Bringing Joy to the World: Families

This is the 2nd Blog in the series, “Bringing Joy to the World,” highlighting how Life Model Works has positively impacted individuals, couples, families, churches, communities and the world in 2016!
Duane Sherman is Acquisitions Editor of Strategic Partnerships at Moody Publishers. Today he shares part of his story and how Life Model has affected him and his family, including his foster daughter.
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Personally, I have come to notice when my relational circuits are dim/off.  In a highly relational career such as Publishing, this is super helpful.  I will often take some time out to do an interactive gratitude exercise or another LMW exercise to get them going again and in sync with God lead again.  When I start to feel curious about the world and others and grateful even in the midst of difficulty I know they are back on again.
 
We’ve also seen results in our family. Besides our three biological children, we are foster parents to a beautiful little girl from a difficult background. Through Life Model Works’ resource, Rare Leadership, we have learned to recognize when her past is triggering her and when her relational circuits might be down.  Instead of immediately correcting or redirecting her, my wife and I will work to get her higher level brain back up and running first. Often, this means comforting her and making sure she feels safe and loved in the midst of disagreeable behavior instead of directly addressing it. It has been counterintuitive to learn, and sometimes challenging to use the Rare skills as her parents, but we’ve seen dramatic improvements over time. By God’s grace, and through what we have learned through Life Model Works, we anticipate an even more vibrant and joyful future for this little one.
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This illustration demonstrates how Life Model Works is bringing joy to the world, and this is only possible because generous people support this work financially. Please prayerfully consider supporting this ministry with a year-end gift so other marriages can experience joy in the year ahead.
Learn more and donate here.