Patience

I am always told “Don’t pray for patience” because God will give you something to be patient for. I suppose that may be true. I do know that many times patience eludes me. That can be for many reasons. Those reasons can all be traced back to a fear base. Fear is simply a lack of faith. In order to be more patient, I believe that we need to strengthen our faith. Ever try to sit down and be “patient”? That doesn’t work for me. That’s kind of like telling some one to not think of a pink elephant. How is our faith strengthened? Here are a few suggestions. Spend time in prayer and meditation. Read the word of God. Fellowship with fellow believers. Ask for support. Grow in your understanding that all things happen in God’s time. Practice kindness and compassion. And finally, love others where they are at, not where you want them to be. These can all be challenging. To begin this process I always need to take a few deep breaths, relax, and clear my mind.

Are you having difficulty learning to relax and clear your mind? To help you and your child with this , I have just released a set of six relaxation CDs designed to help you and your child learn to relax Each CD focuses on a specific behavior that your child may find to be a challenge. So in addition to learning to relax, you and your child will learn a new skill to reduce a specific behavior. I am offering a FREE relaxation CD of your choice when you subscribe to either my free Love in Action Newsletter or free weekly Christian Parent Wisdom. Go to http://bit.ly/pBDTqY to take advantage of this offer.

Classroom Maintenance

The school year is underway. Hopefully, students and teachers have settled into their new environments. Unfortunately, this is not true for everyone. I know this from my on going consultations with schools and teachers. Unless a teacher is well versed in the stress model, it is easy for them to slide back into their old paradigm. Learning to use a new strategy takes time. Stress causes some of this regression. I try to keep the focus on keeping it simple. It is too easy for behavior to become the focus. Remember, negative behaviors are a symptom of dys-regulation. Children need adults to help them become regulated. Too many times a child is allowed to become dys-regulated too long and a melt down occurs. Then it takes a lot of time and energy for regulation to take place. Keeping it simple also includes being aware of symptoms of dys-regulation before it becomes out of control of the child. It’s no different that maintenance of a car. I don’t think any one of us would wait to change the oil when we start to hear metal grinding. I believe that maintenance in relationship with a child will reduce dys-regulation and meltdowns. The time invested up-front is always much less that the time it takes to pick up all the emotional pieces. Oxytocin is essential in the regulation process. Teachers can learn to generate oxytocin in their classroom. Find out the importance of oxytocin, go to http://www.fastcompany.com/1784836/paul-zak-guggenheim-lab . Deep breathing, relaxation, and meditation are natural ways to stimulate your oxytocin. Are you having difficulty learning to relax and clear your mind. To help you and your child with this , I have just released a set of six relaxation CDs designed to help you and your child learn to relax Each CD focuses on a specific behavior that your child may be a challenge. So in addition to learning to relax, you and your child will learn a new skill to reduce a specific behavior. I am offering a FREE relaxation CD of your choice when you subscribe to either my free Love in Action Newsletter or free weekly Christian Parent Wisdom. Go to http://bit.ly/pBDTqY to take advantage of this offer.