Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 9:06AM MAD21 By Roger
For the past few days, there have been signs warning motorists on a road near my house that the left lane is closed ahead, so please merge to the right lane. The sign isn't worded exactly like that, because the word please isn't in the State Highway Administrations dictionary.
Let Them In in Family Life Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 8:17PM MAD21 By MAD21
A friend of mine was telling me today about how his wife was complaining about how much he talked about work (and for the record, he agreed it needed to stop). You know know what I mean. All the conversations we have when we get home from work. Like needing to unload all of the day's events out of our brains before we explode. We spend all day trying to be politically correct and professional while working around other people (or not), that when we are in the safety of our own home with the people we love, we just let it all out like taking the knot out of a balloon.
Mind you, it's not all bad that we share our day's events with our families. I, for one, like very much to hear about the events of each family member's day. But like everything in life, there is such thing as too much of a good thing. We all need to be careful that it doesn't go too far.
Family, Family Life, Parents, Work in Family Life Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 2:17PM MAD21 By MAD21
A recent story posted on Sloppynoodle entitled "If you are Real" by Suzanne Eller is one of the most beautifully written descriptions of a woman's journey through life I think I have ever read.
I think too many adults write-off the struggles that some teens go through as if they weren't real. Like, "Wait until they are adults in the real world, then they will know what struggles are." Adults tend to forget what life was like when they were young, and how it felt to be helpless, hurting and alone. While some teens struggle with normal everyday life stuff like friendships and grades, others have struggles that run deep into their souls.
I encourage you to be that person who reaches out to someone who looks like they need a friend. Someone to not only tell them that there is a better way, but show them as well.
Read the story for yourself. I hope it changes your life.
Family, Family Life, Struggle, Teens in Family Life Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 12:40PM MAD21 By Roger
Did you ever wonder, "Why me?" "I can't handle this now, I wish someone could take this burden from me." Did you ever wonder in the big scheme of things this burden isn't so burdensome. God gave me a burden that when I received it, I thought, "It's all over for me now." Colon cancer.
Cancer, Faith, Prayer in Family Life Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at 4:53PM MAD21 By Renee
As a social worker working with homeless families, I can say that hope is a word that does not exist in the vocabulary of the majority of the families I work with. Granted, these families may have just cause to feel hopeless. They are without shelter, security, a place to just brush their teeth and do life. They may be struggling with domestic violence, disability, foreclosure and a myriad of hopeless situations. I often ask myself, "What can I possibly do to turn hopelessness into hopefulness?"
Family, Hope, Life, Social Work in Family Life 
