You will notice on the right, there is a new section on the Passionate Legacy web page called Helpful Document Downloads. Periodically, we will be posting items that we have found useful to print and put up in our house. There will always be two versions of a document, an MS Word version (which can be edited), and a PDF version (use this if you don’t have Word on your computer).

“Where two or three are gathered … someone spills their milk!” The former president of Multnomah University, Dr. Joe Aldrich, used to say this in pointing out the fact that whenever two or more people live in close proximity of each other, some crisis is bound to happen. Some issue, some trouble, some quarrel is going to come up. Conflict is inevitable. But how we handle conflict will be the difference between the road to isolation and alienation, or the path to closeness and a deeper relationship. This is never more true than in the family. Conflict is inevitable, but conflict is also an opportunity! When a conflict is handled…

Many people talk or write about “Phases of Childhood,” or “Stages of Development” for children, and these are important to understand. They deal with observing and understanding the changes that take place in the growth process of a child. But it is arguably more important to understand the “Phases of Parenting” since these deal with applying changes in our goals and practical strategies for dealing with our children in a way that best fits their age. These deal with application rather than just observation. Friendship is not the starting point of parenting, it is the eventual result. Before a healthy friendship is possible, parents must work through three relational building…

Q: My husband and I have a question about our son’s behavior lately. He is three years old and it seems as though he is having trouble listening, following directions, and first time obedience. He seems more whiney and tends to get frustrated more quickly than usual. It’s only been the last couple weeks. We want to know if this behavior is related to the fact that we are expecting our new baby in about 4 weeks. My husband’s parents and sister were out for a visit last week and she has a baby. Our son did very well with her. He wanted to help and was good about sharing…