Online Books Stores

The Blessing

Explains how the biblical gift of "the blessing" is the key to one's self-worth and emotional well-being. Every human needs the gift of "the blessing"-the unconditional love and approval that comes from a healthy relationship with one's parents. In this update to the best-selling classic The Blessing, coauthors John Trent and Gary Smalley offer a fresh perspective on this life-changing gift with solid, practical advice on how to be a blessing as well as how to insure that your parents, spouse, and children all feel the security of family approval. The Blessing powerfully communicates biblical truths on how to instill self-worth and emotional well-being into others based on these five essential elements: Meaningful touch A spoken message Attaching high value Picturing a special future An active commitment No matter the age, the approval of our parents affects how we view ourselves and how we relate to others. So what if we've missed it? The final chapters explain what happens to children who do and how they can learn to live apart from the blessing.

The Everything Parent's Guide To Children With Juvenile Diabetes: R

As a parent of a child diagnosed with diabetes, you are faced with overwhelming, and sometimes frightening, questions like: Will my child be able to eat sweets again? How will I ever be able to let them go out on their own? What is the newest technology and how can it help my child? Is a cure really on the horizon? The Everything Parent's Guide to Children with Juvenile Diabetes helps you cope with the challenges of helping your children live happy, healthy lives while controlling the disease. This reassuring, easy-to-use guide features advice on: Adjusting to life with diabetes Helping your children take control of their health Monitoring diet and insulin levels Handling emergencies Finding support for you and your children The Everything Parent's Guide to Children with Juvenile Diabetes helps parents deal with the challenges you and your child face when living with diabetes--one day at a time.

When The Bough Breaks: Forever After the Death of a Son or Daughter

"For every parent who loses a child, when one life ends another life is forever changed." --from When the Bough BreaksWhen the Bough Breaks presents a breakthrough concept of mourning, documenting the process of evolution from initial grief to an altered outlook on life. Excerpts from interviews with 50 parents who lost a child from five to forty-five trace the road from utter devastation to a revised view of life, resulting in a work that is a tribute to resilience and the indomitable human spirit.Author Judith R. Bernstein, Ph.D., speaks from the dual perspectives of bereaved parent and psychologist. She weaves keen psychological insight with the voices of parents to achieve an intelligent volume that is at once heartbreaking and heartwarming. The wisdom of her science and her heart combine to result in a book that teaches the psychology of bereavement with profound tenderness.

Mean Moms Rule: Why Doing the Hard Stuff Now Creates Good Kids Later

Denise Schipani shares her secret to being a 'Mean Mom,' and why it's better for your kids–and for you–in the long run." —Jen Singer, author You're a Good Mom (and Your Kids Aren't So Bad Either) "'Mean' moms make kids learn to do things for themselves from making breakfast to finding inner peace. I'm hoping I'm a little meaner myself after reading this book." —Lenore Skenazy, founder of the book and blog Free–Range Kids "I've chosen to be the kind of mother I feel is best, and that kind of mother is mean." MEAN MOMS SAY NO. MEAN MOMS ARE CONSISTENT. MEAN MOMS TRUST THEMSELVES. MEAN MOMS DON'T CARE WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING. MEAN MOMS TEACH KIDS THE LIFE SKILLS THEY NEED TO KNOW. MEAN MOMS SLOW IT DOWN. MEAN MOMS FAIL THEIR KIDS A LITTLE BIT EVERY DAY. And mean moms prepare their kids for the world, not the world for their kids, raising children into adults who know how to make themselves happy. Mean Moms Rule. And their kids benefit Denise Schipani writes about all things mean and motherly at www.confessionsofameanmommy.com

Family, The: A Christian Perspective on the Contemporary Home

In considering the meaning of human relationships and family life, the Balswicks integrate a biblically based Christian perspective with insights from psychological and sociological studies. They give excellent insight into the many stages, functions, and problems that affect family life, and explore the implications of four central themes found throughout the Bible: covenant, grace, empowering, and intimacy. (57)

Say Bump and Take a Left. How I Birthed a Baby and a Business After a Hu

Picture this: A woman with an 8 month pregnant baby hotel for a belly, a pink cast up to the knee on one leg and a blue cast on the other, using a walker to try to hop to the bathroom without peeing all over herself.  If you can get that mental picture without laughing, you probably won't like this book.  If you can relate to being 8 months pregnant, and can't imagine how you could go through labor and delivery, care for a newborn, toddler, husband and home all while hopping around with the help of a walker because you have 2 broken legs in casts, you might want to read this book, and discover the messy, funny, poignant story of my journey.  Yes, I really did break both my legs when I was 8 months pregnant.  Go ahead, laugh...I did (after I cried, that is).A few excerpts:  Incontinence and a Walker (Chapter 2)"If you can believe it, I actually lost weight in my eighth month of pregnancy.  There were two good reasons for this:I couldn't readily reach food whenever the mood or craving struck, and asking my husband to do my grazing for me was just sad.Every time I did move, it was like I was attending water aerobics class minus the flowered swim caps and the water.  My breath, like my dignity escaped me in gasps."I'll Take Door Number 362, Please! (Chapter 5)"Wonder Woman has nothin' on me!I have an hourglass figure too!Okay, my figure is less hourglass and more sandbags.I have cool transportation too!Okay, my walker isn't invisible, and moves a little slower than a plane.I have a Super Hero husband who cleans toilets!HA!"Review:"Mary's story of misfortune and challenge brought out in her a life of possibility and purpose, and we are lucky she shares this story to inspire us to do the same. An easily relatable read, Say Bump and Take a Left will make you smile, while motivating you to take the road less traveled and experience your own success." ~ Shannon O'Brien, Co-Founder StrongMama.com

Father's Day

"You never know what day your kids are going to remember most about growing up.You hope that it is a good day, a day when you performed well as a parent. Your greatest fear is that it will be a bad day, a day when you lost your temper or let the dog run out in front of traffic, or a day when something happened that is only talked about in front of high-priced therapists.In my case it was the day my dad bought sod."Thus begins Donald J. Bingle's award-winning short memoir about his father, a heart-warming, surprising, and humorous tale about how a single incident on a single summer day can become one of a child's favorite memories of his parent.This short, simple tale will bring both laughter and tears and create a lasting memory that no mass-produced Father's Day card can ever duplicate. Pre-load it on your dad's Kindle for a perfect Father's Day gift. At about 2,000 words, it is a delightful short read, not a lengthy chore."Father's Day" won 1st Place in the California Literary Arts Society Memoir Contest (2009) and 2nd Place, Non-Fiction, in West Suburban Living's Annual Writing and Photography Contest (2005).Best known as the world's top-ranked player of classic role-playing games for fifteen years, Donald J. Bingle is an oft-published author in the science fiction, fantasy, horror, thriller, steampunk, romance, and comedy genres, with two published novels (Forced Conversion; GREENSWORD) and about thirty stories, primarily in DAW themed anthologies and tie-in anthologies, including stories in The Crimson Pact, Steampunk'd, Imaginary Friends, Fellowship Fantastic, Zombie Raccoons and Killer Bunnies, Time Twisters, Front Lines, Slipstreams, Gamer Fantastic, Transformers Legends, Search for Magic (Dragonlance), If I Were An Evil Overlord, Blue Kingdoms--Mages & Magic, Civil War Fantastic, Future Americas, All Hell Breaking Loose, The Dimension Next Door, Sol's Children, Historical Hauntings, and Fantasy Gone Wrong.Many of Don's stories are electronically available, individually or in genre collections, including "Writer on Demand: Tales of Gamers and Gaming" and "Writer on Demand: Tales of Humorous Horror." More collections of stories will be coming soon.His story "Gentlemanly Horrors of Mine Alone" was the ninth story in Mike Stackpole's Chain Story Project.Donald J. Bingle is a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, the GenCon Writers Symposium, and the St. Charles Writers Group.

Smart Parenting for Smart Kids: Nurturing Your Child's True Potenti

"My kid is smart, but..."It takes more than school smarts to create a fulfilling life. In fact, many bright children face special challenges: Some are driven by perfectionism;Some are afraid of effort, because they're used to instant success;Some routinely butt heads with authority figures;Some struggle to get along with their peers ;Some are outwardly successful but just don't feel good about themselves.This practical and compassionate book explains the reasons behind these struggles and offers parents do-able strategies to help children cope with feelings, embrace learning, and build satisfying relationships. Drawing from research as well as the authors’ clinical experience, it focuses on the essential skills children need to make the most of their abilities and become capable, confident, and caring people. Q&A with Co-Author Eileen Kennedy-Moore, PhD Co-Author Eileen Kennedy-Moore, PhD Why did you write a book about smart kids? It’s ironic that the children (and adults) who are most frightened about not being good enough are often the most capable. These children may become extremely anxious before tests--even though they’re very competent academically. They may spend way too much time on assignments or refuse to do anything where they aren’t instantly successful. They may also pick apart their social performance--“I shouldn’t have said that. She’ll be mad at me.” To the outside world, these kids may seem confident, but their parents often see the other side: their stress, suffering, and even emotional melt-downs. The world tells bright children that their performance matters; they need us, their parents, to tell them that they are much more than the sum of their accomplishments. They need to know that we love them for their kindness, curiosity, imagination, determination, and sense of fun. Qualities like these aren’t necessarily impressive, but they matter deeply. You discuss “the burden of potential.” What does that mean? “Potential” becomes a burden when we see it too narrowly, as a predestined calling to greatness. This causes children to be weighed down by other people’s expectations. It limits their ability to explore and discover and sometimes even mess up and try again. A narrow view of potential focuses on an imaginary future ideal rather than the real child in front of us. Potential is not an endpoint but a capacity to grow and learn. It makes no sense to talk about children “not living up to their potential,” as if there were some lofty gold ring that our children will either jump high enough to reach or else fall short. In real life, there are lots of choices, lots of chances, and lots of paths. Do parents need to push their children to be successful? No. Pushing might work with some very compliant children, but many children will actively resist heavy-handed efforts to control them, and the resulting conflicts can get ugly. Children who perceive their parents as very critical of them are also more likely to feel depressed and anxious. Rather than trying to push our children, it makes more sense to help them develop their own motivation to do well. Research points to three components of inner motivation: 1) Competence--Mastering a new skill feels satisfying, but children will avoid doing things where they don’t believe they can be successful. Breaking tasks down so they can have small successes along the way helps increase motivation. 2) Autonomy--Children are more likely to do something if they have some choice in how they do it or at least a rationale that makes sense to them about why they should do it. 3) Connection--Children want to do things that make them feel connected to people or groups who matter to them. Our children are most likely to embrace our values when we have a warm and caring relationship with them. What about self-esteem? What can we do to make sure our kids feel good about themselves? It makes intuitive sense that if children feel good about themselves, it will help them do well in life. Extensive research says this idea is just plain wrong. Higher self-esteem does not lead to better school performance or better relationships, and it also doesn’t prevent kids from smoking, using alcohol or drugs, or engaging in early sex. Telling children, “You’re great!” or “You’re so smart!” can actually backfire by making them afraid to try activities where they might not appear great or smart right away. Self-esteem is specific, rather than general. Children have beliefs about how well they can perform in math, baseball, videogames, and being helpful to their parents. If we want our children to have better self-esteem in a particular area, we need to help them actually do better in that area. Anything else is just wishful thinking that won’t stand up to the feedback of reality. Self-esteem can’t be given; it has to be earned. How can parents find the line between being involved but not too involved with their children? Every day we hear dire news: lay-offs, economic decline, wars, environmental crises, appalling acts of greed and betrayal by business and religious leaders… So of course parents wonder, “Is my kid going to be okay?” It’s instinctive to want to protect our children from suffering, but dealing with challenges and disappointments can help children develop coping abilities. If we step in too quickly to solve problems that our children could solve themselves, we steal their opportunity to learn important life skills. We can empathize, we can coach, we can explain, but we need to be careful not to take over so that our children can discover that setbacks are unpleasant but tolerable and often temporary. The miracle of children is that we just don’t know how they will change, or who they will become. Our job as parents is not to decide our children’s path but to try to equip them for their journey and to have faith that they will find their way.

Basic Montessori: Learning Activities For Under-Fives

For the first time, Basic Montessori opens the celebrated philosophy and method to a more general public. David Gettman has devised a clear and modern explanation of Montessori's revolutionary ideas about early intellectual development, and provides a step-by-step guide to the Montessori learning activities most commonly used with under-fives. These include activities for introducing reading and writing, counting and decimal concepts, science, and geography, as well as activities that help develop the child's practical and sensorial skills.

Black Swan: The Twelve Lessons of Abandonment Recovery: Featuring, the A

BLACK SWAN: The twelve lessons of abandonment recovery is a self help tool, a supplement for personal growth. "BLACK SWAN is a symbol for healing, a spirit guide for overcoming the woundedness of adandonment"