Did you realize that the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the time spouses and family members are most ignored? Why? We get so busy doing things for our families that we don't take the time to spend with them. So take a few moments and express your devotion to each other. Are you mutually devoted? Then declare it! There is nothing quite...

“It’s my party and I can cry if I want to.” This was my attitude when my husband, a Marine pilot, was deployed over the holidays. His four deployments have separated us over four Thanksgivings, four Christmases, and of course, four Valentine’s Days. It was hard, especially the first few times. Then I discovered the secret of not only coping,...

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Quality Time: A Family Issue

How does it happen that parents are often so busy with their kids that they can't spend any quality time with them? After school activities, sports, clubs, and all of a parent's own responsibilities are good things, but they can steal time away from having building deep, lasting relationships. How do you seek to spend quality time with your kids? Related...

I have lived at least three days' drive from my grandparents and most of my extended family my entire life. Though it didn't surprise my mother, I know it was hard for her when I followed in her footsteps and moved across the continent from her and my dad. The independence that motivated her to move from Virginia to Ontario, Canada, sight unseen,...

Every December, I involve my entire family in an attempt to establish a Christmas tradition. Finally after years of effort, my perseverance has paid off. I have established one - that being, the annual attempt to establish a Christmas tradition. I have this compelling urge to fabricate moving, sentimental moments for my children to catalog in...

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Bah Humbug. For many people, Christmas is the saddest time of year. In a culture that is obsessed with all things Christmas, it is easy to feel like an alien when our thoughts and feelings are anything but merry. Whether your pain stems from lost loved ones, unfulfilled hopes, shattered dreams or personal...

Where did Santa Claus come from? Let’s journey back to 300 A.D. to the country we now call Turkey.  A young boy named Nicholas has just become an orphan and gone to live with his uncle. A large sum of money was bequeathed to Nicholas, to be presented when he came of age.  Being a wise man of faith, his uncle taught Nicholas about God and giving...