Your Part in Healing Your Relationship with Your Adult Child

I find the biggest obstacle to parents building relationship with their kids who are making decisions they don’t agree with is the parent. Yes, the parent. I’m not blaming parents for their kids’ poor decisions nor am I putting the responsibility of those decisions on the parents. I am saying […]

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Celebrating the Holidays with Adult Kids and Less Stress

I hate to sound cliché but the holidays are upon us. Yes, we are only in the first few days of October, but you know I’m right. Christmas decorations have taken over Hobby Lobby; even Target has started a small section for Christmas lights. Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here […]

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What Comes Next: When Your Adult Kids Face Difficult Times

Sometimes I think back to the struggles and hard times Gene and I have had in our marriage, especially the early years. I remember feeling hopeless and helpless. I remember wondering if the situation would ever change. Then I try to remember what brought about change. Was it a piece […]

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What Comes Next: When Your Kids Make Decisions You Don’t Agree With

I wrote Love No Matter What: When Your Kids Make Decisions You Don’t Agree With after our oldest daughter launched. Katie was in her early twenties and both of us had been in process to grow our relationship and make better choices. Lots of life has happened since the book […]

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Three Questions to Keep Me Joyful and Peaceful this Holiday Season

I hate to admit it, but I’ve shifted into the holiday season mode. Thanksgiving is two weeks from tomorrow! I love having family and friends here. I love decorating and baking. I love giving gifts. But if I’m not intentional, my love of all these things can snowball into a […]

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Just In Time for the Holidays–Another Way to be a Soft Place to Land

Last week I talked about being a soft place for my kids to land by being an encourager instead of a fixer. Over the weekend another aspect of being a soft place to land came to my mind. With the holidays fast approaching, our college and adult kids will be […]

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Am I a Soft Place to Land?

The other day I found myself saying to one of our girls, “I want to be a soft place for you kids to land.” My words have haunted me since. What did I mean by “a soft place to land”? Was I a soft place to land? I wanted to […]

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When Less Really Is More

Recently I saw famous restauranteur, Danny Meyer, on CBS’s 60 Minutes. I was intrigued by his attention to hospitality in his restaurants. He said, “If the food tastes great, that alone does not assure that you will come back here. So what hospitality does is adds the way we made […]

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Ask One More Question

Today I had a short date with my dear friend. (You’ll remember from a previous blog that we get together every so often and meet for just one sharing-packed hour.) As we stood and chatted while she perked our coffee, I quietly worried that we wouldn’t have enough time for […]

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How I Was Reminded Why I Do What I Do

A few days I was inspired by a friend I made through Instagram. She is a photographer, French, and currently lives in London*. Her photographs draw me in and make me wish I were in the places she photographs. I always look forward to her pictures on Instagram. Beautiful! On […]

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