Respectfully Yours

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Matthew 7:12

Many of us grew up with this being one of the first known rules. The golden rule. The one you do not break. We learned this rule as the rule of respect in my home. And you gave respect to others not expecting it first either. To this day I have had a healthy attitude about respect. As I have help raise many lil ones, I have said yes Mame and no Sir to them. I tell them please and thank you. That is how they learn to say these things. As you get older you begin to learn why.

"The Power of Respect" is a book written by Deborah Norville (yes the anchor woman of Insider Edition). When I was looking for books to review I was thrilled to see this title. Especially the subtitle. "Benefit from the Most Forgotten Element of Success". Yes, you are successful when you give respect. First, you have not lost your own respect then. Second, your giving a gift to someone one else (the ol pay it forward rule).

Deborah reminds us how powerful respect is. And how important it is to make it a part of our daily lives. Reminding us again that this is a fundamental rule. We respond to people who respect us. We look up to people we respect. In a world where life is so fast the power of respect can slow it down. It puts a pause in the conversation. And most often a smile on a face.

Remember to use this tool, this basic gesture, this golden rule to enhance your life. Read "The Power of Respect" to remind yourself how important you are as well as those around you. Share this book with new mothers, young graduates and those starting off in marriage. As respect will help them grow in all areas of their lives.

Thanks, Deborah for reminding us of this basic tenant.

Rebel Stone

"Rebel Stone and the Ghost Whisperers" took me back to my tween years. I am an avid reader and in jr high I would devour three to six books a day. Reading about Rebel Stone by Walter Rouzer reminded me how fun it is to just let your imagination run wild. I so forgot the thrill of expecting the unexpected.

So now I will advise you to let your own tween have a jolt through the walls of Morgan McGurie's Mansion. They will be off on an adventure learning to help challenge the dark forces (we all remember doing that) and learning that things are all topsey turvey. Of course the plant is saved and all is good in the world by the end of the book. But would we have it any other way?

I am not going to give away what happens. I did not expect the turn of events. And if a 40-something grandma can still hide in the covers of this book then your tween will too.
Go visit "Rebel Stone and the Ghost Whispers" for yourself.

Back-to-School-itis

Today we have a guest post by Charlotte Reznick PhD. Charlotte Reznick is a child educational psychologist, an associate clinical professor of psychology at UCLA, and author of a new book, The Power of Your Child's Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success (Perigee, 2009, $14.95).

Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr

Six Tools to Relieve Your Child's "Back-to-School-itis"

By Charlotte Reznick PhD

For some kids, going back to school at the end of summer can be traumatic. Anticipating a new teacher, classmates, grade, or school can trigger fear, anxiety, and depression--not to mention very real physical symptoms such as stomachaches, headaches, and insomnia.

Fortunately, your child has a whole toolbox to draw from--in her own imagination. Here are six imagination tools parents can use with young children to relieve "back-to-school-itis."

Teach her to balloon breathe. With her hands around her navel, have her breathe slowly and deeply into her lower belly so it presses into her hands like an inflating balloon. The Balloon Breath has dramatic calming effects and facilitates a waking state of focused concentration and receptivity to positive suggestions. This one tool makes all the other ones easier.

Visit his special place. This is a safe private place within your child's inner world where he can work out problems or take a mini-vacation from stress and worry. He can invite a wise Animal Friend into his special place to talk to and help him, or he can even dig for a treasure box there that contains the antidote to his fear.

Draw the fear. Putting an image on paper: (1) makes her fear of separation realer and less frightening than keeping it inside, and (2) makes her fear less likely to grow because there is a concrete picture to work with. Once she has a picture, she can talk to it, find out why it's trying to scare her, strike a bargain with it, surround it with a soothing color bubble, and so on.

Talk to his symptom. When a child suffers from a worry headache or stomachache, these three questions can help eliminate the pain. Have him do deep balloon breathing (diaphragmatic breathing), then ask: (1) What color is it? (2) What shape is it? (3) How heavy is it? After more breaths, ask him again. Continue to breathe and question in rounds. His pain will likely change or disappear. If it doesn't completely go away, ask the ache what it wants him to know, do, or understand to release any more bits of pain.

Picture the future. Artwork is also an effective starting point when you're working with clear end-goals, like getting a good night's sleep or reducing a fear. Have your child draw two drawings--how things are now and how she'd like them to be. Hang the picture in her bedroom; this is a great reminder of her desired goal and the first step toward getting there.

Encourage drama. For kids whose nature tends toward drama, acting out their worries and troubles is a wonderful way to release them. Let them play it out--with puppets, with their bodies, with anything their imagination suggests. It's amazing what creative solutions come up when given free reign.

* * * * *

Laugh Out Loud Advice

I have had so much fun looking for my Dear Hubby's lil black book. Honest! I always said he had the book that has all the excuses men give their wives. You know what I mean. Why men can't pick up their dirty clothes? How did they forget your anniversary? And didn't they see that game last week?
Honest my DH always has such sweet answers I know he has to be getting them from some cheat sheet some where. Now I know where! Yep, I found his lil black book and it was (as expected) in disguise with a plain white wrapper. Even had the nerve to title it 'Rick and Bubba's Guide To The Almost Nearly Perfect Marriage'
I have had so much fun reading this book. And the CD that is at the end has had me in stitches in the Durango. I was so happy to receive this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers. I do not know how I have not heard Rick and Bubba on the radio or their TV show or through their books. It must have been a conspiracy to save DH from me. I know that I now have a goal to let all the other GRITS (girls raised in the south) know that there is a book (man's guide to marriage) that has all the secrets we have been looking for. Oh and to top it off I found out they stole our secrets too!
They published our well hidden Book of Blame to share with our football loving, hunting, fishing, can't find the remote darling husbands. There is even a confidentiality agreement the men must sign to keep us from finding out. So GRITS, I have caught them red handed and expect you to go out and find your DH's copy of 'Rick and Bubba's Guide To The Almost Nearly Perfect Marriage'.

Comes A Horseman

Image by *MizzEl* via Flickr

I adore reading. And I am lucky enough to have friends like Nessa who will share their books with me. Sad to say, I am not reading fast enough these days. So my to be read pile is stacking up on me. My bedside table looks like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

I have recently read a book that Nessa awarded me. It is an interesting thriller that is from a Christian writer named, Robert Liparulo. He is new to me but I see he has written 3 thrillers so far and 4 young adult books. Comes a Horseman was extra special due to an autograph name plate. It made me feel extra special to have that lil jewel.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Readernaut.com - Where Book Lovers Meet Online (killerstartups.com)
• ReadWhale.com - A Social Network For Book Lovers (killerstartups.com)
• The 8 Best Book Review Sites (makeuseof.com)