Bible Book Club
Donate

From Susan Merrill

The Blog

Parenting

Fight the Good Fight

Fighting for your child is something that you inherently do as a mom. Right? We fight for them to have equal opportunity, education, health, a chance to make something of themselves and we even fight for their self-esteem because we believe in who they are and what they are capable of. My sister realized that something was up with her son in second grade, he was so smart but it was not reflected in his grades. He was falling behind. So she approached his teacher to see if she noticed the same thing. And much to her surprise, his teacher fought back implying that she should accept my nephews performance. But my sister just knew that there was something wrong. She knew her son inside and out, and she knew something was not right, but the school would not agree to test him. She and her husband decided to fight for their son. They paid for testing–extensive testing. Then they approached the teacher, then the principal, then more testing. They chose to fight hard for him. And finally, they won. After many tests, my nephew did in fact, have a very rare learning disability that was completely curable. What they won for my …

Read Post →

Marriage

What Every Husband and Wife Must Agree On

Have you ever seen those cheesy “House Divided” bumper stickers that poke fun at a husband and wife pulling for different sports teams? I have always thought they are kind of silly, and maybe a little cute. Mark and I would never need one of those, though, because we absolutely agree on our favorite teams. Especially since we went to the same place for college! But like every other couple, we don’t agree about everything. There are preferences we have that are not identical, and that’s okay. Couples don’t share the same likes and dislikes about everything, and it doesn’t necessarily matter if one spouse is a die-hard Yankees fan and the other couldn’t care less about baseball. Of course, it is nice to have a lot in common with the person you’re spending the rest of your life with. But there are really only a few things that every husband and wife must agree on, no matter who they are or what else matters to them personally. How to Discipline Your Kids How to Handle Money Your Family’s Religion In this podcast, Mark and I address all of these critical areas. Not knowing where the other person stands or …

Read Post →

Parenting

Are Parents the Root of Bullies?

Is your child thought of as a bully or a ‘mean girl’ at school? Back in January, I had the pleasure of debating whether or not parents might actually be the cause of their children’s bully-like attitude on Fox & Friends. A new study suggests that the origin of bullies behavior may be the parents exertion of control. Our kids are a reflection of us, so their attitude and actions start with us. The important thing is, however, that we as parents take responsibility of their children and train the behavior out of them. If you treat your kids with aggression or criticism, they will mirror that. Better yet, if you treat them with love and kindness, they will reflect that. Watch the video below to hear more on this topic. Watch the latest video at <a href=”http://video.foxnews.com”>video.foxnews.com</a>

Read Post →

Parenting

How to Invest in Your Adult Child’s Friendships

It’s easy to invest in our relationships with our children when they’re young. They rely on us for everything! In a way, I miss that season of life. I’m proud of my kids as they grow into incredible, responsible adults, but investing in my relationship with them as they get older has become more complicated. It’s not as simple or accessible anymore. SO I’m having to figure out what it means to parent an adult child. Mark and I have realized something unique about this phase of life: our children, as they leave home to pursue their dreams, find themselves very wrapped up in the world of friends. Especially during college, friends are extremely important. As parents, if we want to be close to our kids, we must learn to strategically invest in their friends, as well. In this podcast, Mark and I discuss why and how you should invest in your older children by investing in their friendships. Here are 3 great ways to invest in your child’s friends: Be available Be open to what they want to do Let go of control A friend had a great idea for investing in her oldest son and his friends when he moved …

Read Post →

Parenting

How to Water Our Late Bloomers

My two oldest daughters couldn’t have been more different growing up. Megan was a reserved rule-follower who went through elementary school without ever being in trouble. Emily, on the other hand, was a determined girl with a mind of her own…a mind that just happened to get her sent to the corner twice in her first week of school! The first time she was in trouble, Emily explained that she heard The Little Mermaid playing in her head and had no choice but to sing it out. The second time, she told me how they were playing with Play-Doh, and she desperately needed to find out how it tasted. Needless to say, I began comparing my daughters and worrying about Emily’s future. Pretty soon, I decided it was time to talk with Emily’s kindergarten teacher. I trusted her opinion dearly because of the way she had taught many kids over many years. After sharing my concerns, I’ll never forget her advice. She explained to me that there are 4 ways our kids develop: Physically Emotionally Mentally Socially When we evaluate our kids, we evaluate them based on these 4 components. Some are like Megan, growing at the same pace in all …

Read Post →

Marriage

8 Challenges Every Marriage Will Face

I have seen many newlyweds start their lives together under the blissful delusion that they will never face any problems in their marriage. Unfortunately, that is never the case, and not having a realistic view can lead married couples to feel disillusioned and disappointed. Marriage is one of the most wonderful and fulfilling things in the world, but it’s SO important to discuss the realities of married life and understand that all marriages go through seasons, some of them good and others not so good. If couples are aware that a marriage challenge can and will arise, they can prepare to face and overcome them together. So in this podcast, Mark and I share 8 challenges every marriage will face and how to work through them as a team. 8 Marriage Challenges Finances Raising Teens Communication Busyness Disappointment Sex Temptation Discontentment Mark and I have faced all of these at various times in our marriage, but one area we have really had to watch out for is busyness. I had hoped we wouldn’t have to deal with that at this point in our lives since it was such an issue to work through during the hectic years of child-rearing. But …

Read Post →

Parenting

Controlling vs. Contributing to Your Child’s Future

I’ve come to the conclusion that every child, whether they admit it or not must be afraid of the dark. I can’t tell you how many times my kids would call me into their rooms and ask me to leave a night-light, or keep the door open so that the monsters in their closets wouldn’t come out. As adults, most of us master the fear from the uncertainty we feel in the dark. But the uncertainty really doesn’t go away, it is still there, because when you cannot see there is a lack of control. You can’t protect yourself from tripping and falling if you can’t see where you are going. You have to feel your way around. As I have parented, I have often been anxious about what I can’t see in my child’s future. Unfortunately, there are so many things I can’t control. Will they fall in with the wrong crowd? Will they hit an academic wall in school? What if they stumble in their beliefs? Will they get stuck into a harmful relationship? But the darkness that I anguish over the most is the darkness of an uncertain future. Life looms ahead and how can I protect …

Read Post →

Marriage

Why Spouses Don’t Listen and What You Can Do About It

Are you a good listener? If so, I applaud you. I have to admit that the skill of listening well does not come naturally to me. I’m a gifted talker! I enjoy sharing what’s on my heart and speaking what’s on my mind, which has its place, but listening? That can be hard for me. We all know that communication is absolutely critical in the marriage relationship. Without effective communication, marriages can quickly tear apart. My very talkative husband and I have had to work on this a lot over the years. We both have so many important things to say, especially in emotional or heated moments, and we can forget that listening is a necessary component of communication! Here’s my problem: Mark is ridiculously smart, and he’s awesome at speaking logically and persuasively. Guess that’s what I should have expected when I married a lawyer! Sometimes, I feel like I need a little extra time to figure out how to make my point of view sound just as compelling as his, so I stop listening to what he’s saying and focus on what I want to say next to counter his point. When I do that, I may miss …

Read Post →

Marriage

10 Ways to Flirt with Your Husband

Do you remember the first days of your relationship with your spouse? If you were like me, your heart would flutter at a meaningful glance, flirtatious comment, or in my case, the handsomest guy I had ever met knocking on my door holding Belgian chocolate chip ice cream and asking if he could pray with me! After years of marriage, kids, demanding jobs, and hectic schedules, those fluttery feelings are distant memories. That doesn’t mean we can’t be romantic, it just means in our distraction we put it down and we need to pick it up where we left off. One night as my husband, Mark, and I were driving home, I was feeling a little romantic. He was driving which gave me total music control, so I decided to play him a Tony Bennett song that we love. So crazy how one little switch on a playlist can change a boring car ride into a fun (or funny if you could see us singing) and romantic sing-along serenade. I’ve come to realize that one of the best parts of being married is always having someone to flirt with because at the end of the day, flirting is simply turning the …

Read Post →

Parenting

Does Your Child Shy Away from Competition?

What does your child LOVE to do? Some kids love sports, some love the theatre, and some love making music. But each of these passions holds one thing in common: they all lead to competition. There are soccer championships, school play tryouts, and band performances. Sometimes, our children embrace competition—they love the thrill of healthy rivalry that pushes them to work harder. But other times, our children shy away from competition. Your child’s anxiety towards competing against others usually has to do with one of three things: your child is a people pleaser, your child lacks confidence, or your child has difficulty navigating social settings. So if your child has begun shying away from competition, here are some simple issues and solutions for getting them back on the right track: 1. Issue: Your child is a people-pleaser. Solution: Teach them what healthy competition looks like. With competition comes pressure—pressure from coaches, from teammates, and even from you! If your child is shying away from competition, one possibility is that your child is a people-pleaser and the pressure is becoming too much. In their mind, they feel the pressure from coaches is displeasure in their performance. And because they want to please …

Read Post →