The Masks We Love to Wear
When the whole world is working hard to promote notions of what perfect parenting looks like, putting on a mask can be really tempting.
How to Widen Your Family Circle
Sometimes it takes another voice to say the same things you are saying to your kid(s) about the most important things in life—just in a different way. That’s what we call “widening the circle.” So, how do you widen your family circle? Pursuing strategic relationships...
Parenting Takes Courage
Confession: I lay awake at night and worry about my kids. It’s true. I know that worry is a waste of time. I know that worry shows a lack of faith. But sometimes . . . I worry. I have a child about to graduate from high school and is still undecided about where she...
How to Support Someone Through Grief
Chances are, you’ve got a friend or family member who is stumbling along their own personal journey of grief. In honor of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, here are five ways, according to Stephanie, to best support them during tough seasons.
Developing Character and Responsibility in Your Teen
We must go through the process of releasing control over our teens so they can move toward responsibility. A person who never learns to take full responsibility for their own life and actions will never have the chance to develop healthy character, or to be fully alive, and happy.
Planting Seeds of Truth for Your Kids
I was always extremely skinny as a child. Adults would consistently made jokes about my size. They referred to me as a “string bean,” said I was “nothing but skin and bones” and “25 pounds soaking wet.” One windy day, I remember an adult telling me I needed to put...
7 Undeniable Characteristics of Middle Schoolers Parents Should Know
If there is one common theme that surfaces every time I talk with parents of middle schoolers it’s this: it’s really confusing and really hard. Why? Because change is what marks this phase of life, and change isn’t easy for anyone. I have worked with middle school...
How to Read Better Bedtime Stories
When my wife and I told people that we were going to have a baby, they often asked what I was most looking forward to about being a new parent. My answer? The tax exemptions. I’m only kidding; my wife is a CPA, so that was always her answer. No, I most looked forward...
Why You Should Let Your Kids See You Do Something You Love
I can count on one hand the amount of things I love more than I love Zumba. Zumba and me go way back: I started taking the fitness class at a point in my life when I was the most downtrodden I’d ever felt—I had been laid off from my first job after college and had...
The One Thing That Will Help You Survive Parenting as an Introvert
Confessions of an Introvert I am an introvert through and through. Although I love authentic relationships and conversations, people, no matter how much I love them, drain my energy. Do you know who else is a person (albeit little)? My three-year-old daughter, Arden....
The Humility of Connection
Connection takes humility.
Connection takes work.
And connection takes time, cultivated in many invisible acts.
How No-Drama Discipline Helps Me Communicate With My Toddler
My toddler daughter, Arden, is very toddlery these days. And by toddlery, I mean I can’t help but look at the clock and wonder how in the world I’m supposed to make it to bedtime without us both collapsing in a puddle of tears. I’ve always been told the age of three...