Navigating Joy Together

Send a text Life is filled with difficult times so let's teach our children how to get through them. If  they learn now they will be able to get through difficult times successfully as adults and become less anxiety ridden. In this episode I talk about the importance of why children need to know how to do this and how we can teach them to do this. How do we teach them? Respect their feelings....

Send a text I'm so excited to share this conversation with Martha McBride. We connected over social media and found we have a lot in common, especially our goal to live in JOY daily. Martha shares her experience with a bad breakup that led to depression and how she was then able to get out of that.  She also shares how she knows she is living in a state of JOY each day.  One way she knows is...

Send a text In our series Cultivating Joy in Children, I talk about Gratitude.  Why is it important for us to teach our children to be grateful? Gratitude is a JOY creator! Why do we want to teach our children gratitude? 1. Develop a feeling of empathy. 2. Teaches them to be more generous toward others. Why is this beneficial? 1. Less stress 2. More Positive 3. Happier and more joyful 4. They will...

Send a text I DID IT!!  I pulled out the coupon card that was made for me for my birthday! The, "1 Hour of No Screen Time".  It was the perfect time as I was becoming inundated with all the text sounds coming out of Hunter's phone! It was time for some SILENCE!!! Listen in to see how the family reacted, what took place during the hour, and what it led to for this week. Share a takea...

Send a text Let's talk about how hugging can cultivate JOY in children. Hugging gets our oxytocin and serotonin chemicals flowing which provide a lot of benefits for our bodies. To give us even more benefit, make your hugs last a minimum of 6 seconds. That's when all our happy chemicals really start flowing. What does hugging do for children: 1. Helps kids grow 2. Keeps kids healthier 3....

Send a text Mark and I follow up on what we discussed in Episode 21. We come up with a plan on how to solve conflicts within our family.  How do you make a plan? Take time to identify the following components:  Who- Who are the key players involved in the conflict? What -What actions or behaviors created the conflict?  What is each person's part? When -When does this conflict occur? Is there...

Send a text This episode discusses the second tip on how to cultivate joy in children.  What is it?  It is spending time together.  I know many parents may think that their children don't want to spend time together but I would bet anything that is not true. Listen in on: Why this is important What are some ideas that families can do together How to get started I know it will create a shift i...

Send a text In this week's episode, Mark and I reflect on a situation that had occurred moments earlier with our son.  Lauren and Hunter seem to be having collisions around chores and they end up both becoming angry and upset. Hear the changes in behavior Lauren put into place once calmed down, under Mark's suggestions, and how it helped us to have a  civil conversation toward changing p...

Send a text This is the first episode of a new series: Cultivating Joy in Children. It is just as essential for children to learn how to create joy in their lives. It has the same benefits as adults.  Plus, if you start now your children will learn tools on how to create joy as adults during difficult times.  Tune in to see how to start the process and build a foundation so you can start to teach...

Send a text Like many, this is such a special time of year for our family. With holidays all around us, lights, family time, friend time, break from school etc., we share what we put in place to create JOY for each other and talk about what others may do if they don't celebrate the holidays.  There are always ways to create JOY no matter what your beliefs are during the holiday season. Beware...

Send a text Did you know that music can illicit the same responses in our bodies as sex and create a musical orgasm? Listen in on how essential music is in creating JOY, why music is important in our lives, and how Lauren's family has used music to create JOY. Music is an EASY JOY CREATOR and can be used ALL THE TIME!!! Drive-A-Logue link at Bark! https://www.bark.us/blog/drive-a-logue/?srslt...

Send a text We have a special guest on this episode. Lauren's oldest brother, Mark. We were interested in chatting with him about how he and his family navigate joy together. We dive into how his experiences growing up with our parents shaped his experiences as a Dad in raising his young son. What were the joyful experiences from childhood he brings to his family and what experiences he chang...

Send a text When you are outside, do you take time to notice nature, or is your head down in your phone, ignoring everything around you? Do you need a quick JOY pick-me-up? Nature will do it!! It's proven to create calm, reduce stress, enhance cognitive and academic skills, and even recover from illness. This week's episode will enlighten you as you hear more about what nature can do for...

Send a text ENOUGH is ENOUGH!! In this episode Lauren and Mark get vulnerable.  We share how we problem solve and shift some patterns and behaviors that have been creating Joy Crushers for the entire family.   This wasn't an easy conversation to have with each other because it brought up some difficult feelings, however we know that in order for us to be a better couple and family some things...

Send a text "Color is like a shot of caffeine for the eyes." In this episode I talk about how we can create bursts of JOY with color.  In the book Joyful , Ingrid Fetell Lee discusses how color can be used in all areas of our lives to create JOY. Listen in while I share why color creates JOY and how to incorporate it into your home or work life for more Bursts of JOY in your Daily Life....

Send a text In this episode, Addison, Mark, and I sit down to discuss a situation that occurred and how Addison took action to create JOY for herself. We can either sit and wallow in our sorrow and sadness or we can do something about it.  It isn't always cut and dry but there is always something we can do to create JOY at the moment. Addison stepped out of her comfort zone and TOOK ACTION to...

Send a text Here is the 2nd episode in the series called Joy Creators.   In this episode, I talk about visualization and how it can be used to create JOY. It is similar to savoring experiences which was discussed on episode 10. If you missed that one, go back and listen to it.  Visualizing is another simple strategy one can put into place that will create JOY.   You will learn: What visualization...

Send a text This episode explains a situation that happened last week. Hunter had to get STITCHES which took him out of football. We sit and talk about the feelings this brought up. Was it anxiety or worry? Maybe both?  This was definitely a JOY CRUSHING moment for all of us! Listen in while we explain the difference between anxiety and worry, how we deal with these feelings, and why it is importa...

Send a text This episode marks a new series called Joy Creators.  In these episodes, I will share a strategy one can put into place that will create JOY. Some strategies are simple and can be executed quickly, others may take a bit more time. First, you will hear a quick recap of episode #9 on Family Joy Crushers and how our action steps have been going. The remainder of the episode is strategy nu...

Send a text In this episode, our 14-year-old daughter calls her Dad and me out on something that causes a JOY CRUSHER in our family.  We call things that crush our joy, JOY CRUSHERS.  She has never told us this before.  We had an open conversation with our two children on this JOY CRUSHER, why this CRUSHER happens, and what we will do differently so it doesn't keep happening. Listen to this t...

Send a text In this episode we share in detail: What the 1-10 scale is. How we have used it for decision making as a couple. How the children could use it for decision making for themselves, with each other, or within our family.  Action steps on practicing with the scale! Lauren's Book, My Dad Died From ALS and How I Found Joy 30 Years Later https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2J15M3Z CONNECT WITH...

Send a text In this episode we recap how our last few weeks have been while implementing our active listening action steps. We even take it a step further. Find out what is going well and what our next steps are. Plus...hear a brief intro about the strategy we will be sharing with our children in E8 (in two weeks from when this is published).  The strategy is the 1-10 scale. You will hear how Mark...

Send a text SPECIAL GUESTS:  My niece Toni and her boyfriend Austin. Being in their early 20's they will share how they view: Joy What brings them JOY What takes them out of JOY How they get back to JOY Hear what they have to say about social media, how it affects joy,  and how "being in the moment" is essential to joy.  This episode is very valuable and enlightening not only for ou...

Send a text What is active listening? What are our positive active listening behaviors? What are our negative active listening behaviors? Action steps we will put in place for ourselves to create better communication between us. Actions steps you can put in place for better communication. Lauren's Book, My Dad Died From ALS and How I Found Joy 30 Years Later https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B2J15M...

Send a text What are Powerful Moments? Why are they important? Hear some examples from the book The Power of Moments by Chip and Dan Heath Addison shares how she created a powerful moment for a teacher. Hunter shares how he created a powerful moment for a stranger.  How can you create powerful moments for your family, friends, colleagues, etc? The Power of Moments by  Chip and Dan Heath https://ww...