Book picks similar to
Building Love Together in Blended Families: The 5 Love Languages and Becoming Stepfamily Smart by Gary Chapman
non-fiction
relationships
parenting
blended-family
Let's Talk About Hard Things
Anna Sale - 2021
You know the one. The one that you’ve been avoiding or putting off, maybe for years. The one that you’ve thought “they’ll never understand” or “do I really want to bring that up?” or “it’s not going to go well, so why even try?” Sale is the founder and host of WNYC’s popular, award-winning podcast Death, Sex, & Money or as the New York Times dubbed her “a therapist at happy hour.” She and her guests have direct and thought-provoking conversations, discussing topics that most of us are too squeamish, polite, or nervous to bring up. But Sale argues that we all experience these hard things, and by not talking to one another, we cut ourselves off, leading us to feel isolated and disconnected from people who can help us most. In Let’s Talk About Hard Things, Sale uses the best of what she’s learned from her podcast to reveal that when we dare to talk about hard things, we learn about ourselves, others, and the world that we make together. Diving into five of the most fraught conversation topics—death, sex, money, family, and identity—she moves between memoir, fascinating snapshots of a variety of Americans opening up about their lives, and expert opinions to show why having tough conversations is important and how to do them in a thoughtful and generous way. She uncovers that listening may be the most important part of a tough conversation, that the end goal should be understanding without the pressure of reconciliation, and that there are some things that words can’t fix (and why that’s actually okay).
How To Break Up With Friends: From Friendshit to Friendsplit – a guide to ditching crappy companions
Hannah Korrel - 2020
The one who expects the world, but never remembers your birthday. The one who constantly ditches your dinner plans when you’re already halfway to the restaurant. The one who leaves you feeling exhausted, used and completely emotionally battered. Why do we let these people into our lives? When is their friendship actually friend-shit? How do we dump these crappy companions? This is the no-bullshit, essential guide for anyone devoting their precious time and energy into maintaining friendships with toxic friends. Using activities, truth bombs, and real-life examples, neuropscyhologist Dr Hannah Korrel will help you to identify the bad friends in your life, understand what true friendship should look like, learn how to attract the best people, and become the best friend you can be yourself. Provocative, funny, and brutally honest, How To Break Up With Friends will change the way you look at friendship forever.
Notes from a Blue Bike: The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World
Tsh Oxenreider - 2014
Butwe can choose to live it differently. It doesn’t alwaysfeel like it, but we do have thefreedom to creatively change the everyday little things in our lives so thatour path better aligns with our values and passions. The popular blogger and founder of the internationallyrecognized Simple Mom onlinecommunity tells the story of her family’s ongoing quest to live more simply,fully, and intentionally.Part memoir, part travelogue, part practical guide, Notes from a Blue Bike takes you from ahillside in Kosovo to a Turkish high-rise to the congested city of Austin to asmall town in Oregon. It chronicles schooling quandaries and dinnertimedilemmas, as well as entrepreneurial adventures and family excursions viaplane, train, automobile, and blue cruiser bike.Entertaining and compelling—but never shrill or dogmatic—Notes from a Blue Bike invites you toclimb on your own bike, pay attention to who you are and what your familyneeds, and make some important choices.It’s a risky ride, but it’s worth it—living your lifeaccording to who you really aresimply takes a little intention. It’s never too late.
Of Mess and Moxie: Wrangling Delight Out of This Wild and Glorious Life
Jen Hatmaker - 2017
Women have been demonstrating resiliency and resolve since forever. They have incredibly strong shoulders to bear loss, hope, grief, and vision. She laughs at the days to come is how the ancient wisdom writings put it.But somehow women have gotten the message that pain and failure mean they must be doing things wrong, that they messed up the rules or tricks for a seamless life. As it turns out, every last woman faces confusion and loss, missteps and catastrophic malfunctions, no matter how much she is doing "right." Struggle doesn't mean they're weak; it means they're alive.Jen Hatmaker, beloved author, Big Sister Emeritus, and Chief BFF, offers another round of hilarious tales, frank honesty, and hope for the woman who has forgotten her moxie. Whether discussing the grapple with change ("Everyone, be into this thing I'm into! Except when I'm not. Then everyone be cool.") or the time she drove to the wrong city for a fourth-grade field trip ("Why are we in San Antonio?"), Jen parlays her own triumphs and tragedies into a sigh of relief for all normal, fierce women everywhere who, like her, sometimes hide in the car eating crackers but also want to get back up and get back out, to live undaunted "in the moment" no matter what the moments hold.
Stay or Go: Dr. Ruth's Rules for Real Relationships
Ruth Westheimer - 2018
With a focus on common sense over emotion, world-renowned sex and relationship therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer offers straight-up advice on whether you should stick it out or cut your losses and move on.In Stay or Go, Dr. Ruth divides troubled couplings into three “flavors”: Dark Toxic (run!), Rocky Road (rough patch ahead), and Merely Troubled (it’s worth the effort). She knows relationships are rarely black and white—there’s always the bad with the good—so here she helps you determine where the scales in your relationship are tipping.Delving into everything from communicating to financial stresses, parenting pressures to long-distance relationships, she helps you to understand your romantic expectations—reasonable and unreasonable—what you can do to save a relationship, and how and when you should say goodbye. And it all comes with the wit and wisdom that has made Dr. Ruth the one to turn to for putting your life together once and for all.
Retire Inspired: It's Not an Age, It's a Financial Number
Chris Hogan - 2016
But for too many Americans, that's the fate that awaits unless they take steps now to plan for the future.Whether you’re twenty-five and starting your first job or fifty-five and watching the career clock start to wind down, today is the day to get serious about your retirement.In Retire Inspired, Chris Hogan teaches that retirement isn’t an age; it’s a financial number—an amount you need to live the life in retirement that you’ve always dreamed of. With clear investing concepts and strategies, Chris will educate and empower you to make your own investing decisions, set reasonable expectations for your spouse and family, and build a dream team of experts to get you there.You don’t have to retire broke, stressed, and working long after you want to. You can retire inspired!
Praying Circles around Your Children
Mark Batterson - 2012
You'll see how prayer is your secret weapon. Through stories of parents just like you, Batterson shares five prayer circles that will not only help you pray for your kids, but also pray through your kids.Batterson teaches about how to create prayer lists unique to your family, claim God-inspired promises for your children, turn your family circle into a prayer circle, and discover your child's life themes. And he not only tells you how, he illustrates why.As Batterson says, 'I realize that not everyone inherited a prayer legacy like I did, but you can leave a legacy for generations to come. Your prayers have the power to shape the destiny of your children and your children's children. It's time to start circling.'
A Beautiful, Terrible Thing: A Memoir of Marriage and Betrayal
Jen Waite - 2017
In a raw, first-person account, Waite recounts each heartbreaking discovery, every life-destroying lie, and reveals what happens once the dust finally settles on her demolished marriage.After a disturbing email sparks Waite's suspicion that her husband is having an affair, she tries to uncover the truth and rebuild trust in her marriage. Instead, she finds more lies, infidelity, and betrayal than she could have imagined. Waite obsessively analyzes her relationship, trying to find a single moment from the last five years that isn't part of the long-con of lies and manipulation. With a dual-timeline narrative structure, we see Waite's romance bud, bloom, and wither simultaneously, making the heartbreak and disbelief even more affecting.
Loving Your Husband Before You Even Have One
Kim Vollendorf - 2017
Maybe you are taking steps now to help make those dreams come true. Pursuing a degree. Building a resume. Getting a passport. What if you could also be preparing now, as a single women, for the relationship you long for?Marriage might be far from your mind at this point. But somewhere down the line, some guy you meet might become your husband.Will you be ready?You can start the process of building an enjoyable marriage today by embracing the life God has for you and by learning what makes lasting, loving relationships work.After my first engagement fell apart, a friend sat down beside me and asked, "Aww Kim, why did you guys break up?" I sighed and responded, "It just wasn't working out. I think God has a better way of doing relationships, and I am going to find out how to do them."I FOUND OUT HOW, AND I CAME BACK TO SHARE IT WITH YOU.
The Family Board Meeting: You Have 18 Summers to Create Lasting Connection with Your Children
Jim Sheils - 2015
If you could do one thing that you knew would dramatically strengthen your family in just a few hours, would you do it? That's the question we pose in the Family Board Meeting, the simple guide to reconnecting with your children that has spread around the globe. Discover the elegant and powerful strategy that promises to: *Connect you more deeply with your children *Reduce "screen sucking" and device dependence *Make each child in your family feel important and unique *Help you feel more open and authentic with your children *Increase your happiness at home *Building an enduring family legacy of connection and memories The Family Board Meeting is a carefully designed, easy-to-follow guide to creating quality time with your children. It takes only minutes to plan your first Board Meeting... and it's guaranteed to be a ton of fun for both you and your child! Welcome to the most important meeting of your life.
Love and Logic Magic: When Kids Drain Your Energy (Parenting with Love and Logic) by Jim Fay (2004) Audio CD
Jim Fay - 2004
When it comes to helping parents raise honest, responsible, successful kids, Jim Fay is the master! The stories and examples on this audio will give parents techniques they can use in the heat of battle…without breaking a sweat. Parenting should be full of love and fun. With Jim’s help, you will get the skills and techniques to make it happen! by Jim Fay Audio CD, 60 min.
She Comes First - Reclaim Your Power! - A guide for sassy women who want to get back in control of their life
Brian Nox - 2017
As an author and a coach who has been helping women for more than a decade, I noticed some women were in trouble. Not just in their relationships, some had unfulfilling jobs, didn’t get paid what they were worth, had always dreamt of starting their own business but never did, felt lonely even though they had a husband and kids... the list goes on and on. So many women try to be the perfect girlfriends, wives, mothers, friends, sisters, colleagues, business owners, bosses, and more. They love to serve and want to succeed in the many roles they have to play. They are compliant, even to the people who don’t really deserve that kind of treatment. They give it all they have, every single day. Regardless of their tremendous efforts, some women get little in return. They feel used. They get men that keep flaking out, careers that don’t feel meaningful, and possibly a body that starts to feel and look more and more tired. Did you ever notice that burnout tends to afflict women much more often than men? There’s a reason for that, as you’ll learn. This should stop. Some women seem to have found a loophole, a backdoor in the current system. There are women out there who have designed the life they live. I call these women the high-value women. This value has nothing to do with money. It turns out the high-value woman follows a set of strategies and principles. I’ll share them with you throughout this book. You might have seen and met her. She’s the woman who is self-employed, doing the thing she loves, and making a living off of it. She’s the woman who might have decided to have a normal career, with a twist. It’s the type of career she enjoys and she is actually appreciated for the hard work and hours she puts into it. When she speaks, others listen, even the men in her office with overinflated egos. Her job almost never feels like work and is deeply fulfilling. It doesn’t cost her energy; she gets energy from it. When she wakes up, she can’t wait to get started with her day. She is the woman who has found and created herself a loving relationship with a man she loves. She is also the woman who is happily single, the woman who doesn’t need a man to be happy. She has a supportive circle of great friends, and she has the time to hang out with them, even when she has kids. She knows how to set the world to her hand, so it seems, and some women wonder how she does it. That’s what this book is about, I’ll uncover her strategies. I’ve been studying and interviewing her for so long now that I can’t wait to share everything with you. We’ll dive in what to do in your romantic relationships, in your career, in your personal life, and most importantly, in your own mind. I’m sure you already are a high-value woman in many ways. Some parts of the book will reaffirm that you’re on the right track; others will provide a new way of thinking to take you to the next level. Are you curious to find out how the high-value woman does it all? Then hit the buy button at the top of this page and start your high value woman journey right away!
Unglued: Making Wise Choices in the Midst of Raw Emotions
Lysa TerKeurst - 2012
But the good news is, God gave us emotions to experience life, not destroy it. With gut-honest personal examples and biblical teaching, Lysa shows us how to use our emotions for good.Unglued will equip you to:Know with confidence how to resolve conflict in your important relationships.Find peace in your most difficult relationships as you learn to be honest but kind when offended.Identify what type of reactor you are and how to significantly improve your communication.Respond with no regrets by managing your tendencies to stuff, explode, or react somewhere in between.Gain a deep sense of calm by responding to situations out of your control without acting out of control.
This Momentary Marriage: A Parable of Permanence
John Piper - 2009
That is all the more true in our casual times.Though personal selfishness and cultural bondage obstruct the wonder of God's purpose, it is found in God's Word, where his design can awaken a glorious vision capable of freeing every person from small, Christ-ignoring, romance-intoxicated views. As Piper explains in reflecting on forty years of matrimony: "Most foundationally, marriage is the doing of God. And ultimately, marriage is the display of God. It displays the covenant-keeping love between Christ and his people to the world in a way that no other event or institution does. Marriage, therefore, is not mainly about being in love. It's mainly about telling the truth with our lives. And staying married is not about staying in love. It is about keeping covenant and putting the glory of Christ's covenant-keeping love on display."This Momentary Marriage unpacks the biblical vision, its unexpected contours, and its weighty implications for married, single, divorced, and remarried alike.
Shepherding a Child's Heart
Tedd Tripp - 1995
The things your child does and says flow from the heart. Luke 6:45 puts it this way: "...out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." Written for parents with children of any age, this insightful book provides perspectives and procedures for shepherding your child's heart into the paths of life.