Thoughts and stories, by Pal

This has very insightful ideas on helping family relationships.  It does tell of a book written by H. Wallace Goddard, who has written a lot for Meridian Magazine, but it has something we can learn from this article! Concerns about Marriage or Children? The Sure Place We Forget to Turn By  Maurine Proctor  · November 3, 2021 Wally Goddard is a professional who has won awards at the highest levels for teaching families how to counter their hardest challenges with remarkable solutions. In other words, when it comes to our big, family dilemmas, he knows what he’s talking about. He’s research-based, grounded and up on the latest tools for creating flourishing families. So, after all these years of being on the frontline for family success, what has he learned? He tells us in a new book, called  Discoveries, Essential Truths for Relationships  where he explores how to improve your relationship with yourself, your spouse, and your children. What he writes may surprise...

  I could do more with our grandchildren than I am able to do as a great grandmother!  My energy is diminishing, but it is fun to watch my own children as grandparents!  I hope my husband and I did okay as grandparents!    A Global Need For Authentic Grandparents By  Nicholeen Peck  · October 31, 2021 Authentic grandparents who actively engage with their children and grandchildren establish a foundation of security and hope for the younger generations that can’t be found elsewhere. Grandpa had a boat and regularly took me and the rest of his large family out for rides and on water-skiing trips. These were fun memories, but one boating memory stands out above all others. Grandpa always drove the boat fast, unless Grandma was onboard. But, even though we were speeding across the water I always felt safe with Grandpa at the wheel. There was something so strong and secure about my WWII veteran grandfather that made me want to follow him anywhere and listen...

  I saved this over a month ago.  But it is timeless, and may help someone! Creating a Culture of Self-Reliance: Week Two By  Carolyn Nicolaysen  · September 7, 2021 Author’s Note: As I write this, I cannot access the internet and I have no way to watch TV. We are completely in the dark, so to speak, when it comes to communicating, except our HAM radio. This is a problem in our county and beyond and so far, no one can find the cause. The 911 system is not working. In 2015 this happened in California at least 11 times and the FBI feared it was terrorists testing our capability to repair the problem and get everything back up. Too many think these types of disruptions cannot happen, they can, and worse. I was criticized for writing about a pandemic in October of 2019. After all, medical science has advanced beyond that right? It happened. UPDATE: We learned through our HAM radio net the fiberoptic cables were cut near us and at least three counties are experiencing out...

  This article is quite interesting!  It is probably more for young people who are not in the last part of their lives, and still have time to change professions.  ?  I don't know.  But it was interesting to me, and I'm 87 years old! Are You Sparked? Find the Work That Fits You Best By  Rodger Dean Duncan  · October 27, 2021 To read more from Rodger, visit  HIS BLOG . What kind of work is absolutely the best fit for you? It’s a good question, especially since you’ll likely spend the majority of your adult life doing it. What are the consequences of doing work that produces a paycheck but doesn’t really offer the challenge and fulfillment you’d like to have? And how can you even know what the “best fit” is for you? Jonathan Fields can help. Drawing on years of research, experimentation, more than 25 million data points generated from more than half a million people and hundreds of deep dive conversations with luminaries from science, art, industry ...

This touches my heart!  What a gift -- to be able to paint portraits like this!  JR Johansen in his studio in Hunstville, Utah. Faun Jackson As this wounded Vietnam vet answered a call to create portraits of missionaries who died during their service, he’s brought healing to grieving families—and to himself. The art studio is as unassuming as they come: it’s an undersized square cottage framed by trees outside a home in Huntsville, Utah. With its size and trappings—a broom and an upturned wheelbarrow flank the small front window—you might mistake it for a common tool shed. The artist laboring inside is JR Johansen, a man whose own exterior somehow belies an unexpectedly gentle core. Johansen’s graying flat-top haircut and tall, trim build hint at his past as a military man. But there’s no intimidation here; he’s soft spoken, with a mild manner that instantly conveys safety. This is a man on an exceptional mission: he’s creating portraits of missionaries who lost their lives du...