I shared how anyone can take steps toward better physical health in a sustainable way. And why we should be so concerned about doing so.

Additionally, I was asked how we could take simple steps towards better family relationships. That was like throwing steak to a dog—you know I love that subject!

I hope you enjoy this video. At the end, I give a link to some resources that will help you make better choices for better health this year.

Question: What has been a breakthrough choice of yours toward better health? Share your answer at https://kirbyandersen.com/2018/01/better-choices-for-better-health/.

That’s why this week I want to talk to you about: 8 Tips For Making Great Family Vacation Memories.

You don’t need a huge budget to make great vacation memories. Just a lot of togetherness and a few practical steps.

If you implement these simple tips, there’s a good chance your kids will want to continue vacationing together with you even after they’ve flown the coop.

Check out this video and updated blog post. You and your family deserve a great vacation!

But the best dads are those who lead by example in giving. And one of the best gifts dads can give to their kids is their availability.

That’s what this week’s short video and blog post is all about: Creating A “Dad Link” For Your Kids.

Dad’s presence should create a sense of security. The problem is dads can’t always be physically present.

And, yet, a dad can make himself accessible virtually 24/7.

Check out this video and blog post and learn how to create a “Dad Link” and give your kids want they want most—access to you!

Whether you have vast resources or not, the habits and values you instill in your child are what really makes the biggest difference.

I share 4 such habits I taught my kids in this week’s video and blog post, 4 Simple Habits To Get Promoted Faster Than Peers.

At the heart of these habits are 3 principles which life favors.

And it not only works for your child—these things will work for you as well!

Check out this video and updated blog post to help give your child a huge advantage in a highly competitive world.

It’s more than cards and candy. And it works not just on Mother’s Day but every day of the year.

Check out this week’s video and blog post, The One Thing Moms Can Never Get Too Much Of.

The best ways to give Mom the encouragement she deserves boils down to two things—it’s all here in the video for this updated blog post. 

And if you want to bless a mom with some daily bursts of encouragement, check out this resource Gail created for busy moms.

There are some posts that I’m more passionate about because of the potential impact. This is one of them.

Take just 8 minutes and watch…2 Things Your Child Needs To Hear From You—And Often.

You may be good at this already. If so, keep it up! It matters.

If you didn’t hear these things much in your home, you wish you would have. Make sure you’re kids don’t grow up without hearing them.

Click here to watch the video for this updated blog post. Share it with other parents. And let me know if it strengthens your resolve to say these things to your kids more often.

Gail and I feel that a family eating together is one of those vital activities. 

That’s why we’ve tagged teamed this week in this week’s video, Making The Most Of Mealtimes At The Family Table.

Every family eats—yet not all families eat together. And not every family knows how to leverage their time around the family table to go beyond just eating.

Gail and I share a few of our recommendations for doing just that in this updated video and blog post. 

Try to eat together as a family at least one meal a day this week. Don’t underestimate this time together!

When I think of the things we did in raising our kids, there are definitely a few things I’d do again—things I may have underestimated way back when.

That’s the focus on this week’s video and blog post, 7 Things I’d Do Again In Raising Our Kids.

It’s not an exhaustive list. And, honestly, the list might change depending on when you ask me. 

Yet these 7 things are significant enough that I urge you as a parent to consider—especially if your kids are still at home.

Click here for this updated blog post and video. I hope you enjoy it and that it will spur you on in making a family that you’ll treasure for your lifetime.

No, it’s not chocolate—although that may be true for some and all probably deserve!

It’s encouragement. Plain and simple.

Being a mom is a 24/7 job. Her daily schedule and tasks are often very rote and mundane. Generally not glamorous. And she seldom gets much—if any—positive feedback from those she serves.

It’s not Mother’s Day—and yet it is. Every day is a day to be more intentional about giving Mom some well deserved and much needed affirmation and encouragement.

Appreciation and Initiation

There are a lot of suggestions I might offer to show some love to moms. But most come under the headings of Appreciation and Initiation. I have it on good authority that the following go a long way to encourage a mom.

1. Notice and say something! I’m good about responding if asked, “Did you like dinner.” “Oh man, yes! It was amazing!” My response would have had at least 10x’s the impact had she not had to ask. Most of a mom’s day is filled with recurring tasks that become expected and go undetected. Laundry. Meals. Cleaning. Shopping. Paying bills. Bathing kids. Driving kids to school. Just because it may be the agreed upon division of labor, that doesn’t mean regular acknowledgement and appreciation should just be implied and understood without saying so. “Thank you!”, “This looks amazing!”, “Wow, you’ve been busy!”—all mean more than can be measured. Occasional thank-you notes can make the difference in making her service fulfilling or plain old drudgery.

2. Lend a hand. Just knowing someone has come along side to help can provide some renewed motivation. Again, don’t wait to be asked. Initiate. Step in and help. And if you don’t know what to do, ask the million dollar question, “What can I do to help?”

3. Give her a break. Experience has taught me that most moms won’t ask for a break, even if at a breaking point. So combine the appreciation and initiation by taking care of the kids and letting her go out for coffee with a friend, get a pampering treatment, or just a couple hours to do whatever she wants.

Most of this is directed towards husbands. (Ladies, feel free to leave this post open on his computer browser or even forward to him with a smiley face.) Men, let your kids see you appreciate your wife and help them learn similar skills. All of our lives our better when Mom feels appreciated and supported and fulfilled.

But all of us know a mom, not necessarily yours or your wife, that can use some encouragement. Get creative and bless a mom.

And let me make a shameless, unapologetic plug for a couple resources my wife, Gail, has for moms:

• Inspirational Moments For Moms. Gail has created a 28-day set of cards, each with a single encouraging and motivational thought-for-the-day for busy moms. Sometimes all a mom needs is a simple reminder of why she and her service matters. Click the link above for more info.

• And don’t forget her weekly Periscopes and YouTube channel, Mentoring Moments For Moms.

Show some love to a mom today—appreciate and initiate!

Question: What would you recommend as a guaranteed shot of encouragement for a mom? Share your answer at https://kirbyandersen.com/2016/12/the-one-thing-moms-can-never-get-too-much-of/.

Ever have thoughts like time is flying by faster than you thought it would? The kids are growing up way too fast? Are we building the family memories that all of us will treasure years from now?

Courtesy 123RF/stockbroker

I’ll bet I’m not the only one who’s lost a bit of sleep over those types of questions. It doesn’t necessarily mean we’re doing something wrong. It does mean we’re conscientious enough to be concerned about the kind of family culture and memories we’ll be proud of.

How One Advent Season Changed Our Family Forever

At the time of this writing, we just entered the Advent season. If you didn’t grow up in church, Advent has become the 4-Sunday run up to Christmas. Advent means “coming”. It’s a time of anticipation among Christians for the celebration of Christ’s first coming, born as one of us.

Advent has another special meaning for Gail and me. It reminds us of the beginning of a huge part of our family culture—Family Night.

When our two oldest sons were young, Gail read about making Advent a special family time by having a weekly time to do some Christmas activity as a family. So, for four Thursday evenings, she prepared a special dinner. We sat in the dining room—we used the occasion to also work on table etiquette! After dinner, we did an activity such as reading the Christmas story, a Christmas craft, or Christmas light-looking.

It was great. It didn’t take us long after Christmas to feel the void in our weekly schedule by that special couple of hours together as a family.

And so, Family Night was born. We realized we didn’t have to wait until Advent next year. This was so good we needed to squeeze it for all its worth.

I’ve written about Family Time in my ebook, 7 Weekly Habits To Supercharge Your Family This Week! What I want to encourage you to do today is to make this a part of your tradition.

When’s The Best Time To Start?

The best time to establish a weekly Family Time is…(drum roll)…THIS WEEK!

Every week that passes by without it is a huge missed opportunity. Don’t wait for Advent, New Year’s, summer break, after the big project is done, or when the kids get older.

The best time to start is NOW! Don’t overthink. Just start.

• Put in on the calendar. The key to making Family Time a weekly reality is making it a non-negotiable on the family calendar. Determine the best time to make this happen. We had our Family Nights on a weekday evening—usually Thursdays. But it doesn’t have to be a night. Choose your Family Time when it best works for your family, week after week. Then block that time out on the family calendar and personal calendars.

• The activity isn’t that important. Well, it should be fun but don’t obsess so much over what to do that it keeps you from starting. We took turns choosing what we’d do each week. It just had to be something we could all do together and it couldn’t cost any money. It’s not so much what you do that makes Family Time so valuable—it’s just having fun together that matters.

• It’s not a competition. You’re not going to be graded on this. You don’t have to out-do the previous week. Some Family Time’s will go smoother, be more fun, be more memorable than others. Just get started and enjoy the journey. The beauty of a weekly Family Time is you get a chance every week to just keep making it better.

• You’re building culture—not just memories. Honestly, I couldn’t name more than a few specific Family Nights. I’d have to read our journals to remember specifics. But it doesn’t matter. The win isn’t a great memory of a special Family Time. It’s the cumulative effect of hundreds of Family Times on your family culture that’s the real gold.

Tick tock. Tick tock. Time is passing. Establish your weekly Family Time this week. For your good, tell me when you’ll have your Family Time this week in the Comment section below. You can thank me later!

Question: If you have an established Family Time, when is it each week? If you don't, when will it be this week?! Share your answer at https://kirbyandersen.com/2016/11/when-is-the-best-time-to-establish-a-weekly-family-time/.