The Origin of My Best Christmas

All of my life Christmas has been one of the most exciting times of the year. Beginning with intense expectancy on Christmas Eve, I anxiously awaited the gifts I would receive from my wonderfully, overindulgent parents. This excitement carried over to Christmas morning when I would open my presents. But these emotions always subsided shortly after the unwrapping of the gifts. My parents always gave me the presents I asked for. But, after we cleaned up the paper wrappings, ribbons and boxes, we all went back to business as usual. Somehow I knew there just had to be more! While […]

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Seven Steps to a Great School Year

Before any big event, wise people make thorough preparations. Whether it’s a wedding, a vacation or a new career, we want to be prepared for whatever comes our way. In the same way, wise parents plan ahead for their child’s success. Instead of playing defense and taking on each battle as it comes, it is mandatory to plan ahead. Here are seven steps to help your child’s school year get off to a great start and a successful finish. These steps will also help your family get along when the stress of school hits. Step No. 7 Decide the bedtime […]

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Love Says “No”

Much of life is about balance – finding a balance between work and play or maintaining a balanced budget. In the “Parenting on Purpose” process, nothing is more important than the balance between relationship and discipline. The right disciplinary program gives a child the ability to eventually discipline himself. A right parent-child relationship gives the child the secure foundation to learn the motivation to say no, and even learn to seek balance in his own life. A positive relationship also makes the child feel secure even when he hears no from his parents. Discipline without relationship teaches a child to […]

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Extending Love

There was a time when extended family met the needs of a person in crisis. Those were the farm communities that built America to become what it is today. When a couple or a mom had a need it was her brothers and sisters, her aunts and uncles and her parents who helped her through difficult times. The people who loved her sacrificially, loved her through the hard times. When a father was no longer present at home, the extended family pitched in to help out. It was the natural thing to do. They lived right there in the same […]

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Raise Your Child to be Business-Smart

Are parents training children to handle business transactions – or are most children left to be eaten alive by the sharks of sales? We must prepare the next generation how to speak up and negotiate proper business deals. If not, our offspring will become sitting ducks for the shysters and schemers who are lying in wait for business illiterates. Much of the book of Proverbs is the wisdom of a father being passed down to his son. In reality, Proverbs is one of the first parenting books. Much of Proverbs offers advice about money and how to handle business. That […]

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Time to Train Young Leaders

As we head into the primaries, every eye is on candidates.  This is important!  The election of a leader is very important and we should all be involved.  Having said that, let me also say that what is really important is not the next leader, but leadership. We need to be training leaders. We can’t elect and then sub-contract out the leadership of our future to an elected official.  We need to be leaders and we need to train tomorrow’s leaders. It’s the job of every parent to train their children to become leaders rather than followers.  No one is […]

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My Best Christmas

My best Christmas recollection as a child actually began on summer vacation.  I was about eight years old and my dad and I were walking through the tourist village where we were vacationing. I saw a pair of red, knit slippers with fake leather sole and Indian beads on top. They were those ugly slippers that were basically thick socks with a sole sewn on so you could walk outside.  I repeat, ugly! When I saw them, I said to my dad, “I bet mom would like those,” thinking he would spend the eight dollars and get them for her.  […]

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Who Do Your Kids Look Up To?

Who do your kids look up to?  Who are their heroes?  Is it even important to think about who our children look up to?  Only to the extent that we as parents realize that our children will want to emulate their heroes. You tend to want to be like the person or people you look up to.  If you look up to them and they are your heroes, they are probably also your role models.  Parents can’t afford to miss this because our children attempt to model their lives after their role models.  How many people at Apple started dressing […]

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Time To Perform A Family Audit – More Family Time

It’s seven weeks into the school year and you’ve already lost control.  This is not the way you saw the family schedule going.  Every man for himself, everyone going in different directions and there is no family time whatsoever.  It’s like the whole family fell down a steep hill and everyone is rolling faster and faster … in different directions. Once the family activity year gets rolling, putting on the breaks is difficult.  Most parents just give up and let it roll.  Mom is the one who usually realizes that this just isn’t the best plan for the children. Before […]

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We’ve Lost Something Important

Today’s family has lost something and it’s a huge loss.  Not to worry though; it can be found.  The members of today’s typical family have lost their connection to each other.  They have little in common other than the same address.  Unfortunately today’s family members have unplugged from each other. To meet a natural need to be plugged in somewhere, today’s children are plugging into the outside world and working desperately to stay connected.  I don’t even think they know why.  The answer, however,  is that it’s the only connection they have. Texting, Twitter, Facebook … all were meant to […]

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