I like surprises. Life is full of them, especially for parents – some are good, some not so good. Our children keep us

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on our toes, more so the older they get. We never know what to expect. You’ve probably experienced plenty of the not-so- good-kind of surprises as the parent of a challenging son or daughter. Addiction, mental health issues, self-injury, sexual identity confusion, and suicide attempts are not only surprising, they’re shocking.

They change you forever – but we believe that with God good things can come from bad things.

Last week my husband Tom and I enjoyed a positive surprise – good coming from the bad. Our surprise took the form of an opportunity: a chance to reach many more hurting parents like you with our message of hope and encouragement.

We had the honor of being interviewed by Dr. James Dobson (founder of Focus on the Family and Family Talk) and Dr. Tim Clinton (president of the AACC – American Association of Christian Counselors) for a future program on Dobson’s Family Talk radio program.

In preparation for the airing of the upcoming radio program we were invited to give a 20 minute talk to the Family Talk staff. This talk was recorded as a Facebook live event. We share the story of our journey with our daughter Renee, our ministry, why we do what we do and a little about my book, You Are Not Alone: Hope for Hurting Parents of Troubled Kids.

Click here to go to their Facebook page and watch the live video. You’ll have to scroll down to when it was posted on December 2nd. You may have already seen it on our HHP Facebook page. I pray our words will bring you comfort and encouragement that indeed, truly, for certain, without a doubt YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

If you like the video, please go to our Hope for Hurting Parents Facebook page (also posted on December 2nd) and share it on your page to help others find us, too.

And if you haven’t purchased a copy of my book yet, Amazon is offering a great price of $10.66 with no shipping if you have Amazon Prime! I wrote it just for you – for your heavy heart, your dashed hopes, your lonely journey. It’s the perfect Christmas gift for yourself, or for a friend who’s struggling.

In mid-January our 2 part interview with Dr. Dobson and Dr. Clinton will be aired. I’ll let you know, so be watching for the announcement!

This hope-filled Bible verse is another great source of encouragement:

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” (Isaiah 9:2).

I pray that today would be the day of it’s dawning in your child’s life and in your own.