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Harvest House Publishers - Kathi Lipp

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112 pages

English

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You've Invested a Lot in Being a Good Mom...Your kids are in school, doing their chores, and cleaning just enough to keep their rooms from being condemned by the Board of Health. But do you want to connect with your children outside your regular routine and find ways to understand, enjoy, and learn more about them?This handy guide offers a straightforward, workable plan to do just that! Including special tips for single moms, blended families, and moms of teens, you will find inspiration to try simple ideas such asplanning a family fun nightsharing with your child what you like about themsurprising them with a special treatwriting a love note to your childcompleting a fun family projectKathi's warm, funny, and thought-provoking expertise will give you the tools and confidence you need to connect with your kids. Small efforts can make a big difference in the life of a child...and in the life of a mom!

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Publié par	Harvest House Publishers
Date de parution	03 avril 2018
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780736971997
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0600€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE. OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Cover design by Emily Weigel
Published in association with the literary agency of WordServe Literary Group, Ltd., 10152 South Knoll Circle, Highlands Ranch, CO 80130.
SOCIAL STYLE and The SOCIAL STYLE Model and TRACOM are marks of The TRACOM Group. All content is used with permission of The TRACOM Group. Visit www.socialstyle.com for more information.
THE MOM PROJECT
Previously published as 21 Ways to Connect with Your Kids
Copyright 2012 Kathi Lipp
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97408
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
978-0-7369-7198-0 (pbk.)
978-0-7369-7199-7 (eBook)
The Library of Congress has cataloged the earlier printing as follows:
Lipp, Kathi, 1967-
21 ways to connect with your kids / Kathi Lipp with Cheri Gregory.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-7369-2967-7 (pbk.)
1. Parent and child-Religious aspects-Christianity. 2. Child rearing-Religious aspects-Christianity. I. Gregory, Cheri. II. Title.
BV4529.L57 2012
248.8 45-dc23
2012006821
All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author s and publisher s rights is strictly prohibited.
Dedication
To Justen Hunter
Besides making me a mom, you ve made me a better person,
a better writer, and a more faithful follower of God.
And I thank him every day for you.
Acknowledgments
Great thanks go to Erin MacPherson, who kept this book going even when I was not. You are so talented, and I am so grateful.
Thanks to Cheri Gregory for sharing your insight into the personalities with all of us who are trying to parent those kids who are just like us, and nothing like us.
Thanks to all the parents who shared their stories. You made this a much better book.
Thanks to Amanda, Jeremy, Justen, and Kimber. I know you will be able to use these stories with your therapist someday.
So many thanks go to my team: Angela, Sherri, Brooke, Mikkee, Jen, Lynette, Christina, and Kimberly. Thanks for keeping this dog and pony show going, and for loving God and loving families, and serving both.
Thanks go to Rachelle Gardner and to LaRae Weikert, Rod Morris, and the rest of the Harvest House team. No one need remind me that God put me in the best hands in publishing.
Thanks to our families-the Richersons, the Lipps, and the Dobsons-for giving us the best stories.
And finally to Roger. Two single parents. Blending a family. Of four teenagers. If surviving that is not proof of what an amazing godly man you are, nothing is. You rock my world.
Contents
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Part 1: Preparing to Connect
1. The Book I Almost Didn t Write
2. Why You re a Better Parent than You Think You Are
3. Special Blessings: When You Have a Challenging Situation
4. Connecting with Your Kid s Personality
5. A Quick How-To Guide for Part 2: 21 Ways to Connect with Your Kids
Part 2: 21 Ways to Connect with Your Kids
Connection 1: Fifteen Dollar Family Fun Night
Connection 2: Dinner Together
Connection 3: Looking for the Positive
Connection 4: Home, a Safe Place to Land
Connection 5: It s Family Project Time
Connection 6: Serving Together
Connection 7: Invest in Their Passion
Connection 8: Brag on Your Kids According to Their Personality
Connection 9: Build a Legacy
Connection 10: Get the Conversation Started
Connection 11: Go Outside
Connection 12: A Treat Just for Them
Connection 13: Shower Your Kid with Grace
Connection 14: Just Do Something
Connection 15: An Out-of-the-Box Family Challenge
Connection 16: Just the Two of Us
Connection 17: Have a Game Night
Connection 18: Cook Together
Connection 19: Pray for Your Kids
Connection 20: Love Notes
Connection 21: When Are We Going to Get There?
Bonus Connections
50 Ways to Connect with Your Kids
Connecting with Your Kids FAQs
Contact the Author
Overwhelmed
Part 1
Preparing to Connect
1
The Book I Almost Didn t Write
I argued with God for a long time before writing this book.
When I originally came up with the idea to write a book about connecting with your kids, I was on a Mom High. My husband, Roger, and I had been married for five years, and we had successfully blended a family. Two of his, two of mine, my cat, our dog.
Even the challenges I d had with my stepson, Jeremy, after Roger and I got married were a mere memory. We had learned to care for each other, hang out together, and enjoy each other. And my relationship with my stepdaughter, Amanda, was growing, and we loved being together. All our kids would come over for Sunday night dinner and would often hang out during the week. While I knew we were far from perfect parents, I was excited that Roger and I both had close relationships with our kids.
But then all that happy parenting became a memory.
My son, Justen, was going through a tough time in his life. He grew cold and distant from me. We were fighting and arguing and going through an awful, awful time.
And I needed to write a book about how to be close to your kids.
I cried out to God. I felt betrayed by him. I had poured all this love and energy, time and prayer into my son, and he was barely speaking to me. I felt like a failure. I felt like a fraud. And on the rare occasions that Justen and I had a conversation, I would curl up in a ball and cry as soon as we were done talking. I hated where our relationship was.
I talked with my husband about not writing the book. Not out of shame or embarrassment (and trust me, I felt both of those) but simply because I felt like the principles I had practiced didn t work. My son was distant from me, and all the praying in the world was not helping. I asked friends to pray for Justen, pray for me, and pray for what this book was supposed to be about.
I wrote much of this book during my desert time with Justen. I had nothing to hold on to but God s Word, especially Philippians 4:6- Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
So I waited and I prayed. And I prayed some more.
And now, seven years after I finished writing this book, I have a different, longer perspective. God used time and the healing that only he can bring and restored Justen to a good place. It s taken a lot of time and a lot of prayer. But when I talked with Justen s counselor, the one thing he said that I will never forget is this: Justen felt safe enough with you to express his anger to you, because even with all of his anger, he never questioned your love for him.
And now, after going through all that, my publisher and I have decided to update this book. My kids are adults, and I m happy to report that we have a close, loving relationship with each of them (and now one son-in-law, Shaun, whom we adore).
I m afraid that each of my kids have gone through some pretty hard times. And the bad news? Yours will as well. They are going to go through loss and disappointment and sadness, and they are not always going to behave as if all this connecting stuff will make a difference. But let me tell you, seven years after writing this book, I am even more convinced of one thing: It does.
Trust the process and trust your parenting. Be open to change when God or common sense or the needs of your child tell you to. But here is my conviction: We are probably better parents than the world makes us believe. God has given you everything you need. You are not always going to feel like connecting. Do it anyway. Your kids need you to invest in them when they are young so that when they are older, they don t ever have to question your love for them.
2
Why You re a Better Parent than You Think You Are
I can tell you one thing about yourself right off the bat: You re a better parent than you think you are. I know that s a bold statement (especially since we ve never met), but if you are anything like me and my friends, someone needed to tell you that.
I remember looking at the other moms at church, the dads out in the parks pushing their kids on the swings, and just knowing they all had it way more together than I ever would. Those thoughts started exactly one day after I became a parent.
It was time for us to check out of the hospital with Justen, who at one day and nine pounds and four ounces was just about the most terrifying thing I d ever seen in my life. I was having a small (OK, enormous) panic attack. I couldn t believe that the authorities, whoever they were, were going to let me take him home. Didn t they realize I d never handled a human baby before? What kind of broken system do we have that would let me (me!) take home this not-so-tiny baby boy?
And that s when I knew I was sunk. In my mind, no one had ever had those thoughts before. All around me were happy couples who were dying to get their babies home and do what? I really had no idea. But I felt as though everyone else had been given a secret manual, and I had missed that day of orientation.
And the feeling persisted. All the other moms acted as if they had been parenting for decades. They had their parenting methods all picked out and were parenting on purpose.
I had a sneaking suspicion that the