Mi Choza De Nipa

By Dr James Dobson One of the great myths about love is that if a couple is genuinely in love, that condition is permanent and will last a lifetime. Love, even genuine love, is a fragile commodity. Like more than one popular song has said, love is like a rose. It must be carefully maintained and protected if it is to survive. Love can easily be overcome by weeds of a busy life. When a husband or wife works seven days a week, when there's no time for romantic activity, when they forget how to talk to each other; then love can die. During the early days of my marriage to my wife, Shirley, I was working full-time, and trying to finish a doctorate at USC . Shirley was teaching and maintaining our home. I realised what this busy lifestyle was doing to our relationship. We still loved each other but it had been too long since we felt the warmth and closeness. I pushed my textbooks aside and we went for a long walk. The following semester I carried a very light load in school and post...

Image via Wikipedia By Dr James Dobson One of the unfortunate characteristics of life in the modern world is the high level of anxiety so many people experience. Most of us have moments when we feel some kind of emotional discomfort. But for many, gripping fears and uneasiness are everyday companions. This anxiety may manifest itself in the form of dizziness , headaches , nausea , stomach cramps , an inability to concentrate, and persistent conflict with others. For those who find themselves in this situation, let me offer some common-sense suggestions that may help. First, we must take care of our physical being. We need adequate sleep and make the time to exercise and relax because there is a connection between mind and body. Second, we should dig for insight. It is widely believed that anxieties such as agoraphobia are the by-products of repressed feelings. We must learn to deal with them. If we're bitter over a wrong, we must find a way to forgive. If we're afraid of ou...

Image by Goodimages via Flickr By Dr James Dobson Everybody understands that teenagers are itching to get out on their own; not have parents telling them what to do anymore. But this yearning for control actually starts much earlier. It's an inevitable part of growing-up. I remember one mother of a little four year old girl who was demanding her own way. So the mother said: "Now Jenny, you're just going to have to obey me. I have the responsibility to lead you." Well, little Jenny then said: "How long does it have to be that way?" Well, that illustrates my point. Already at the age of four, this child was yearning for a day of freedom. The task for us as parents is to hang onto the reins of authority in the early days. And then gradually ground independence as maturity arrives. Power granted too early produces childhood folly, but power granted too late brings rebellion. It is a wise parent, indeed, who can let go little by little as the growing child is...

Image by carf via Flickr By Dr James Dobson Do you want to see what kind of men and women your children will grow up to be? Take a look in the mirror. A wise man once said: "The footsteps a child follows are often those that the father thought he covered up." How true that is. There are facts we can pass on to our children and skills we can teach; but how our children really learn is by watching us and observing our every move; by absorbing what we do and who we are. Someone once said: "Values are not taught to kids; they're caught by them." They're picked up routinely through the subtle influences of simply being together through the day. A poem by Herbert Parker sums it up best. He said: "To get his goodnight kiss he stood beside my chair one night, and raised an eager face to me, a face with love alight. And as I gathered in my arms the son God gave to me, I thanked the lad for being good and hoped he'd always be. " His little arms crep...

By Dr James Dobson We've often heard the old suggestion that we should count to 10 when we get angry. It can be very valuable to have a cooling-off period before acting on those feelings. The reason for waiting is that anger is not only emotional , it's biochemical as well. The body is equipped with an automatic defence system called the " fight or flight " mechanism, which prepares the entire organism for action. When we're upset or frightened, adrenaline is pumped into the blood stream , setting off a whole series of physiological responses within the body. In a matter of seconds, the individual is transformed from being calm to a state of alarmed reaction. All of these biochemical responses are involuntary. What isn't involuntary however, is our response to these sudden changes. We can choose to hold our tongue; to remove ourselves from the provocative situation, particularly when we're dealing with children who anger us. We can control the impulse to...

Image via Wikipedia 06/20/2009 | 07:12 PM POLSON, Montana — Therapy dogs can be a comfort for seniors and those recovering from illnesses and injuries. So how about therapy chickens? Jana Clairmont of Polson, Montana , calls her therapy birds — a white rooster and Cornish game hen — " Fowl Play ." On Thursday, she took them to visit residents at Polson Health and Rehabilitation Center in northeast Montana, the Missoulian newspaper reported. Many seniors were raised on farms, Clairmont says, and holding a chicken can bring back memories. As one man stroked the rooster, Alex, the bird stretched out his neck and rested it across the man's forearm, like a puppy. Clairmont has arranged visits to retirement and assisted living homes, and says she'd like to take Alex and Carlita, the hen, into classrooms this fall. - AP / From GMANews.tv; see the source article here .