learn about a Christmas concert and invite me at the last minute. I can say “yes.” You might learn that two friends are going to drive around to see outdoor Christmas lights and you had been wanting to do this, too. So, you ask to go along. Putting others first is a key … [Read more...]
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