“Praise be to God...who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we may comfort those in any trouble..." 2 Cor. 1:3-4a

This time of year can really be busy, and it seems that I am always trying to add one more event to my schedule. I am a forgetful person; I say to myself, “How hard can it be? It will be easy to do.” There are times when I get to the place where it feels like if I add one more thing that I will pop. How about you? Have you ever felt this way? The sad thing is that every time I add something new to my schedule I have less time for something else. And, it is one thing for me to add to my schedule and it is another for someone else to add to it. Sometimes things get added which really are not ours to deal with. Do you know what I am talking about?

Some of you know that every year in the fall, I facilitate a course entitled, “Becoming a Love and Logic Parent.” I’ve found some great insight and results in practicing the “Love and Logic” approach of discipline. One of those insights is the shift in my thinking about my children’s problems. It used to be really easy for me to make my kid’s problems mine. This really does not work and can be a disservice to my kids’ learning how to solve problems, and ends up just frustrating me (and them). Charles Fay, one of the spokespersons for the Love and Logic Institute, wrote a short article that I want to share with you here this week: “‘Staying Calm When Your Kids Aren’t’

I once heard that the mark of a great leader is the ability to stay calm when others aren’t. Since great parents and teachers are really the same as great leaders, it makes sense that this would apply to our daily lives with kids. But...how do we do it?

People who meet this challenge think much differently than those who don’t. When the going gets tough, those who lose their cool are led astray by thoughts such as:

My kids should never misbehave.

This is horrible for me.

I’m a lousy parent (or teacher)!

I can’t help but get mad about this!

People who keep their cool are comforted by much different thoughts: They’re sure going to learn a lot from this mistake!

This is pretty sad for them.

Now I get to use my new skills!

It’s okay for me to be happy even when my kids aren’t.

The great news is that each of us has the power to choose how we think!”

I hope this is helpful to you this week! Thanks for reading and God bless!