Funday Friday: Cheesy Song

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Here’s a little cheesy ditty for today’s Funday Friday post.  Hopefully it will bring a smile to your face.

Cheese Song

If you would like to talk with a coach or counselor at CornerStone Family Services to help add some more consistent joy to your life, please give us a call at 614-459-3003.

Tips for Parenting Teens

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Group Of Teenage Friends Standing Outside

Tips for Parenting Teens

By Franklin County Children’s Services

As teenages approach independence, they need their parents more than ever to offer guidance and help them make good choices. Help your teen become a caring, independent and responsible adult by following these tips from the Mayo Clinic:

Show Your Love: Spent time with your teen, listen to them, respect their feelings and give them justified praise.

Minimize Pressure: Don’t pressure your teen to be like you. Allow them some degree of self-expression.

Set Limits: Be specific and consistent, but also be reasonable and flexible. Grant your teen more freedom as they prove they can handle responsibility. Explain your decisions.

Enforce Consequences: Ask your teen to suggest a consequence for their actions. Impose additional responsibilities and restrictions if necessary.

Set a Positive Example: Your actions generally speak louder than words. If you set a positive example, your teen will likely follow your lead.

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If you would like more help on parenting your teen or teens, please contact CornerStone Family Services at 614-459-3003 to set up an appointment with a counselor or coach.

 

Parenting Tips on Kids & Technology

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Girl social network profile

Kids & Technology: Staying Safe

By Franklin County Children Services

Technology is a wonderful thing – if used responsibly, that is. To keep your kids safe, here are some parenting tips on using computers and cell phones wisely. If you don’t currently have internet in your home, this is something you should definitely look into. Simply search for something like ‘internet in my area‘ and you should be able to find a cheap provider. Although the internet does have a dark side, as long as you and your children are careful, it can be a great tool.

Computers…

Be involved. Spend time online with your kids and get to know what websites they’re visiting. This will keep an open line of communication – not to mention you’ll learn a lot from your tech-savvy children! Another idea: consider installing filters to block inappropriate websites, which can be done via your internet provider so that your child doesn’t know and feel that you are trying to be too controlling over their freedom.

Teach boundaries. Kids should never reveal personal information about themselves online without your permission.

Cell Phones…

Safety first. Make sure your kids don’t give our their phone numbers to strangers. Also, make sure they never drive while talking or texting.

Teach responsible use. For a lesson in money management, have your kids keep track of their minutes and pay their bills each month to learn budgeting. Responsible text messaging is another critical issue. Texting in class, at the dinner table or especially, while driving, is always a bad idea – as is sending obscene or inappropriate photos. This is an increasingly serious problem known as “sexting.”

When it Comes to Using Technology…

Establish rules for use and consequences for breaking them. Set time and place boundaries, for example: Absolutely no phone use during class or no Internet time until homework or chores are done.

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If you would like more help in parenting, technology, &/or boundaries, please contact CornerStone Family Services at 614-459-3003 to set up an appointment with one of our coaches or counselors.

Marijuana Medical Dangers

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keep off the grass marijuanaThe truth is that marijuana use is harmful to a person’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. However, marijuana (skunkberry to be specific) can be used rather effectively when applied as a medical substance. People with a ohio marijuana card can vouch for the impact that it can have as a medical substance, and it is affordable thanks to the wide availability of Cheap Glass Pipes. It doesn’t take much to observe the push for making marijuana a legal substance within the United States. People from political figures governing the country to your school-aged child are attempting to normalize the use of the drug and trivialize the harms of the substance. Some attempt to do so by comparing it to other substances – as though being “not as bad” but still harmful is logical…when in fact the argument is a classic logical fallacy.

Here is some medical information about the dangers of marijuana by the Alcohol, Drug Addiction & Mental Health Services of Cuyahoga County (ADAMSH):

Marijuana is harmful — which is the consistent view of major medical organizations. Studies clearly outline the physical harm of marijuana, especially since its potency has almost tripled over the last 20 years.

In addition, below are some additional facts about marijuana:

  • Marijuana is addictive for some people: 9% of adults will become addicted, while 17% of adolescents will become addicted.
  • Smoking marijuana increases the risk of psychotic disease by 5 times.
  • Chronic marijuana abuse may lead to brain changes resembling schizophrenia.
  • Marijuana use increases rates of anxiety, depression, mood and psychotic thought disorders.
  • Marijuana use decreases cognitive functioning.
  • Adolescents are especially vulnerable to its adverse effects, including an IQ lowered on an average of 8 points later in life.
  • Regular marijuana use may lead to respiratory illnesses.
  • Marijuana smoke is more toxic than cigarette smoke with 483 chemicals; 4 to 5 times more tars and cancer causing agents.

Dangers of Perinatal Marijuana Use:

  • Perinatal Use may adversely affect neurodevelopment, especially during periods of critical brain growth both in the developing fetal brain and during adolescent maturation.
  • “Evidence overwhelmingly indicates that cannabis use during pregnancy and possibly in the postnatal period remains a significantly under-recognized problem that has the potential to cause long term harm.”
  • (Above 2 points from Jaques, SC. Et al. J Perinatol. 2014; 34(6): 417424 www.medscape.com/viewarticle/82644_print)

If you or a loved one is using marijuana, please contact CornerStone Family Services at 614-459-3003 to talk with a counselor.

Ears Plugged and Mad at the Silence

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Ears plugged to God

When life gets chaotic and painful, the Bible encourages us to cry out to God. Sometimes, when we cry out it can seem as though we are getting a response of silence.  Is God broken? Is He giving us the silent treatment?

Before we get to anxious and angry, it may be wise to step back and do a self-diagnosis.  Are we only seeking Him out when we experience trouble? If so, maybe He is speaking but we just don’t have our ears unplugged or tuned into hearing Him.

The Bible does encourage us to talk with God in our distress, but it also encourages daily communication with Him, even during the mundane and good seasons of life.  Not only do we learn to follow Him outside of times of distress, we also practice keeping our ears unplugged and open to Him.  By engaging God regularly we help prepare ourselves to hear Him in our distress, too.

Funday Friday: Math Pun

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Here’s some Funday Friday humor using a math pun to brighten your day.

math-puns

Humor and laughter is good for the heart. If you would like some help (besides these punny Funday Friday jokes) improving your outlook on life, please contact CornerStone Family Services at 614-459-3003 to talk with a coach or counselor.

A Good Father as an Unsung Hero

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good father

A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.

-Billy Graham

If you are looking for help in enhancing your skills as a father or looking to learn how to deal with a lack of praise for your role as a father, please contact CornerStone Family Services at 614-459-3003 to talk with a counselor or coach.

3 Ways to Fight for Your Wife Daily

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3 Ways to Fight for Your Wife Daily

By Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott

The call of a husband is a mighty one: to sacrificially love their wives, the Bible says, as Christ loved the church. What exactly does that mean, and how does it practically play out day in and day out? It is innate in men to love and protect, no matter the cost. Most men would go to battle for their wives–likely even die for them.

But what does it look like to fight for your wife daily? In order to win the war, men, you must engage daily in the battle for your wife’s love. It’s a kind of sacrifice that can appear costly but carries a great reward.

Here are three simple, yet powerful, ways to fight for your wife that could shift your mind and your marriage.

1. GIVE YOUR WIFE UNDIVIDED ATTENTION.

Your time and attention is one of your most precious commodities. Men, your wife craves your undivided attention. Not only does she crave it, but she needs it. There is a powerful statement made when you set aside the phone and the distractions of life, look your wife in the eye, listen to her, talk to her. It shouldn’t be something you get around to once a week. It should be a daily priority.

There is a sense of togetherness that happens when you give your wife your attention. Simply being in the same room isn’t enough. Engage in conversation. The kind where you are getting to know one another, talking feelings and emotions. This will show her that she is important, loved, and valued. It will prove she is a priority. It will show her that you are fighting for her love.

Men, I realize this may not come easy to you. There is an art to conversation and you may not always be dialed in to your wife’s emotions. Over time, though, you will find an ease to these types of conversations as a closeness develops–ll from fighting for you wife daily with your undivided attention.

2. GIVE YOUR WIFE NON-SEXUAL AFFECTION.

Listen closely, men! It’s no secret that when you think of physical affection, you think of sex. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but understand that women are different. What if the key to more sex was showing your wife daily non-sexual affection? What if the other benefits could shift other challenges of your marriage? Simply holding your wife’s hand, giving her a hug, or putting your arm around her shows her that you are fighting for her love and affection. Your wife craves your touch. She longs to know that you want heart. And here is the kicker: likely, the more non-sexual affection you show her, the more she will be interested in sex.

Physical affection may not come easily to you. You may have grown up in a home where there was no affection shown. It may be a learned behavior, but it is something that your wife craves. Do it without expecting sex. Do it daily. It will set a tone in your marriage, create a sense of oneness, and show a great example to your kids if you have them. There are few things more beautiful than a strong man who can also show tenderness to his wife. It is a way to fight for her love that you won’t want to miss.

3. DREAM, PRAY, AND PLAN TOGETHER.

When you marry, two become one. You may have separate dreams, different career paths, and perhaps even unique pictures of how your lives will turn out when you get married. But one of the most beautiful parts about marriage is the privilege to dream together, to pray together, and to plan together.

Deep down inside of all of us, we long for a companion to share life with. This is marriage! Instill the discipline of praying with your wife daily. There is a depth of intimacy reached when you hold hands and pray together. It is a reminder that God is the center of your marriage. It tunes your heart to His purpose for marriage, which is for it to flourish and to grow. God loves marriage, and praying together is of the best ways you can fight for your marriage to grow and to thrive!

Make plans and dreams with your wife. This may not be a daily task in itself, but as you make dreams and plans together, it provides something to look forward to daily. Doing life together is a privilege, and it’s fun!

So that’s it, men! Your wives may not be as complicated as you think. Build these disciplines into your marriage and see it flourish. Show your wife that she is worth fighting for. Treat your marriage like the gift that it is by fighting for your wife daily.

Boundaries and Guardrails in Life

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guardrail

Sometimes we can be confused about the rules and boundaries set up in our lives.  At times they can seem restraining and only hold us back from the fun we want to have by doing things our way and when we want.  Yet, often these boundaries are not fences to keep us away from fun but guardrails to keep us from pain and injury – emotional, physical, mental, relational, and/or spiritual.

If you would like help in establishing or understanding boundaries, please contact CornerStone Family Services at 614-459-3003 to set up an appointment with a counselor or coach.

Anxiety Reduction Breathing Video

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If you are struggling with feelings of anxiety, try breathing in rhythm with this video.

For more help, call CornerStone Family Services at 614-459-3003 to set up an appointment with one of our counselors or coaches.