One of the Apostle Paul’s most famous speeches took place at Mars Hill, the Areopagus, in Athens. He noted that they appeared to be a very religious lot of people due to the sheer number of statues they had to their gods. In a brilliant move he identified the one statue that was for the [...]
Archive for the ‘Parenting’ Category
Building Bridges (art of connecting pt. 1)
Posted: September 8, 2011 in Addiction, Adolescent Development, Depression, drug prevention, emerging adults, extended adolescence, LGBTQ Youth, Mental Illness, Parenting, Spirituality, Suicide, systemic abandonment, Teens, Youth Ministry, Youth With Disabilities0
ScreenWorld vs. RealWorld
Posted: July 27, 2011 in Adolescent Development, Family, Mental Health, Parenting, Technology, Teens, Youth MinistryTags: Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Online Communities, Real life, technology, The Real World, Twitter
I ‘ve been reading a challenging new book, Virtually You – The Dangerous Power of the E-Personality, written by Elias Aboujaoude, MD from Stanford. In this book he pulls on years of research the looks at how our online personalities (e-personalities) are shaping how we interact with the offline world. While he recognizes the unlimited [...]
Understanding Family Systems (Exploring Family pt. 1)
Posted: July 13, 2011 in Adolescent Development, Parenting, Youth MinistryTags: Domestic violence, Family, God, Jesus, Parental alienation syndrome
So much has been said about the current state of the family that there’s hardly anything new to add to the conversation. It is regularly reported that the family is under attack and is falling apart due to changes in our culture. However, the future need not be bleak for families that are seeking recovery from [...]
Myths About Child Abuse And Neglect
Posted: September 4, 2010 in Parenting, Sexual Abuse, Youth MinistryTags: Abuse, Child abuse, Children Youth and Family, Family, Local Resources, Prevention, Psychological abuse, Violence and Abuse
Child abuse is more than bruises or broken bones. While physical abuse is shocking due to the scars it leaves, not all child abuse is as obvious. Ignoring children’s needs, putting them in unsupervised, dangerous situations, or making a child feel worthless or stupid are also child abuse. Regardless of the type of child abuse, [...]
Examining False Core Beliefs
Posted: August 18, 2010 in Adolescent Development, Anxiety, Depression, Eating Disorders, Mental Health, Parenting, TeensTags: Albert Ellis, Belief, depression, Happiness, Health, Mental health, Self-esteem, Self-Help
Research has found that a number of core beliefs identified by the psychologist Albert Ellis are consistently linked to self-dislike and depression. I see these in many young people today and they go largely unchallenged by adults because many of the adults in their lives are handicapped by the same irrational beliefs. Below is a [...]
Common Conflict Resolution Mistakes
Posted: August 2, 2010 in Mental Health, Misc., Parenting, Teens, Uncategorized, Youth MinistryTags: Dealing with Conflict
Conventional wisdom (and research) says that good communication can improve relationships, increasing intimacy, trust and support. The converse is also true: poor communication can weaken bonds, creating mistrust and even contempt! The Scriptures also tell us that it is wise to be slow to speak and quick to listen. Here are some examples of negative and even [...]
Ten Strategies for Working with Boys
Posted: July 29, 2010 in Adolescent Development, Mental Health, Parenting, Teens, Youth MinistryTags: Boys
Research from Nancy Bayley’s at UCLA showed that for boys more than girls there is indeed a direct link to learning difficulties when early childhood touch and attachment doesn’t occur or occurs inconsistently. In her study, boys who experienced insecure attachment as infants tested out lower in adolescent intellectual skills than girls who did not receive secure attachment. Although [...]
To Be A Boy
Posted: July 21, 2010 in Adolescent Development, Parenting, Teens, Youth MinistryTags: Dating, Male Sexuality, Teen Boys
When I pause and watch the teenage age boys in our community, and when I reflect on my own adolescent experience, I begin to understand the struggle that every boy confronts in his efforts to navigate adolescence. He is faced with a complex set of internal demands: sexual drives, longing to give and receive love, the drive [...]
Roles Of Children In Dysfunctional Families
Posted: July 6, 2010 in Adolescent Development, Depression, Drug Abuse, Mental Health, Parenting, Substance Abuse, TeensTags: Dysfunctional Families
When we think of a DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY it’s like a machine which is run by gears with weak or cracked cogs. As one cog breaks it puts more stress on the other cogs of that gear and then on other cogs of other gears. Eventually the whole machine shuts down. DYSFUNCTION means just that: unable [...]
