Relationship

24 09, 2018

Time of Non-conflict (TONIC)

By Shelly and Rich Howard|2018-09-24T13:47:45-06:00September 24th, 2018|Marriage, Parenting, Relationship|

Blah. Blah blah. Blah. Blah, blah, blah! This is the sound or noise that children, spouses, and friends hear when we try to communicate during times of conflict. Meaningful conversations and effective communication never occurs when people are angry, frustrated, exhausted, feeling defensive or mentally preoccupied. You cannot teach a child the principles of self-control while they are having a “level 10” meltdown in the grocery store. Nor can you discuss marital issues (parenting, finances, [...]

17 09, 2018

Do as I say not as I do

By Shelly and Rich Howard|2018-09-17T15:33:40-06:00September 17th, 2018|Family Culture, Parenting, Relationship|

As parents, spouses, friends, and coworkers, it is much easier to give advice or instruction than to lead as the proper example ourselves. Often times it’s the old expression, “Do as I say, not as I do!” Of course we would never say that out loud, but subconsciously we probably say this more often than we care to admit. We know that we have caught ourselves plenty of times in these circumstances! When our boys [...]

20 08, 2018

Marriage First

By Shelly and Rich Howard|2018-08-21T13:47:48-06:00August 20th, 2018|Family Culture, Marriage, Relationship|

Having a healthy and thriving family begins with a health marriage. We believe that the marriage relationship should be the first priority within the family structure… even before our kids! In today’s society, there is constant pressure to put our children first above EVERYTHING else in the family environment. This misguided prioritization can ultimately lead to child-centered parenting and even divorce. Don’t get us wrong. Our children are a top priority. And just because we [...]

14 08, 2018

Fear and Doubt – God’s Gifts

By Lis and Dave Marr|2018-08-17T12:03:47-06:00August 14th, 2018|Parenting, Personal, Relationship|

It has been well said about courage that courage isn’t the absence of fear, but forward action in the presence of fear. We offer, then, that faith isn’t the absence of doubt, but forward action in the presence of doubt. Courage imagines a scenario where a person must protect life and limb, or their self-concept, often with adrenaline juicing up the moment. Faith is harder to act forward because doubt is more subtle than fear. [...]

31 07, 2018

Getting FROM the Day

By Lis and Dave Marr|2018-07-31T13:01:40-06:00July 31st, 2018|Family Culture, Parenting, Relationship|

Talking AT or Talking WITH Growing up, Dave’s dad would lecture. Great guy and all, but with a military background Dave’s dad wasn’t used to engagement. He would talk AT Dave. As a result, Dave often was frustrated with just standing there listening. Dave often thought he’d heard it before, so he’d say, “Yeah Dad, I know.” That response would upset his dad as being disrespectful and the heat would go up. Now, 40+ years later, Dave’s [...]

23 07, 2018

Coffee House Debacle

By Shelly and Rich Howard|2018-07-23T15:20:02-06:00July 23rd, 2018|Parenting, Relationship|

Have you ever considered why some of the simplest outings with our young children can go horribly wrong? How difficult can it be to have coffee with friends…Right?!?! Our friend Rachel is a busy mom of three boys, who just wanted to get coffee with a friend one day. Here is a wonderful story of what happened and what she learned from her frustrating and embarrassing experience. Children run amok over lattes as I recall [...]

18 07, 2018

Camping Vacations!!

By Lis and Dave Marr|2018-07-18T08:50:14-06:00July 18th, 2018|Family Culture, Relationship|

Neither of us had done much camping growing up, so when we were invited to join some new friends to go camping, we jumped at the chance. Despite our little boy being only 1, we were sure it would be great fun. Ahem. Snow Mountain Ranch, the YMCA of the Rockies, is nestled among the lodge pole pines in near Winter Park. Before we were invited, the group had been doing the Labor Day weekend [...]

10 07, 2018

Travel Buddy or Travel Bandit?

By Lis and Dave Marr|2018-07-11T09:36:35-06:00July 10th, 2018|Family Culture, Parenting, Relationship|

Since we’re amidst the travel season, we thought it’d be appropriate to talk about traveling with children. This week is about planes, trains and automobiles, but next week is about camping. Yes, parents love their kids, but those rose-tinted glasses get a good cleaning when kids suffer the gauntlet of cramped seating, long waits, time changes, strange food, disrupted sleep schedules, and stressed parents. Strangers will give your parenting ability the evil eye if your [...]

25 06, 2018

Don’t Forget the Orange Slices!

By Shelly and Rich Howard|2018-06-26T10:31:17-06:00June 25th, 2018|Family Culture, Parenting, Personal, Relationship|

1.47 million orange slices! That’s how many orange slices our family provided throughout the years at our boys activities and sporting events. Or at least it felt like that many! So what’s deal with orange slices anyway?!?! When Trevor and Alex were young, their favorite thing, like most of the kids that age, was the orange slices at the end of the game or activity. For them, nothing was better than to share delicious, sweet [...]

12 06, 2018

5 Elements of a Good Dad

By Lis and Dave Marr|2018-06-12T07:01:18-06:00June 12th, 2018|Family Culture, Parenting, Relationship|

As Dave was driving with his young family through a mostly empty parking lot after attending parenting class, he slammed on the brakes, “OOOHHH!!!”, he yelled. Lis and the kids were alarmed. “WHAT?!! What’s wrong?!” “OH! MY! GOSH!!!” Dave exclaimed. “What daddy, what is it?!” the kids in the back seat were tense. “I LOVE YOUR MOM AND YOU GUYS SOOOO MUCH!!!” The tension in the air popped. Dad was just goofin’ again. “Daaaadyyyy!” Lis [...]