As loving, caring parents we try hard to do the best we can to raise our children well, but sometimes we find ourselves parenting in the trenches. Our children's lives have not...
Parenting in the Trenches
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Scripture
10 Tips to Help Parents Build Stronger Bridges
We need healthy boundaries with our children, but we also need bridges. Boundaries are good stewardship of ourselves. They help us know what is and what is not our...
Nature: Relief for Weary Parents to Destress and Restore
Fjords National Park, New Zealand Today I welcome guest blogger Kirsten Panachyda, author and mom of a son with mental health challenges. We all carry a lot of stress as parents...
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...
A Hurting Parent’s Freedom Song
Today is the 4th of July. Thinking about what this holiday means caused me to ask myseslf: How can parents whose children are in bondage to drug or alcohol abuse, self-injury of...
7 Tips When Mother’s Day Hurts
MOTHER'S DAY IS TODAY. If you have a child who struggles with addiction, mental illness, suicidal thoughts, gender identity, is incarcerated, or has other issues, today is...
A Story of Hope for Parents in Pain
When parents in pain center their attention on their problems, they lose their focus...and their hope. When we're consumed with fear and what-ifs, it's an indicator we don't...
A Special Post-Easter Message for Parents in Pain
Can you believe Easter has already passed? COVID still hangs in the air leaving many of us with an uncertain future and a less than lighthearted feeling--similar to how we feel...
Sometimes Parents Feel Guilty
My daughter was going to rehab. She had graduated from high school only a few months earlier. Shocked, I didn't want to believe it could be true. My daughter needs a residential...
Something Weary Parents Lack
Weary parents who are worn out from dealing with their troubled children lack something. Moms and dads whose kids suffer with mental illness but refuse help, who have a problem...
Are there Any Promises for Parents in Pain?
Are there any promises for parents in pain? Moms and dads whose deeply troubled teen or adult children continuously spiral in and out of chaos want some kind of guaranteed...