Well, not surprisingly, there are intense feelings about the election. As was true in last week’s Part 1 of this two-part series, I am not going to tackle politics. We have enough of that whenever we look at the media or listen to our contrarian family member.| Shaunti Feldhahn
Snowplow parenting sounds reasonable – and yet it can create serious risks for our kids in ways we don’t even see. Let’s look at how this plays out, first by seeing how big of an issue this is, and then sharing six steps that will help us stop.| Shaunti Feldhahn
Our human default is to feel stuck, hopeless, like a victim, self-pitying. We might get passive in response, we might get angry, we might vent. But the ‘stuck’ feeling is natural. What isn’t natural is what we have to do to overcome it: we learn a healthy sense of control. We learn that there is always something we can do, even if there are also things we need to accept. We are not helpless. We can train ourselves out of helplessness in the particular area where we are tempted to give up.| Shaunti Feldhahn
Learned helplessness is basically handling things with a sense of futility in the face of difficulty, because we don’t think we can bring about change. It may mean quitting, checking out, getting angry, feeling sorry for ourselves, becoming passive, or dozens of other responses – but the underlying feeling is a sense of helplessness and futility.| Shaunti Feldhahn
eaders frequently write in to request help and tips for stepfamilies, and so I am honored to bring you a guest blog this week from author and speaker Debbie Alsdorf. Author of Beyond the Brady Bunch, Debbie carefully and honestly leads us into this topic — and I hope the lessons she learned will benefit you (or help you see friends or family in a fresh light).| Shaunti Feldhahn
Last month, my staff director Eileen Kirkland and I went on a five-day ministry trip to the Dominican Republic, visiting a series of areas where Compassion International works. I regularly speak and share about Compassion, but had not previously had a chance to see their on-the-ground work in person. Plus, I have two sponsored children with Compassion (and Eileen actually sponsors a boy she met on the trip!) so I was eager to get a sense for the kids’ day-to-day experience as part of the pr...| Shaunti Feldhahn
This is Part 3 of a three-part series on what to do when life or relationships aren’t what you wanted them to be. In part 1 and part 2 we outlined three important steps that can help us move from frustration and anguish to acceptance and appreciation. This week, we’ll apply those steps specifically to relationships.| Shaunti Feldhahn
his is the first part of a three-part series. In this part 1 we’ll tackle one major step to take when something in our life hasn’t turned out the way we wanted it to. In Part 2 we will explore two more steps that build on this one. And in Part 3, we’ll see how it all applies to life and relationships.| Shaunti Feldhahn
his week is the second installment of a two-part series in conjunction with the launch of season 4 of our Family Life podcast, Married With Benefits! Brian Goins and I have based this season on my Surprising Secrets of Highly Happy Marriages findings. In part 1, we looked at three steps to begin change in your marriage. In this part 2, we’ll tackle three steps to build the habit that all happy marriages have.| Shaunti Feldhahn
True rest. Our bodies long for it. Our souls need it. And yet whether we’re senior executives or stay-at-home moms, we all know the feeling of bouncing around in our own lives like we’re pinballs in a pinball machine. I know I do. Ziinng! Time to hustle the kids out the door. Zoiinnng! I’m running...| Shaunti Feldhahn
