The Joyful Family

How can you bring more joy into your family? By creating situations and celebrations that bring the family together for meaningful moments. The Joyful Family presents more than 70 tools and activities for creating and maintaining family togetherness and provides concrete strategies for designing new traditions. The book is organized into the different types of events that can be marked by celebration, with chapters such as "Marking Milestones" and "Making the Ordinary Special." Each chapter contains 4-6 wonderfully guided activities, complete with situations, objectives, and lists of materials needed. At the core of the book are heartfelt stories from the lives of the authors and their students and clients.

Lighting candles is joyful. Playing outside is joyful. Singing holiday songs is joyful. Learning new traditions is joyful. Whether it's celebrating a holiday, sharing a meal, or learning new things, The Joyful Book inspires readers of all ages to spread the joy near and far, to loved ones and friends. With his renowned blend of warmth, humor, and heart, Todd Parr encourages young readers to look for ways that joy surrounds them in some of the world's most widely celebrated holidays, from Hanukkah to Kwanzaa to Lunar New Year.

The brand new thriller from the No.1 Kindle bestselling author of The Perfect Couple and Am I Guilty? “Filled with suspense, intrigue and a cast of engaging characters. Fabulous!” Lucy Clarke, author of The Castaways “Suspicion, secrets and shocking reveals!” Sarah Linley, author of The Trip

One of the world’s foremost experts on anxiety in children provides a guide to recognizing and alleviating a range of debilitating fears. Anxiety affects more children and teens than any other psychiatric illness, but it’s also the most treatable emotional disorder. Some 25 percent of children and adolescents will suffer an anxiety disorder at several points in their lifetime, resulting in serious problems in their ability to function in school, with peers, and on a general day-to-day basis. A renowned researcher and clinician who has developed groundbreaking, proven coping strategies illuminates a new path to fear-free living for families. You and Your Anxious Child differentiates between separation anxiety, generalized anxiety, and social phobia, and guides parents on when and how to seek intervention. With moving case studies, such as Jon’s, whose mother quit her job because his separation anxiety compelled her to stay with him full-time, this book elucidates the nightmare that families can be living, and helps them understand that they are not alone. Every step of the way, Albano illustrates proven therapies to manage anxiety issues in children while addressing the emotional needs of parents, too. You and Your Anxious Child brings much-needed hope to families, helping them shape a positive new vision of the future.

It's time to break the cycle. Not every family is the perfect model of Catholic family life. Some of us approach parenting still wounded by childhood experiences that were less than ideal. When we start our own families, at best we feel a bit unprepared, and at worst we feel paralyzed with fear that we will repeat our parents' dysfunctional, abusive behaviors. In All Things New, Erin McCole Cupp draws on her own and others' experiences to discuss how to develop a joyful family life when our own experience of being parented was damaging. Erin wrote this book for moms and dads who want to parent better than they themselves were parented. Drawing on the Holy Family as the model of family life, and distilling practical lessons from the Two Greatest Commandments and the Beatitudes, All Things New shows readers that, while change isn't easy, God has given us all the ingredients we need to create a holy, joyful family.

Do you feel that your family is not what it used to be, or what it has the potential to be? Do you worry that the parenting decisions you're making today may be scarring your child for life? Do you sometimes feel you are in a tug-of-war with the world over who will shape your child's values and beliefs? With Family First: Your Step-by-Step Plan for Creating a Phenomenal Family, Dr. Phil offers a new classic on family life—and gives parents real answers and a plan for being the most positive and effective parents possible. Starting right now, you can begin to make realistic choices and take day-to-day actions that can make your family phenomenal. You must decide that you will lead your family with strength and love and that peace and joy are not just for the people next door or on TV. They're for your family. In Family First, Dr. Phil gives it to parents straight: even in this fast-paced world your family should be the center of your life and your child's life. Parenting is the most important and noble act you will ever undertake, yet American families are threatened like never before from the inside as well as the outside—many of us fight too much, don't get involved enough in our children's lives, or get bogged down in life's daily struggles instead of keeping our eye on the big picture of our family's well-being. Dr. Phil has been working with families for over twenty-five years to help them repair the fissures that have fractured their home lives. In Family First, he provides a proven action plan to help parents determine the strengths and weaknesses of their parenting style. His seven tools for purposeful parenting cover the most important elements for any parent: parenting for success—for the purpose of raising cooperative, caring, and competent children. Exercises, scripts, assessments, solutions for specific problems, and precise directions for implementing the steps you need to take are all included in this landmark work. Dr. Phil shows parents how to make changes now—how to put a stop to your children's tantrums; talk to them about peer pressure or self-esteem; instill values like integrity, honesty, and respect for other people; and bring order back to your house. If you want your child to have a happy, fulfilled life, you must open your eyes to the crucial role you play in his or her development. Most importantly, Dr. Phil's new book offers you and your family hope—for a phenomenal home life now, and a productive, fulfilling future for your children. As Dr. Phil says, you are not just raising children, you are also raising adults, and everything you do today impacts what kind of adult your child will become. You are building the future.

When you learn to awaken your family’s creativity, wonderful things will happen: you’ll make meaningful connections with your children in large and small ways; your children will more often engage in their own creative discoveries; and your family will embrace new ways to relax, play, and grow together. With just the simple tools around you—your imagination, basic art supplies, household objects, and natural materials—you can transform your family life, and have so much more fun! Amanda Soule has charmed many with her tales of creativity and parenting on her blog, SouleMama. Here she shares ideas and projects with the same warm tone and down-to-earth voice. Perfect for all families, the wide range of projects presented here offers ideas for imaginative play, art and crafts, nature explorations, and family celebrations. This book embraces a whole new way of living that will engage your children’s imagination, celebrate their achievements, and help you to express love and gratitude for each other as a family. To learn more about the author, Amanda Soule, visit her blog at www.SouleMama.com.

What separates happy marriages from miserable ones? Surprisingly, it’s not healthy communication. It’s not conflict resolution skills. It’s actually the size of the marriage’s joy gap . Joy Gap/joi gap/ (n.)-1. The length of time between moments of shared joy When the joy gap gets bigger, problems are more likely to overwhelm you, resentment creeps in, and you start to feel distant and alone in your marriage. When the joy gap is smaller, you regularly feel connected and happy, problems feel manageable, and your marriage becomes a reliable source of joy. But how do you ensure that you’re experiencing joy regularly? Marcus Warner and Chris Coursey have studied relationships (and neuroscience) and discovered four habits that keep joy regular and problems small. Some couples do them naturally, but anyone can learn. That’s why each chapter includes 15-minute exercises that boost joy and re-train your brain to make joy your default setting. You’ll learn new skills including how to: return to joy more quickly after disconnection create stronger bonds and elongate times of happiness boost your enjoyment of physical and emotional intimacy Find out what your marriage looks like after a little work and a whole lot of joy.