The EXTRAORDINARY Family Life Podcast

This topic is one that can be sensitive, so we want to handle it appropriately. As usual, the subject came up because of an activity in Greg’s online class for teens —  Habits for a Successful Life  — and a resulting email from a mom. (We love getting emails). The students took a self-assessment of multiple areas of life—mental, emotional, physical, etc. For the physical assessment, they held thei...

In our podcast episodes, we like to answer questions we’re asked or to discuss topics that impact — or fire — us up. Lately, we’ve been discussing together the most recent school shooting in the United States (and the resulting usual public discussion about the need for gun control ). As American citizens, we also have a unique viewpoint because of the near decade or more we’ve spent living outsid...

In this episode, it seems as though we start talking about one subject and end with another. Yet, they are connected. We begin discussing how to deal with children who are ‘high spirited’ with minds of their own (which can sometimes be aggravating or embarrassing) and who grow up feeling ‘not good enough’ or as though there’s something wrong with them because of the constant correction they receiv...

In our work with couples and clients, we often come across marriages that are struggling. One of the MANY reasons this happens (or at least continues as an issue) is because of the husband’s inability or lack of skill in listening to his wife effectively in a way that she needs him to. Just as women need to understand a man’s need and desire for sexual intimacy , he needs to understand her need fo...

Every year on our birthdays and anniversaries we love to reminisce and ask ourselves, " Where were we celebrating last year? I wonder where we'll be next year?" Last year we celebrated in Portugal while we were scouting out the country to see if it could be a place we wanted to make a permanent home base. (We did a podcast episode about it because it was so serendipitous .) We could...

After episode #211 about What to Eat we received a lot of follow-up questions (thank you!) and were asked to do a follow up episode to clarify some things, such as: What if I'm lactose intolerant? What do you recommend to replace grass-fed milk? What about food storage? I store a lot of grains and legumes. What's the best way to eat them. Where do I find grass-fed meat, cheeses, butters, m...

Thanks for all of the questions! They help us to have relevant conversations in these podcast episodes. If you have a question about anything in life or family, send them to support@extraordinaryfamilylife.com This week’s question is related to full-time family travel vs. home base travel but the answer is relevant for all of us — it’s principle-based and applicable to every area of life . So if y...

In many of our episodes, we often reference food and its connection to behavior and emotion. So it’s not surprising that we received this request: “I would LOVE to hear an episode on food! YES it is confusing and hard to navigate! We've already made some good changes, but I'd love to hear your specific thoughts about how you implement this both at home and on the road. I'd also love to...

We truly love receiving emails and questions from followers, clients, and listeners because it gives us specific situations and challenges to address. We’ve learned that even though we (as humans) often feel that we’re the ‘only one’ dealing with a problem or circumstance , the truth is, we’ve discovered, if it’s happening to one person it’s likely happening to hundreds of others as well . That’s...

We received another question from a mom who was interested in joining my Family Charts & Systems course and community . In an email I sent out, it said: As a mother of seven children, my life seriously changed forever once I learned how to  FINALLY get organized. So when moms tell me they  don't have a system for chores  or study time, I'm like... "Say what?!" I get it. Some...

Welcome to today’s episode, we’re coming to you from Vienna, Austria this time. We just finished leading a WWII trip where we learned about the start of the war with the invasion of Warsaw, visited Auschwitz & Birkenau concentration camps, and explored Krakow and Vienna. We love to receive questions from listeners, coaching clients, and members of the Extraordinary Family Life Formula . One qu...

You might not realize it, but as a parent, YOU have a moral obligation to make sure that your child (or children) are NOT annoying. Why? Because in order for your children to function normally in the world — and to have a healthy, happy life — they need to be able to interact effectively in society. They can’t do this if they haven’t gained the skills of social interaction . One of the major signs...

Welcome to the podcast! We’re coming to you from Warsaw, Poland. Our kids are on the other side of town in an Airbnb and we’re spending the weekend at a luxury hotel to celebrate Greg’s 45th birthday. (Please excuse any sounds of the city such as sirens, etc.) There is a philosophy in parenting and education (perhaps started by TJED) that states ‘Inspire, Not Require’. The idea is that instead of...

We’re coming to you today from the city of Vilnius, Lithuania. We have loved traveling through the Baltic States. Today we’re going to continue answering some questions (since we were accidentally cut short in the last episode). We were asked about certain types of activities and whether or not our children participate in them because of our unique lifestyle. For example, ballet, piano, gymnastics...

We spent the New Year in Tallin, Estonia! We’re keeping the Denning family dream alive with family adventures . In December, we traveled through NYC, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, & Estonia. We’ve had some questions about the logistics of traveling with a family which we’re going to discuss in this episode. How do we do it? What do we do with our stuff? How do we make it work? We also get...

Greg and Rachel are still in Norway leading two trips. The first took place in Tromsø, 225 miles north of the Arctic Circle where they fed reindeer, went dog sledding, and saw the Northern Lights while cruising the harbor. The 2nd trip spans from Oslo to Flåm to Bergen and back where they're cruising fjords, taking spectacular train rides, and learning about Viking and Hanseatic history. Becau...

Hey everybody! Greg and I are in Oslo, Norway with our family, recovering from jet lag. In a few hours, we fly to Tromsø, 220 miles north of the Arctic Circle . Tomorrow begins our first Norway trip where 18 other people will be joining us for reindeer sledding, dog sledding, and the Northern Lights. ( Check out our 2023 travel schedule and join us here! ) This week’s podcast is audio taken from o...

2:20 "If you haven't played video games in the last 10 years,  they have become more addictive.  The people who create games, and other media, are strategically using their knowledge of  psychology and neurology in their favor.  In schools,  competition is being removed  and discouraged and many boys are turning to video games. 7:17 From your experience, being married, raising boys, and working wi...

We like to get our podcast topics from issues that really ‘fire us up’ (it makes for better discussions). This week, I was fired up by some comments left on an Instagram Reel I created about allowing ‘boys to be boys’ with audio taken from our recent Workshop on Boys Adrift — The Growing Epidemic of Undermotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men . Some of them said things like: This post really...

"My husband and I have been struggling a great deal in our marriage, mostly over parenting issues . We have specifically been struggling with our 13 year old daughter who told us she is gay ." Many emails and questions we receive from parents begins with something like this statement above. Spouses are struggling in their marriage, and it's often because of disagreements in parenting...

I remember the first time I realized that humanity’s desire for luxury was actually a driving force for improving the world. Previous to that I often felt that wanting luxury and comfort was wrong or bad… perhaps from generations of Puritanism passed down through religion and culture? But as I lay in the comfort of a luxurious hotel room feeling perfectly at home, I finally understood that this de...

We’ve been asked several times over the years by coaching clients and others regarding masturbation . Specifically, they want to know how to approach masturbation in general — with their children or teens , and in their marriage . Is it normal for teens to masturbate? What are the side effects or outcomes? And what about in marriag e? Is masturbation okay or normal, especially if your sex drive do...

We’ve all had the experience of being around someone who’s grumpy — even our spouse or children — and then soon we’re feeling grumpy as well. A mother of multiple children recently asked us, “When the people around me (aka my children) are grumpy, negative, or ‘down’, how do I not let that affect me?” Negative emotions and grumpiness are inevitable and a normal part of life. But when those around...

We are busy people. And so are you. We have a LOT going on, as I’m sure you do too. Human nature often makes us feel that we’re “too busy” to do things like morning routines or rituals. We’re “too busy” to do morning discussions with our family. But because you are so busy is exactly why you MUST do family discussions and devotionals . (When we use the term devotional we don't necessarily mean...

Fear is a universal emotion. We’ve all experienced it at some point. It is very real and very relevant. As a teenage girl, Edith Eger was a prisoner in Auschwitz Concentration Camp. She said that after she was released once the War ended, it was then that she learned that the greatest prison is the one in our own minds. Fear makes us prisoners of our minds. With all the people we work with — and t...