Parents who are brokenhearted over their teen or adult children because of their agonizing struggles and destructive choices shed many tears. Reasons vary: addiction, mental...
God Cares When We Cry
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A New Year’s Gift for Hurting Parents
Parenthood changes you. But when your son or daughter has a history of making awful choices, struggles with an addiction, mental illness or with their sexual orientation, the...
When God Makes Hurting Parents Wait
Sick and tired of waiting for change, I wondered how long before for my daughter would be ready to quit drinking and making poor choices? When would she accept help? At 25 she...
Beauty From the Ashes of Having a Self-Destructive Daughter, Part 2
Today's post is part 2 of the beauty I have experienced from the ashes of parenting my self-destructive daughter. To my surprise, I found "gifts" on this long, hard journey. This...
3 “Marathon Parenting” Tips
The journey of parenting a troubled teen or adult is much like running a race, but it's not a sprint, it's a marathon. I was once in great need of some "marathon parenting" tips....
4 Reasons for Parents Not to Give Up On their Troubled Kids
"I give up. I can't do this anymore. It's too hard. I'm not strong enough for the job. It's beyond my capacity. I need help." This was how I felt about the lady finger palms...
A Father’s First Year After His Son’s Suicide
Today's post is one I share every year. The author is one of my guest bloggers, Nick Watts, a father whose son died by suicide six years ago. With beautiful authenticity, Nick...
The Hurricanes of Parenting
We live in Orlando. We experienced hurricane Ian this week. Thankfully, we had minimal damage. The worst has passed us now. After going through a previous hurricane I noticed a...
13 Reasons Why Not: An Open Letter to A Friend Who Died by Suicide
Suicide. This manner of death impacts millions of families worldwide annually. Each year, 34,598 people die by their own hand. An average of 94 people die this way every day. Did...
Dear Depressed Parent, God Will Carry You
Another middle of the night phone call delivered news of yet another hospital stay in the psych ward for my daughter. Cutting herself severly and suffering with an alcohol...
A Goal for Parents in Pain
Parents in pain struggle to make sense of their suffering like anyone else. “We’ve bought the lie that suffering is a mistake,” wrote Kara Tippetts,--a young mom with terminal...
Encouragement for Hurting Parents
Today’s blog post is a collection of quotes from my book, You Are Not Alone: Hope for Hurting Parents of Troubled Kids. I've been a hurting parent in great need of encouragement....