Parenting as a Christian Single Dad

There seems to be a difference between good praise and bad praise. One leads to a self-centered attitude while the other builds a positive self-image and self-esteem. As a parent I don’t want my daughter to struggle with some of the same self-image issues that I have struggled with all these years. I now see the light and the power in a positive self-image. With the right praise we can raise our children to be less dependent on what others think and make decisions based on what they approve of for themselves. It is when we are worried about what others think we tend to fall under the bad influences of others. I know I did and I went down a long road that most likely took years off my life and stunted my emotional growth for years. How to Praise Children Praise should not be void of context, effort, or accomplishment. Also, praise should not be limited to raise a “responsible” child. Here are some simple tips to praise your children from family.samhsa.gov – Affirming our childre...

The more I learn about healthy eating and making the right food choices for Madalyn and myself I am amazed at just how bad I have been doing. I have been reading “ Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle ” by Tom Venuto and it has opened my eyes to a lot of the controversy and the “dos” and “don’ts” in the dieting world. If you are interested in making a long-term lifestyle change I suggest the book. Don’t worry about him being a professional bodybuilder, the book is designed to help people meet their weight goals in a healthy way without fad diets and one program fits all hype. The real issue for this post is TRANS FATS . We have heard it before about the dangers of trans fats and I must say I am blown away by what I am learning. I found a great site that talks all about trans fats detailing the dangers and how to detect foods that have them. http://www.acaloriecounter.com/trans-fat-foods.php The gist of what I am learning is that I need to get away from processed foods and get back down to...

I have done quite a bit of reading on goal setting and about making the most out of life. Well last week in church I came across a nice story written by Tim LaHaye called “True Riches”. I have been thinking about it all week and how to apply it to my life and the goals that I have set. I think it has great insight into setting goals as a Christian – so here goes: Never settle for second-rate or selfish goals. Earl Nightingale , who probably has helped to motivate more people than any other living person, advises that people desiring success should never try to get rich. Above all, set goals for yourself that involve helping other people; the riches will follow. He has certainly captured the Biblical principle, “Give, and it will be given to you.” (Luke 6:38) The richest people I know are those that have given themselves unselfishly to other people. Such motivation will affect the way you cook ,sell, teach, or ply your particular trade. True riches, of course, are totally unrelat...

You might be thinking that this is another on of those pleas from Jason for a wife. Well gotch-ya, it isn’t. I have been considering Madalyn and her relationship with her mother. The way her mom drops her off or has me pick her up during her time, usually because she is upset about something has me concerned. The kid loves her mom so much and I understand that but I am concerned that as Madalyn gets older she may start to think that she is to blame for her mother’s actions. Her mom tells her that she is never going to see her again and it sends Madalyn into tears saying, “Daddy I love you but I don’t want to be with you forever.” I know what she means but how do I convince her that everything is going to be okay? That her mom will be back she is just having another one of those moments. I am scared that Madalyn is not going to be able to have loving friendships with others because she is fearful of being rejected. I know I can’t fix her mom, hell I can’t even get her to admit to...

It isn’t uncommon to serve up a bowl of cereal for breakfast. I am guilty, it is fast and easy but is it healthy? That is the dilemma… when it comes to cereal for children, according to a recent Yale study; the children are exposed to the least healthy breakfast cereals. According to the study: Cereals marketed to children have 85% more sugar, 65% less fiber and 60% more sodium than cereals marketed to adults for adult consumption. In addition, 42% of the child-targeted cereals contain artificial food dyes compared to 26% of family cereals and 5% of adult cereals. Check out http://cerealfacts.org for more information or see where your cereal ranks and what the best brand is at http://cerealfacts.org/media/Marketing_Rankings/Brand_Nutrition.pdf So who was labeled as the Worst offender? General Mills Just a little food for thought when you are serving up your next breakfast. I know my kid gets enough sugar and it wouldn’t hurt to cut some of it out of her diet. It is easy to tr...

The past several weeks I have been on a diet, actually I am trying to encourage a lifestyle change to eat better and lose some unwanted body fat. Naturally Madalyn has been a recipient of my new diet - eating the boring meals I have been making. Last night she even told me how much she misses pizza… Poor kid, daddy misses pizza too and I miss chocolate, ice cream, pasta, dr pepper, fruit snacks, etc. The real hard part is that I work for a sugar company and we get all sorts of goodies this time of the year, that are very tempting, from our customers and third party associates. It is hard to say no to 5# blocks of chocolate or cookies that melt in your mouth from across the country. ---Oh boy! Huge digression here—back to the point. Studies have shown that the prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 – 11 has more than doubled over the years. It has tripled for ages 12 – 19. Overweight children have a 70% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults. We all have heard the ri...

Throughout my day I find that I have no shortage of requests for God and to ask Him for what seems to be insignificant things I consider to be a “no-no”. Recently Madalyn or me, misplaced a couple “my little ponies” and we spent a lot of time looking for them. We even decided to clean the house as we looked for them. Yes, the couch under the cushions got vacuumed, the floor underneath the couch was got scrubbed, no stone was being left unturned, so I thought. Nevertheless we were unable to locate her little ponies. She even called from her mom’s to inquire about my progress throughout the week. “Still nothing honey”, I reported. So during the week I went to church and one of the assistant pastors was telling a story to the congregation about losing his name tag the day before and stressing about it. Yes, I said a name tag but don’t hold it against him he is a great guy. Anyhow he mentioned how he prayed to God for help finding it and in fact he did find it, the where I am not ...