Becoming an Extra Parent
By Dr. Karen Struble, Clinical Psychologist In recent years the number of Western-world households without children has risen tremendously. Reasons abound. Some folks search for a suitable (a.k.a. real grown-up) mate, but cannot find one. Others suffer the pain of infertility or other medical conditions. Still others are fertile couples who choose not to bear […]
Flexible Diligence & Parenting
By Michael Sullivant One of the skills we are meant to learn during the parent stage of maturity is to gracefully balance and synchronize our attention and energies to meet the appropriate needs of our spouse, children, extended family, church, work, friends, and the broader community. I’m now almost 70 with five married adult children […]
More Than Our Momentary Failures: Lessons from Parenting in the Child Stage
By Joel and Joca Prudhomme Before having children, I was sure that I would be a great dad. What a surprise to discover as a parent of young children that I seemed completely incapable of doing even half of the wonderful things that I had read in the parenting books! This grand adventure of raising […]
Child Maturity – Learning What Truly Satisfies
By Michel Hendricks Have you ever been hungry, and intended to eat a little snack before dinner and ended up eating way too much and ruining your appetite? Have you ever gotten so obsessed by a sport or hobby that you ignored other important things? Have you ever been hooked on a substance or behavior […]
Beyond Comfort – How Difficult Tasks Fuel Growth
By Michael Sullivant One of the outstanding tasks required to achieve full “childhood” maturity (age 4-14) – according to Dr. Wilder’s 20+ years of research across the centuries and cultures – is to learn to do hard things that might even cause some pain. Generally, this was a big gap in my childhood development. I […]
Understanding Child-Level Maturity
Last month we discussed the first stage of the maturity process, infant maturity. This month we will discover the next stage, child-level maturity. It is important to keep in mind that each stage builds upon – not replaces – the previous maturity stage. While the main goal of infant maturity is to learn to receive, […]
Responding to a Connection Invitation
By Marlene Allen “Mom! Dad! Look! Look at me!” is the cry of a young heart. “Look at me. See me. Validate me. Affirm me. Help me become my own person by acknowledging that my actions have meaning. Enjoy this moment with me. It’s part of me forming my own personality. It’s me venturing out […]
Inside Out 2 – Pernicious Anxiety
By Michel Hendricks In my previous article on the movie, Inside Out 2, we looked at the brain reconstruction that happens when we transition from child to adult around age 14. One of the consequences we see in Riley is the introduction and almost overwhelming dominance anxiety in Riley’s life. Anxiety is a new emotion […]
Do You Know When to Yell?
Neuroscience tells us that our brains are wired to seek intensity. Ideally, this intensity should come from joyful interactions and be the foundation for our attachment to people. However, if we experience intense abandonment or dysfunction early on, our young minds can’t discern the difference between good and bad intensity, and we go through life […]
Shortcomings of Enveloping Our Identities in Sticky Sin to Build Spiritual Community
(Part 5 of 10 from the article, “Through the Eyes of Heaven: Does ‘Talking It Through to Find Peace’ bring Shalom?”) By Jim Wilder and Ed Khouri Our perception of reality is skewed by all the wounds and hurts we experience — whether they result from our sin or someone else’s. Throughout every life, Satan […]
Sharing Wounds and Pain to Develop Attachment and Intimacy
(Part 4 of 10 from the article, “Through the Eyes of Heaven: Does ‘Talking It Through to Find Peace’ bring Shalom?”) By Jim Wilder and Ed Khouri Getting to know each other by talking things through is often used in Christian circles to form spiritual community. We get to know each other by discussing as […]
Living Books While Living From the Heart Jesus Gave
By Chris Caputo My wife, Rebecca Caputo, recently received a text from her dear friend, Pam. Pam was overflowing with joy while getting on a plane flying from Michigan back to Kansas City. She was returning from the “Awaken: A Living Books Conference” event designed for home educators and living books libraries. She was especially motivated […]
Parenting Kids Through Summer
By Chris M. Coursey, THRIVEtoday President Summertime is meant to be fun for our families. We play at swimming pools, soak in sunshineat the beach, go camping, run outside, ride bikes, and more adventures. Summer means comingup for air before school starts in the Fall. Summer is officially in full swing. In the past week, […]
A Sweet Spot For Kids
by Marlene Allen, Life Model Works Board Member Twelve-year-old Tess had one question for me as her children’s pastor, “Why is God always mad at us? I picture Him with a bat ready to get me if I do something wrong”, This simple question began my quest to discover why children would have such a […]