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Roots: Essential for Growing a Healthy Family
I’ve learned so much about trees/roots/etc since moving into our current house. There was a tree that I recently had to prop up with a metal bar because it was falling down in the wind. This tree was perfectly healthy but when the ground got soft it would start to lean because it didn’t have [...]
Continue reading...Life Phase Awareness – Keep It Rolling
26. March 2009
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In graduate school I once taught a Life Span Development class where different phases of life were broken out and categorized. It was interesting to teach about a phase like the “empty nest” phase which is characterized by the quietness of a house when the last child is gone. Because I did not have any [...]
Continue reading...Family Bonding and Moto Moto
25. March 2009
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Most families tend to develop traditions as the years go by and a common tradition is a “movie night.” I love to get pizza and sit down with the kids for a Friday night movie. I’ve already had some priceless memories of movie night with the boys because they love to get up after every [...]
Continue reading...Of Sheep and Font (Subtle Communication Influences)
13. March 2009
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I love to study communication and came across a very interesting article in the Scientific American. The study that was discussed involved a process of putting very difficult to read instructions (very complex font) in front of one group while putting very easy to read (simple font) instructions in front of another (the exact same [...]
Continue reading...White with Black or Black with White (Perspectives)
12. March 2009
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It can be so difficult to teach someone to understand another person’s perspective. If you take a bright young child that is really confident in his/her intellectual ability, it can be even more challenging. In any family relationship, you can take a random event and often find two very different perspectives. This can happen for [...]
Continue reading...Onionology (The Study of Invisible Layers)
9. March 2009
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Onionology: The observation and analysis of invisible layers. People often use the analogy of an onion to describe the simple concept of multiple layers. I’ll jump on that bandwagon a bit now and carry it over into the unseen. Envision if you will multiple “onionesque” layers surrounding a person. A “layer” in this analogy is a [...]
Continue reading...Shifting Perspectives – “Half Full or Half Empty”
8. March 2009
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I find it amazing that two people looking at the exact same thing can have totally different perspectives. The old glass is half full analogy is perfect. If the glass is exactly filled to the half way mark, one person will see it as half full while another half empty. In our families this is [...]
Continue reading...Relational Wear and Tear
4. March 2009
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Many relationships would be described as “fresh” or “new and exciting” when they first begin. I can imagine what that chair in the picture looked like when it was first brought home. It was probably placed neatly in someones nice warm living room surrounded by matching furniture. However, with each stain and rip along with [...]
Continue reading...The E Word
3. March 2009
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Encouragement: To inspire with hope, courage, or confidence; hearten. Synonyms: embolden, hearten, reassure , urge, support, aid, help (…to build up) Antonyms: discourage, dishearten. (…to tear down) Communication is a very complex issue that involves a host of variables. We use both verbal and non-verbal means to communicate a variety of messages. There are times we communicate things [...]
Continue reading...Tyranny of the “Urgent”
8. February 2009
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“Tyranny: arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority” What is truly “urgent” in your life? Is urgency defined by the moment? Is it defined by circumstance? All of the above? All too often “urgent” circumstances or events dictate our lives and priorities. Instead of being proactive and seeking our priorities and purpose we [...]
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27. March 2009
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