This is a weekly post that highlights resources from other counselors that I have found helpful. The counselors may be from the biblical counseling, Christian psychology, integration, or secular counseling traditions. By linking to a post, I am not giving it my full endorsement, I am merely indicating that I believe it made a unique contribution or raised an important subject for consideration.

When Your Spouse Is Mentally Ill by Name Withheld (Anonymous)

My husband’s schizoaffective disorder devastated our family. Here’s what I’ve learned in the years since he was first diagnosed.

7 Parent-Child Money Conversations That Must Happen Before Senior Year by Art Rainer

High school students have many concerns on their mind—grades, their car, their crush, and the cafeteria’s mystery meat sandwich, just to name a few. But of the numerous concerns that consume your child’s thoughts in high school, money is probably not one of them. However, we know the advantage a basic understanding of money can give your child as they enter their senior year and are looking toward college.

A High View of Marriage Includes Divorce by Barry York

God hates divorce, doesn’t He? Absolutely. Isn’t the gospel about forgiveness and love? Yes, it is. And pastors and elders can use these two truths in isolation from the rest of Scripture and biblical principles to deny people divorce for biblical grounds. “But marriage is a precious thing,” one pastor told a woman whose husband was in prison for pedophilia. “It would be a wonderful picture of God’s grace to move on from this and focus on your marriage,” another one told the husband of an adulteress. “We’re working with him; he’s really struggling, and so you need to forgive him,” a session tells a woman whose husband has been using pornography for years.

Co-Parenting: Event Etiquette (Podcast) by Family Life

Kids love when their parents attend their recitals, concerts, and sporting events but not if co-parents make it stressful. So, mind your etiquette. Sit where you feel comfortable and be respectful to the other parent. After the event, let your child hug or talk to each parent no matter who has visitation. To keep the event safe for everyone, don’t discuss parenting matters otherwise it turns a recital into a business conversation. Let the moment be about celebrating your child.

Intelligence, Sleep, and School Achievement by Joseph Buckhalt

I have argued that sleep one factor that relates to the achievement gap between children from lower and higher social class, as there is evidence that children living in poverty (defined in numerous ways) have lower school performance and poorer sleep than their middle and upper-class peers (Buckhalt, 2011). The implication is that by improving lower class children’s sleep, they may perform better in school and help narrow the achievement gap that has been so concerning and longstanding.

  • For more an good sleep etiquette, see the “What I’m Reading Section” below.

What I’m Reading

Secrets of Sleep Science: From Dreams to Disorders by H. Craig Heller, Ph.D. For many of us, sleep is one of life’s greatest pleasures. For others, sleep represents a nightly struggle to fall asleep, stay asleep, rest comfortably, and even remain safe until morning. But what is sleep exactly, and why must we do it every night?

What is clear: Sleep is as essential to life as food and water. It impacts virtually every aspect of our lives, from our mood to the functioning of our organs, and it contributes to learning and memory, better performance at work, and a more healthy and productive wakeful life overall.

Secrets of Sleep Science: From Dreams to Disorders is your opportunity to access groundbreaking research on the complex and enigmatic phenomenon of sleep, straight from a scientist at the forefront of the field. In these 24 engrossing lectures, award-winning Stanford University professor and researcher H. Craig Heller reveals how far neuroscientists and biologists have come on their quest to pinpoint the principal functions of sleep—which remain a matter of intense debate.

Tweets of the Week

Meaningful Meme

Thanks for the Mentions

  • David Murray at Head-Heart-Hands for mentioning my addiction resources.
  • Taffy Hunter at LittleBird for mentioning my post of manipulative repentance.
  • The team at TheologyMix for running my series on depression.
  • Kevin Halloran at Anchored in Christ for highlight the GCM pre-marital mentoring series.

On the Lighter Side

Because, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones,” Proverbs 17:22.

I “very” much appreciated this instruction.