Tag Archives: Character

Winning in the Game of Life

The internet astounds me. I love the way it connects us with people from all over the world and all walks of life, who might not otherwise have met. Recently Dr Jeffrey Brown, a clinical and sport psychologist on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, contacted me. He’d been reading some of my blogs here at families.com on Christian parenting. As a result, he thought I might be interested in reading his book, ‘The Competitive Edge – how to win every time you compete,’ and had his publisher send me a copy. If you think the idea of winning every … Continue reading →

How Honest, Are You, Really?

The bible tells us, ‘do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,’ Colossians 3:9. But can you say you don’t lie. How honest are you really? Take this quiz and find out. If your friend is wearing an outfit and she/he asks you for you opinion and you think it looks awful, do you a. Tell them it doesn’t suit them and tell them exactly why. b. Say the color looks good on them. c. Suggest something else that does look good on them. d. Change the subject If you don’t … Continue reading →

Capturing Character Traits

This is part four in a six part series about capturing the complete personalities and uniqueness of the individuals who adorn our scrapbook pages. This article focuses on capturing each individual’s unique character traits and the qualities that make them who they are. Please keep in mind that not only does this work on your children, but also on you, your significant other and friends and family members. We are all full of traits that make us who we are. Sometimes we actually can get a photograph of someone that captures a trait or two, but there are things that … Continue reading →

How Old Before They Understand Stealing?

As parents, we can get quite alarmed with what we think is immoral behavior in our children—lying and stealing are two behaviors that can be big triggers for a great many parents. What seems incredibly obvious and “wrong” to us, however, may be a concept that our child has either not grasped developmentally yet, or that takes a while for the lessons to truly sink in. While we begin correcting and trying to teach our children right from wrong from a very early age, and we certainly want to try to correct them when they lie and/or take something that … Continue reading →

Is Hypocrisy Holding You Back?

What do you stand for? What are your belief systems, values, and personal motivations? As a mom, I have found that my kids are great critics of whether or not I am being true to my convictions and whether or not my actions and my declared beliefs match. I think single parents can be especially susceptible to hypocrisy as we might be trying so hard to look like “other families” or appear as we think a socially sanctioned “normal” family appears, that we are not really being honest and true to our own inner guidance. My kids are great gauges … Continue reading →

Keeping Ego in Check

I do a bit of wrestling with the role of my EGO in my home business. I do not always think that ego is a bad thing, but it can get out of control. Trying to figure out when to allow it to run free and give it my ego the upper hand, and when I need to get a grip and let other parts of my psyche rule can be a bit of a challenge when it comes to the entrepreneurial process… Ego is a hard concept for me anyway–I have read so many conflicting things that I am … Continue reading →

Rising to the Occasion

When I was writing earlier today about how we can gain perspective as single parents and suggesting ways to NOT focus on how bad we might think we have things, I realized that I know several single parents, or people who have had a hard time that have surprised themselves with how they have been able to adjust. I really do think we are all capable of rising to the occasion and once we expand to meet the challenges of what life has asked of us, we are often able to see how capable we really are. We humans can … Continue reading →

How Will Our Children Remember Us?

When I am tempted to get snarky and bitter or say something about my children’s father that I may regret, I ask myself a simple question: How do I want my children to remember me as a parent? While I understand that I cannot control everything and certainly will not be able to dictate how my kids think of me years from now, I can make personal choices now that may cause them to remember me with fondness and respect. It is easy to get caught up in the moment and say whatever comes to mind. Not to mention, we … Continue reading →

They Have to Learn To Make Decisions

Sometimes I think that life really is just a series of choices and decisions. I don’t want to minimize things and I’m always willing to entertain discussions about fate and such–but I do believe that our children need to learn how to make decisions–from the smallest of choicest to the big problems that will need to be solved. As parents, we can help them to learn how to face up to all these choices and make the best decisions possible at any given time… When our children are tiny, we make decisions for them. We decide when they should go … Continue reading →

Helping Them See Beneath the Surface

Kids tend to be pretty black and white in their thinking and in how they see the world. They also have a tendency to be judgmental and come to snap decisions about things–at least during the adolescent years. As parent, we can help them learn how to open up and see beyond what is obvious; we can help them look for motivations and see beneath the surface of what appears to be going on. Children can be so “in the moment” and this has some really wonderful things about it. BUT, that can also result in an inability to see … Continue reading →