Little Pieces Club

This week we continue a miniseries on parent FAQ's. We take a deep dive into practical aspects of Sabbath-keeping in relation to setting up new routines in the family. We also link this discussion to the science of exercise as written about by John Ratey MD. Finally, we see how all this can be integrated together in a weekly practice that heals and connects the newly forming family structure. This...

This week we continue a miniseries on parent FAQ's. We are tackling the fact that some think Parental Alienation Syndrome has been debunked. We review some of the history, but mainly discuss the difficulties in diagnosing it and more importantly managing it. Links to the articles referenced are as follows: https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/tech-support/202304/parental-alienation-is-real-bu...

This week we continue a miniseries on parent FAQ's. We are tackling the case of a violent 13-year-old. He was caught in the anger of an acute divorce setting. We discuss how mixing current connection-based parenting skills and ancient wisdom help a parent "be Jesus for their child." Feel free to email potential questions to me and I will work them in subsequent episodes. (littlepiecesministries@gm...

This week we start continue a miniseries on parent FAQ's. We are tackling what to do if Parental Alienation Syndrome or PAS has already happened. Why it is biblically inconsistent for churches to ostracize people getting a divorce. We also look at factors that predict how children will do long term. Feel free to email potential questions to me and I will work them in subsequent episodes. (littlepi...

This week we start a miniseries on parent FAQ's. We are tackling ideal parenting strategies, how to approach situations where children are acting out and finally what to do when your children are turning your back on you. The risk in this situation is Parental Alienation Syndrome or PAS. Feel free to email potential questions to me and I will work them in subsequent episodes. (littlepiecesministri...

Today we unpack the design pattern of The Tree of Life. Remember this is the second of the design patterns that Jesus mentions in His “I AM” statements. There is a very rich depth to this metaphor that we use to organize the LPC curriculum and suggest helps form a parenting philosophy. Just like referring to Kenneth Bailey last week, our experts from this week are BibleProject.com. Their Tree of L...

Today we unpack the design pattern of The Good Shepherd with the help of renowned scholar Kenneth Bailey (His book is The Good Shepherd: The Thousand-Year Journey from Psalm 23 to the New Testament). Recall this is in the context of attachment and parenting before, during and after divorce. The main idea is that The Good Shepherd makes it easier for us to attach to the figure of God and becomes an...

Today we tackle the idea of attachment and Attachment Theory. We review the 4 basic attachment patterns, Secure, Anxious-Avoidant, Anxious-Ambivalent, and Fearful-Avoidant. With the help of www.attachmentproject.com we review the traits of adults of each pattern and the basic parenting style that produces the attachment pattern. Once we establish the basic science, we begin to layer biblical desig...

The is Part 3 in our Divorce 101 series. Today we deconstruct how Little Pieces Club principles fit with at home routines. We cover sabbath, and two types of prayer routines. We link what we do in small groups to the Greatest Blessings and the concepts the ancient Hebrews encircled this primary directive with, Wisdom, faith, love, justice, etc... Next we talk about the basic metaphors of The Good...

The is Part 2 in our Divorce 101 series. We are still focusing on the science behind understanding the impact divorce has on children. We start our looking at the concept of Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACE's. It is interesting that on some lists divorce is left off. But that being said for the Center for Disease Control it is included. We review that impact ACE's have on adult (when the child...

Season 2 is directed at parent education about divorce; it’s impacts and what can be done. This is an encore and more theologically complete version of a Continuing Medical Education Lecture Chris gave a few years ago. We look at the data gathered about divorced children over the last 40 years. And I warn you, it isn't pretty. We meet Judith Wallerstein, one of the (if not the) first researcher of...

Chris, founder of Little Pieces Club Ministries, recently applied to give a TEDx talk for the TEDxMSU community. After making the first cut, the student organizers decided this was not a talk they wanted. This video makes the argument that meditating on 1000's of years old biblical design patterns are remarkably good at healing modern trauma. You be the judge if this is an "idea worth spreading."...

WE MADE IT!!! The final lesson in our (Public and Private) Christian Journey Series. Of course this is just the start of the journey! Today, in Part 14 in our series: The Public Christian Journey. We focus on how to tell others about Jesus. But we do it through understanding the Tree of Life metaphor and that Jesus called us to be like Him as a Tree of Life. We can focus on showing others and know...

Season 2 of Little Pieces Club Podcasts will be geared toward parent frequently asked questions. We start off with a big one. "What do I do about awful behavior?" The answer might surprise you! We review the anatomy of a power struggle. We review the American Academy of Pediatrics' document on 3 foundational components of disciplining children. Spoiler! Discipline does not equal punishment. Finall...

This is Part 13 in our series: The Public Christian Journey. After forgiveness we focus on defining integrity so that kids can better choose their friends, and label what is happening around them. Proverbs helps us see crooked and foolish people contracted with wisdom and integrity. Series Summary: Week 1: We built our theology of loving others from Mark 12:29-31 and then defined love (1 Corinthia...

This is Part 12 in our series: The Public Christian Journey. Here we take a hard look at forgiveness and the pain of unforgiveness. This is a crucial issue for parents to understand to bring forth optimal emotional health for their children. It is a long episode, so it can be broken up as needed. Series Summary: Week 1: We built our theology of loving others from Mark 12:29-31 and then defined lov...

This is Part 11 in our series: The Public Christian Journey. We look at how to balance power (or social influence) and justice. Our Biblical anchor is Romans 8:18 as we look for hope when injustices occur. Series Summary: Week 1: We built our theology of loving others from Mark 12:29-31 and then defined love (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) and forgiving others as honoring Christ's sacrifice. (Ephesians 4:3...

Small Group Episode 36: Making Good and Wise Rules Together This is Part 10 in our series: The Public Christian Journey. We apply the Ezer Kenegdo concept to making VALID EXPECTATIONS (wise rules for relationships). We look at the Book of Esther and how Mordecai and Esther live this out better than Adam and Eve. Series Summary: Week 1: We built our theology of loving others from Mark 12:29-31 and...

This is Part 9 in our series: The Public Christian Journey. We take our last look at the ezer kenegdo concept and define "synergy." We combine the words wisdom, submission and synergy and consider the wisdom in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Series Summary: Week 1: We built our theology of loving others from Mark 12:29-31 and then defined love (1 Corinthians 13:4-8) and forgiving others as honoring Christ's...

This is Part 8 in our series: The Public Christian Journey. Deeply diving into "Win-Win-Win Thinking," we focus on expressing (patiently and kindly) what is a “win” for us. We fully review the concept of ezer kenegdo (iron sharpens iron). Seeing that ideal relationships happen when both people share and strengthen each other. We see the wisdom of this in Proverbs 18:1-2 and 13. Series Summary: Wee...

This is Part 7 in our series: The Public Christian Journey. We continue with "Win-Win-Win Thinking." Today we focus on figuring out what is a “win” for other people and how we go about figuring that out. Do we guess or ask? We also get to have fun playing the fool or the wise person when faced with an apparent conflict. We look to Phillippians 2:4 and Proverbs 18 for guidance. Series Summary: Week...

This is Part 6 in our series: The Public Christian Journey. "Win-win-win Thinking." As part of the PCJ, we hear echoes of Stephen Covey, but here we include God as the third win. We see the wisdom of the Greatest Blessings as finding the win-win-win. When anyone "loses" God is saddened. We even see that if we are not fully loyal to God we can create a win-win-lose. We look at several scripture pas...

This is Part 5 in our series: The Public Christian Journey. "Apologizing with All of Our Hearts." As part of the PCJ, we will hurt people and they will hurt us. The apology is how we live out humbleness and submission (listening deeply to know) to others. We look at intentional and unintentional harms and then look at several scripture passages that touch on various aspects of a genuine apology. F...

This is Part 4 in our series: The Public Christian Journey. "Doing Sabbath in Community" This week we focus on the scriptures supporting Sabbath. We take a brief look back at the Parable of the Lost son. But this time we discuss the celebration dinner and link it to Sabbath celebration. We suggest journal prompts for the teens and discuss the activity sheet and journal activity for the week. For t...

This is Part 3 in our series: The Public Christian Journey. "What Does Forgiveness Look Like?" This week we focus on the Parable of the Lost Son found in Luke 15:11-32. We deconstruct much of the Hebrew context of this parable to expose a deeper level of forgiveness expressed by the father (God). And we meditate on who actually is the lost son, and remind ourselves that forgiveness is the end prod...