Eric Walden
PS. I want to let you all know that I am running a special for the New Year. If you purchase 12 sessions you will receive 3 free sessions. Check out my website for pricing details. www.waldospersonaltraining.com
Monday, December 28, 2009
Quick Workout
Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope you all had a great Christmas and got to spend lots of time with family and friends. I had a great time with my family. It is the first time my wife and I hosted a Christmas party. It was a lot of work but fun at the same time. I definitely over indulged in food. I came up with this short work out to help burn off those extra calories that we put on. The video is about 7 minutes long but it takes you through step by step of each exercise and how to do it. I hope you enjoy.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
"Mistaken Identity", Eric's Tips, OCD, Respectful Kids-starts with us!
Merry Christmas!!! This time of year I want to make sure to take the time to ponder and revel in the eternal gift God gave to us in Jesus. I do not want to let myself get caught in the trap and character assassin of business and frenzy. I constantly seek with the Holy Spirit's help to make certain I do the important and not the urgent.
"Mistaken Identity", by the VanRyn's and Cerak's
Annika and I and many of my woman's bible study group were honored last Saturday to hear Colleen and Newell Cerak speak in my friend Shelly's home for over 90 minutes. They are the co-authors of the book "Mistaken Identity", about the tragic Taylor University accident over 3 years ago, where 5 people were killed in an auto accident on I69, and their daughter Whitney was one of the 5 declared dead. Then 5 weeks later they discovered actually Whitney was alive, and had been mistaken for Laura VanRyn... The following is my notes and lessons from their testimony, which was so moving that even my 9 year old Annika was totally attentive the entire time (and she has been sharing what she learned with many, and is learning more as she reads their book). Matt Lauer of the Today Show has emotionally said that the Cerak's and the VanRyn's are the most impressive people he has ever interviewed. The Cerak's live in Gaylord, MI and were here to speak at a church, and stayed with Shelly, who has been their long time friend (and they are happy to share their testimony and faith with any group or church, and just ask travel expenses).
After being told their daughter had died in the crash (and Newell has out of town at the time helping with Hurricane Katrina aftermath)...
Christians do not grieve as the world grieves, and they made Whitney's funeral a God-centered celebration. They were given the energy and strength for the funeral with their older daughter Carly's insistence they had to spend 2 hours alone together in prayer beforehand. They had Whitney's bible, and discovered she had been underlining meaningful passages to her months before the crash. Some that really spoke to them were Ps 105:4, 63:3, 62:5-8, 84:1-2, and they spent their 2 hours of prayer spent around Whitney's bible and some worship music. Then on Mother's Day which closely followed her funeral, Carly gave Colleen a card signed, "Your favorite daughter here on earth".
Newell was out of town on a youth Christian conference, and Colleen received a phone call at 5am to bring Whitney's dental records to a Grand Rapids rehab hospital. The Cerak's overwhelming joy at having their daughter alive became the VanRyn's pain, however the VanRyn's were so gracious and happy for them. Even though the world would think that theirs was not a happy ending, the VanRyn's knew that they and their daughter Laura who had died had the most happy ending - Heaven! Through all this and the following rehab for Whitney, God perfectly placed and timed so very many people to help and support the Cerak's.
Whitney's remarkable rehab and recovery...
A neuropsychologist said trauma to the brain is like a hurricane ripping through a forest of trees (the brain's connections being like the trees) - some are broken and some totally uprooted. When they first met Whitney again 5 weeks after the crash, her neuropsych testing did not even register her being in late preschool development. With rehab all summer with her sister and family, Whitney tested at the 8th grade level in August. She then wanted to return to Taylor for her sophmore year, and they modified classes for her. Whitney had a very difficult time that semester with being different and not funny any longer, and really missed her old self. Carly told her, "I miss the old Whitney too, but I love the new Whitney". On Thanksgiving, Whitney's neuropsych testing showed she was at a junior level in college!
Colleen's Lesson's
1. God is in control and His strength will carry you through, and He knows the big picture from the very beginning. She says she is a type A personality and likes to control/do, but she learned dramatically with the 2 hours of prayer before funeral preparations the power of time with God and letting Him control. Nothing is better than time alone with God and preparing ourselves with God's word. He is the foundation and strength underneath and within us. Remember to note and underline in your Bible.
2. Miracles do happen all the time, and stop whining and complaining and forgetting. Satan wants to disrupt, but God can use all for HIs glory. Colleen encourages us to break routines and desire God in the way He deserves to be desired.
Newell's Lessons
1. All Christians have their safety in Jesus and eternal Heaven, and through this Newell had his perspective totally change in regards to his family's safety. He no longer worries about their safety, but prays for safety of loved ones and others who do not know or accept Jesus.
2. God loves us just the way we are, and releases us to be who He wants. Our identity and value is in God and Jesus Christ, and He never changes. Our identity is not in our work or life here or our humor - that would be mistaken identity.
3. Crises will come and go, but God is still God no matter what the crises. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and we can always depend upon God. We will never be the same - our lives are in constant transition. We are not called to be normal, but to be bold and not afraid to share our faith and our source of strength. (The VanRyn's and Cerak's twice refused to appear on Oprah because she did not let her guests talk about the one true God. Only until Oprah agreed to let them share this and all their story and faith did they appear on Oprah to talk about their story and book.)
I asked about how they kept their marriage strong through the crises. They said that they focused and were attentive to their bond of at first of grieving together and then working together with God at their focus and center. They rely on God's strength and pray together daily. I then shared trainer Eric's visual of a triangle with God at the top and each partner/spouse at the bottoms of the triangle - the closer you each get to God, the closer you are together...
Where is Whitney now? (And she does not want her story as a movie.) She is a missionary in Africa with her sister Carly, and totally has her humor and personality back. Her longtime boyfriend since high school just asked her to marry him, and they will be getting married in the spring or early summer (and then he will be deployed in the summer).
Eric's Fitness Tips
By
Eric Walden
The holidays can be a joyous time of year shared with family and friends, but they can also bring stress and anxiety as we struggle to keep up with often-unrealistic demands and expectations. That's why it is so important for all of us to relax and take good care of ourselves.
ACE's (www.acefitness.org) top tips for surviving the holidays are great for increasing your energy and reducing your stress, this season and all year long.
Take time for yourself. Although spending time with friends and family is essential, it's also important to have at least five minutes to yourself to relax. Try practicing deep breathing exercise when you feel stressed out.
Don't set unrealistic exercise goals. Aim to exercise 20 minutes a day instead of an hour. You'll be sure to get at least 20 minutes of exercise per day without feeling disappointed if you do not complete an hour.
Enlist a friend or family member to exercise with you. Walking and talking with a friend can be a great way to burn extra calories and reduce your stress level.
Create new, more active traditions. Instead of throwing a dessert or cocktail party, try snowshoeing or ice-skating as an alternate holiday event. Play powder puff football or build a snowman.
Don't try to lose weight or stick to a restrictive diet this holiday season. If you enjoy your favorite foods in small portions, you'll feel more satisfied. Trying to stay away from certain foods may leave you feeling deprived, which may cause you to eat more than you intended to.
Drink plenty of water. Although the cold weather may make you less inclined to grab a glass of water, it is just as important in the winter as it is during the summer. Water helps counter the dehydrating effects of travel or drinking alcoholic beverages, and it may also help satiate your appetite since thirst is often mistaken for hunger.
Spread out meals. Don't feel like you have to eat everything at once. Try eating dinner early and then taking a walk before sitting down for dessert.
Don't overdo it with alcohol or caffeine. These stimulants will only cause you more grief in the end by adding to your feelings of stress. Try drinking hot herbal tea instead of coffee, and keep the number of alcoholic drinks to a minimum.
Don't aim for perfection, and enjoy the imperfections. There is no such thing as the perfect party or the perfect decorations or the perfect way to spend the holidays. Don't set yourself up for disappointment by placing unrealistic demands on yourself.
Laugh. Laughing is a great tension reliever. It burns calories, reduces stress and usually means that you're enjoying yourself.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Family and Faith - from Eric
This week I am writing of one of Eric's tips for spiritual/mental and relationship fitness. He shared this with my daughter Christina who was talking with him about how she and her boyfriend were lately were not as in sync. Eric asked about how their relationship and time spent with God was lately. He then taught (and drew out) the lesson about the triangle with God at the top, and she and her boyfriend at each bottom. Eric drew arrows on each side of the triangle going from the bottom to the top and the top to the bottom. Then he explains that as you can see with that triangle, the closer each of you get to God, the closer you are together (and the farther you get away from God, the farther you are apart)... Thanks Eric!!!
(PS When he trains clients, he does not bring up spiritual and faith issues unless his clients bring it up and ask him, but he has such a wealth and depth of it!)
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD
OCD has a lifetime incidence of about 2%, with symptom usually beginning in adolescence, and can cause marked distress and disability (and can be associated with depression, panic disorders, and substance abuse). OCD interferes with family and social relationships and work performance and is likely to persist without effective treatment. People are often embarrassed and reluctant to report OCD symptoms. If the diagnosis of OCD is suspected, these two screening questions can help decide - Do you have thoughts that are hard for you to get out of your mind? Do you feel the need to perform certain tasks that you really don't want to do or don't make sense over and over?
Obessions are recurrent intrusive thoughts or images which cause significant distress. Compulsions are repetitive activities to try to counteract the anxiety caused by the obsessions. Common obsessions are need for order (intense distress when things are disordered or asymmetric), repeated doubts (eg. wondering if an alarm was set), contamination (dirty from shaking hands, etc.), sexual imagery (recurrent porn images of thoughts), religious (excessive concern about unknowingly sinning or bad thoughts), and aggressive impulses (images of hurting a relative or person). Common compulsions are checking (repeated checking doors, alarms, appliances), cleaning (handwashing, housecleaning), ordering (reordering things to achieve symmetry), mental acts (counting, repeating words, praying), repetitive actions (like walking in/out of doorway multiple times), hoarding (saving rash/unnecessary things), and reassurance seeking (asking others continually for reassurance).
Treatment for OCD is through education, support, behavioral therapies, and medicine, though if usually takes weeks and months for the best effects/results of these treatments. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been proven effective for OCD, and is done under the direction of a trained counselor. They teach people with OCD to confront their obsessions and to avoid performing the compulsive behaviors. The best medicine for treating OCD is an SSRI like Prozac, Paxil, or Zoloft. For effectiveness in OCD, they are often needed in their maximal dosages and may take longer than usual to notice their effectiveness (even 10 - 12 weeks). Medical therapy then should be continued at least 2 years, and often for a lifetime. If an SSRI is not effective, another medicine can be added or switched to like clomipramine (Anafranil), or Effexor, or an anti-psychotic mood stabilizing medicine (like Risperdal, Seroquel, Haldol, or Abilify). Natural medicine therapies include the CBT and moderate intensity aerobic exercise (but St. John's wort has not been shown to help OCD).
Family and Faith
Parenting Tip - from the book "Respectful Kids - The Complete Guide to Bringing Out the Best in Your Child", by Dr. Todd Cartmell
I am just starting to read this book, and Dr. Cartmell suggests as we work to teach our children respect, that us parents need to first look in the mirror - are we a picture of compassion and understanding or of unreasonable expectations?, a picture of unshakeable honesty or of shading the truth when it's more convenient?, a picture of taking personal responsibility or of making excuses?, a picture that encourages others or that tears them down?, a picture of self control or of abusive anger?, and a picture that can be flexible or that becomes unyielding?.
Dr, Cartmell gives the illustration of how you vitally need the picture on the cover of a jigsaw puzzle to put the puzzle together. We as parents are the picture God has placed in our children's lives. We are the picture on the top that they cannot do without, and are constantly studying to figure out the jigsaw of their lives. So as always with parenting, we must start with studying and working upon ourselves.
How can we be the pictures God intends us to be? Dr. Cartmell teaches four steps we need to work with God upon - first to identify those aspects of our behavior that need to change, surrender that area to God, take it out of the closet, and get specific about how to move toward change. "Through these four steps, God can begin to shape our lives into the picture our children need to look at every day, and then our children will find it easier to become everything God has made them to be."
He identifies aspects that may need to change are -
-How we talk to our spouse
-The amount of time we spend with our kids
"Mistaken Identity", by the VanRyn's and Cerak's
Annika and I and many of my woman's bible study group were honored last Saturday to hear Colleen and Newell Cerak speak in my friend Shelly's home for over 90 minutes. They are the co-authors of the book "Mistaken Identity", about the tragic Taylor University accident over 3 years ago, where 5 people were killed in an auto accident on I69, and their daughter Whitney was one of the 5 declared dead. Then 5 weeks later they discovered actually Whitney was alive, and had been mistaken for Laura VanRyn... The following is my notes and lessons from their testimony, which was so moving that even my 9 year old Annika was totally attentive the entire time (and she has been sharing what she learned with many, and is learning more as she reads their book). Matt Lauer of the Today Show has emotionally said that the Cerak's and the VanRyn's are the most impressive people he has ever interviewed. The Cerak's live in Gaylord, MI and were here to speak at a church, and stayed with Shelly, who has been their long time friend (and they are happy to share their testimony and faith with any group or church, and just ask travel expenses).
After being told their daughter had died in the crash (and Newell has out of town at the time helping with Hurricane Katrina aftermath)...
Christians do not grieve as the world grieves, and they made Whitney's funeral a God-centered celebration. They were given the energy and strength for the funeral with their older daughter Carly's insistence they had to spend 2 hours alone together in prayer beforehand. They had Whitney's bible, and discovered she had been underlining meaningful passages to her months before the crash. Some that really spoke to them were Ps 105:4, 63:3, 62:5-8, 84:1-2, and they spent their 2 hours of prayer spent around Whitney's bible and some worship music. Then on Mother's Day which closely followed her funeral, Carly gave Colleen a card signed, "Your favorite daughter here on earth".
Newell was out of town on a youth Christian conference, and Colleen received a phone call at 5am to bring Whitney's dental records to a Grand Rapids rehab hospital. The Cerak's overwhelming joy at having their daughter alive became the VanRyn's pain, however the VanRyn's were so gracious and happy for them. Even though the world would think that theirs was not a happy ending, the VanRyn's knew that they and their daughter Laura who had died had the most happy ending - Heaven! Through all this and the following rehab for Whitney, God perfectly placed and timed so very many people to help and support the Cerak's.
Whitney's remarkable rehab and recovery...
A neuropsychologist said trauma to the brain is like a hurricane ripping through a forest of trees (the brain's connections being like the trees) - some are broken and some totally uprooted. When they first met Whitney again 5 weeks after the crash, her neuropsych testing did not even register her being in late preschool development. With rehab all summer with her sister and family, Whitney tested at the 8th grade level in August. She then wanted to return to Taylor for her sophmore year, and they modified classes for her. Whitney had a very difficult time that semester with being different and not funny any longer, and really missed her old self. Carly told her, "I miss the old Whitney too, but I love the new Whitney". On Thanksgiving, Whitney's neuropsych testing showed she was at a junior level in college!
Colleen's Lesson's
1. God is in control and His strength will carry you through, and He knows the big picture from the very beginning. She says she is a type A personality and likes to control/do, but she learned dramatically with the 2 hours of prayer before funeral preparations the power of time with God and letting Him control. Nothing is better than time alone with God and preparing ourselves with God's word. He is the foundation and strength underneath and within us. Remember to note and underline in your Bible.
2. Miracles do happen all the time, and stop whining and complaining and forgetting. Satan wants to disrupt, but God can use all for HIs glory. Colleen encourages us to break routines and desire God in the way He deserves to be desired.
Newell's Lessons
1. All Christians have their safety in Jesus and eternal Heaven, and through this Newell had his perspective totally change in regards to his family's safety. He no longer worries about their safety, but prays for safety of loved ones and others who do not know or accept Jesus.
2. God loves us just the way we are, and releases us to be who He wants. Our identity and value is in God and Jesus Christ, and He never changes. Our identity is not in our work or life here or our humor - that would be mistaken identity.
3. Crises will come and go, but God is still God no matter what the crises. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and we can always depend upon God. We will never be the same - our lives are in constant transition. We are not called to be normal, but to be bold and not afraid to share our faith and our source of strength. (The VanRyn's and Cerak's twice refused to appear on Oprah because she did not let her guests talk about the one true God. Only until Oprah agreed to let them share this and all their story and faith did they appear on Oprah to talk about their story and book.)
I asked about how they kept their marriage strong through the crises. They said that they focused and were attentive to their bond of at first of grieving together and then working together with God at their focus and center. They rely on God's strength and pray together daily. I then shared trainer Eric's visual of a triangle with God at the top and each partner/spouse at the bottoms of the triangle - the closer you each get to God, the closer you are together...
Where is Whitney now? (And she does not want her story as a movie.) She is a missionary in Africa with her sister Carly, and totally has her humor and personality back. Her longtime boyfriend since high school just asked her to marry him, and they will be getting married in the spring or early summer (and then he will be deployed in the summer).
Eric's Fitness Tips
By
Eric Walden
The holidays can be a joyous time of year shared with family and friends, but they can also bring stress and anxiety as we struggle to keep up with often-unrealistic demands and expectations. That's why it is so important for all of us to relax and take good care of ourselves.
ACE's (www.acefitness.org) top tips for surviving the holidays are great for increasing your energy and reducing your stress, this season and all year long.
Take time for yourself. Although spending time with friends and family is essential, it's also important to have at least five minutes to yourself to relax. Try practicing deep breathing exercise when you feel stressed out.
Don't set unrealistic exercise goals. Aim to exercise 20 minutes a day instead of an hour. You'll be sure to get at least 20 minutes of exercise per day without feeling disappointed if you do not complete an hour.
Enlist a friend or family member to exercise with you. Walking and talking with a friend can be a great way to burn extra calories and reduce your stress level.
Create new, more active traditions. Instead of throwing a dessert or cocktail party, try snowshoeing or ice-skating as an alternate holiday event. Play powder puff football or build a snowman.
Don't try to lose weight or stick to a restrictive diet this holiday season. If you enjoy your favorite foods in small portions, you'll feel more satisfied. Trying to stay away from certain foods may leave you feeling deprived, which may cause you to eat more than you intended to.
Drink plenty of water. Although the cold weather may make you less inclined to grab a glass of water, it is just as important in the winter as it is during the summer. Water helps counter the dehydrating effects of travel or drinking alcoholic beverages, and it may also help satiate your appetite since thirst is often mistaken for hunger.
Spread out meals. Don't feel like you have to eat everything at once. Try eating dinner early and then taking a walk before sitting down for dessert.
Don't overdo it with alcohol or caffeine. These stimulants will only cause you more grief in the end by adding to your feelings of stress. Try drinking hot herbal tea instead of coffee, and keep the number of alcoholic drinks to a minimum.
Don't aim for perfection, and enjoy the imperfections. There is no such thing as the perfect party or the perfect decorations or the perfect way to spend the holidays. Don't set yourself up for disappointment by placing unrealistic demands on yourself.
Laugh. Laughing is a great tension reliever. It burns calories, reduces stress and usually means that you're enjoying yourself.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Family and Faith - from Eric
This week I am writing of one of Eric's tips for spiritual/mental and relationship fitness. He shared this with my daughter Christina who was talking with him about how she and her boyfriend were lately were not as in sync. Eric asked about how their relationship and time spent with God was lately. He then taught (and drew out) the lesson about the triangle with God at the top, and she and her boyfriend at each bottom. Eric drew arrows on each side of the triangle going from the bottom to the top and the top to the bottom. Then he explains that as you can see with that triangle, the closer each of you get to God, the closer you are together (and the farther you get away from God, the farther you are apart)... Thanks Eric!!!
(PS When he trains clients, he does not bring up spiritual and faith issues unless his clients bring it up and ask him, but he has such a wealth and depth of it!)
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD
OCD has a lifetime incidence of about 2%, with symptom usually beginning in adolescence, and can cause marked distress and disability (and can be associated with depression, panic disorders, and substance abuse). OCD interferes with family and social relationships and work performance and is likely to persist without effective treatment. People are often embarrassed and reluctant to report OCD symptoms. If the diagnosis of OCD is suspected, these two screening questions can help decide - Do you have thoughts that are hard for you to get out of your mind? Do you feel the need to perform certain tasks that you really don't want to do or don't make sense over and over?
Obessions are recurrent intrusive thoughts or images which cause significant distress. Compulsions are repetitive activities to try to counteract the anxiety caused by the obsessions. Common obsessions are need for order (intense distress when things are disordered or asymmetric), repeated doubts (eg. wondering if an alarm was set), contamination (dirty from shaking hands, etc.), sexual imagery (recurrent porn images of thoughts), religious (excessive concern about unknowingly sinning or bad thoughts), and aggressive impulses (images of hurting a relative or person). Common compulsions are checking (repeated checking doors, alarms, appliances), cleaning (handwashing, housecleaning), ordering (reordering things to achieve symmetry), mental acts (counting, repeating words, praying), repetitive actions (like walking in/out of doorway multiple times), hoarding (saving rash/unnecessary things), and reassurance seeking (asking others continually for reassurance).
Treatment for OCD is through education, support, behavioral therapies, and medicine, though if usually takes weeks and months for the best effects/results of these treatments. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been proven effective for OCD, and is done under the direction of a trained counselor. They teach people with OCD to confront their obsessions and to avoid performing the compulsive behaviors. The best medicine for treating OCD is an SSRI like Prozac, Paxil, or Zoloft. For effectiveness in OCD, they are often needed in their maximal dosages and may take longer than usual to notice their effectiveness (even 10 - 12 weeks). Medical therapy then should be continued at least 2 years, and often for a lifetime. If an SSRI is not effective, another medicine can be added or switched to like clomipramine (Anafranil), or Effexor, or an anti-psychotic mood stabilizing medicine (like Risperdal, Seroquel, Haldol, or Abilify). Natural medicine therapies include the CBT and moderate intensity aerobic exercise (but St. John's wort has not been shown to help OCD).
Family and Faith
Parenting Tip - from the book "Respectful Kids - The Complete Guide to Bringing Out the Best in Your Child", by Dr. Todd Cartmell
I am just starting to read this book, and Dr. Cartmell suggests as we work to teach our children respect, that us parents need to first look in the mirror - are we a picture of compassion and understanding or of unreasonable expectations?, a picture of unshakeable honesty or of shading the truth when it's more convenient?, a picture of taking personal responsibility or of making excuses?, a picture that encourages others or that tears them down?, a picture of self control or of abusive anger?, and a picture that can be flexible or that becomes unyielding?.
Dr, Cartmell gives the illustration of how you vitally need the picture on the cover of a jigsaw puzzle to put the puzzle together. We as parents are the picture God has placed in our children's lives. We are the picture on the top that they cannot do without, and are constantly studying to figure out the jigsaw of their lives. So as always with parenting, we must start with studying and working upon ourselves.
How can we be the pictures God intends us to be? Dr. Cartmell teaches four steps we need to work with God upon - first to identify those aspects of our behavior that need to change, surrender that area to God, take it out of the closet, and get specific about how to move toward change. "Through these four steps, God can begin to shape our lives into the picture our children need to look at every day, and then our children will find it easier to become everything God has made them to be."
He identifies aspects that may need to change are -
-How we talk to our spouse
-The amount of time we spend with our kids
-How we express frustration
-The tone and volume of our voice when we correct our children
-The way we work through family problems
-The reasonableness of our expectations in relation to the age and understanding of our children
-How we joke with our kids
-The consistency of our devotional times.
Some specific steps to take to address issues we want to focus on are -
-Make a list of hurtful words you will no longer use
-Commit yourself to apologizing and asking forgiveness from your child every time you lose your temper with her
-Limit Internet and TV time to free up more time to be with your family
-Say one positive thing to each child every day
-Compliment your spouse in front of your kids
-Physically touch each child in a caring, appropriate way every day
-Spend a couple minutes at each bedtime asking your child about her day
-Take each child out to breakfast once a month, Lead a short family devotion each morning
-Prepare a family-time discussion once a week
-Read 5 chapters from the Bible each week
-Have a date night with your spouse at least once a month (see me last blog about time with your spouse)
-Pray with your spouse each night before going to bed
-and even Make an appointment with a marriage or family counselor.
I am so grateful for all of you and my many blessings, but primarily and especially eternally grateful to God and our savior Jesus! Remember to keep training our and our children's hearts in gratefulness and values, and very importantly to always want what we have (not have what we want)!
With my Hugs and Prayers for you and your families,
Dr. Lisa
-The tone and volume of our voice when we correct our children
-The way we work through family problems
-The reasonableness of our expectations in relation to the age and understanding of our children
-How we joke with our kids
-The consistency of our devotional times.
Some specific steps to take to address issues we want to focus on are -
-Make a list of hurtful words you will no longer use
-Commit yourself to apologizing and asking forgiveness from your child every time you lose your temper with her
-Limit Internet and TV time to free up more time to be with your family
-Say one positive thing to each child every day
-Compliment your spouse in front of your kids
-Physically touch each child in a caring, appropriate way every day
-Spend a couple minutes at each bedtime asking your child about her day
-Take each child out to breakfast once a month, Lead a short family devotion each morning
-Prepare a family-time discussion once a week
-Read 5 chapters from the Bible each week
-Have a date night with your spouse at least once a month (see me last blog about time with your spouse)
-Pray with your spouse each night before going to bed
-and even Make an appointment with a marriage or family counselor.
I am so grateful for all of you and my many blessings, but primarily and especially eternally grateful to God and our savior Jesus! Remember to keep training our and our children's hearts in gratefulness and values, and very importantly to always want what we have (not have what we want)!
With my Hugs and Prayers for you and your families,
Dr. Lisa
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