“When Renee leaves our program she won’t be the same person. Even if she relapses, she’ll never be like she was before coming here. She’s going to learn everything she needs to...
Help For The Enabling Parent
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Dad, Mom, I’ve Been Watching Porn by Barb Winters
Welcome today's guest blogger, Barb Winters. Barb and I met at a writer's conference this fall (I also met my last guest blogger there!). Writer's conferences are great places to...
A Hurting Parent’s Christmas Wish List
As the hurting parent of a daughter who wrestled with substance use, self-injury, mental illness, and suicidal tendencies, my Christmas wish list was short. If you're a...
Thanksgiving for Parents in Pain
Thanksgiving is this week. Can parents in pain give thanks? There was a time when I would have answered that question with a hearty, "No way!" What I wrote today is a twist on...
What I Learned the Day My Husband Almost Died
Easter 2017. I had no idea what was about to happen or how my world would be shaken. Life is full of the unexpected. We can’t see what the future holds and I’m glad. Most...
When Parents Feel Powerless
I clicked my cell phone shut and dropped to my knees on the bedroom floor. Tears streamed down my cheeks. How could this happen again? Nothing we do works. We've tried everything...
10 Ways to Guarantee Your Kids Will Never Want to Talk to You
Parents often complain about their teen or adult kids not talking to them. They never call or keep the conversations short, rarely come around, and don’t appear to enjoy spending...
3 Things that Could Help Parents Stop Enabling and Let Go
It’s not easy for a parent to stop enabling and let go, but when your child is involved in self-destructive choices, you need to because it’s the right thing to do—for you and...
3 Steps for Parents in a Desert Season
Welcome today's guest blogger, my friend *Tina Yeager. Deadly viruses and economic struggles have stranded us in a wasteland which seems endless. We hike up one dune of hope for...
4 Explanations for Tragedy: Wisdom for Parents in Pain
While organizing old papers in my office, I came across sermon notes I’d taken when visiting a friend’s church several years ago. I think the pastor's message is helpful for...
For Discouraged Parents: One Thing That Will Never Change
I love my daughter with all my heart. In her teens and young adulthood that love was severely tested. During the years of her substance abuse and untreated mental health needs,...
6 Ways Parents of Troubled Children Can Stay Emotionally Healthy
How can you stay emotionally healthy when your child is troubled? I tried everything I could think of to save my troubled daughter with little success. Feeling inadequate, one...