Discover New Passion and Purpose after the Kids Leave Home Many women approaching their empty-nest years do so with mixed emotions--feeling grief for what is no more but also excitement for what lies ahead. Barbara Rainey and Susan Yates are seasoned empty nesters, and they know firsthand the ups and downs, the uncertainty and challenges that accompany this new stage of life. Although Mom is a lifelong role, the job description changes significantly when the kids are grown. Questions abound: Who am I now? How do I relate to my kids? How will my marriage be affected? Where am I needed? Every woman in this stage needs to determine her own redefined role as wife, mother, friend, and more. Offering practical advice and biblical guidance, along with inspiring personal stories of women who have discovered how to live a meaningful life during the "second half," Barbara and Susan help you work out how to flourish and thrive in your own empty nests.

Parents of teens today face overwhelming challenges. Whether a model child out in a dangerous world or a rebellious maverick who's breaking mom and dad's hearts, every teen needs prayer. But where do parents start? Susan Yates offers parents a clear-cut and simple plan for praying for their teens. 31 Days of Prayer for My Teen helps parents focus on the needs of their teens and pray effectively for things like o moody, unloveable, or rebellious teens o friends and role models o temptation and decision making o sibling rivalry and anger o self-centeredness and doubt o and much more. Each prayer includes Scripture readings and journal questions for more in-depth study.

What exactly is the Empty Nest? It is typically the time when our children graduate from high school and either leave for college, join the military, or just move out to start their adult lives. Yes, they leave us! But it's all good, and we just need to know how to better navigate the mixed bag of emotions that this transition creates for us. Our goal for this book was to gather stories about how we as parents are dealing with, or have dealt with, the emotions of our Empty Nest experience. This book describes the Empty Nest and provides insight on how to deal with the emotions of being an empty nester from a life-coaching perspective, as well as guidance to those on the verge of entering the Empty Nest.

Dennis and Barbara Rainey, founders of FamilyLife, help couples establish the important daily habit of praying together, offering personal stories and answering questions about the dynamics of prayer. Daily entries -- including a short devotion, questions for reflection, and a prayer -- take husband and wife through topics related to prayer, spiritual growth, and key marital issues. “Sweetheart, let’s pray.” In the press of daily living, preserving a private moment to pray with and for your life-partner can be tough. Yet joining hearts before God is the single most transforming, intimate experience in marriage—a simple act that will fill your life, your relationship, and your home with wondrous love. A time to listen, a time to touch, a time to connect with what matters… Dennis and Barbara Rainey tell how a decision to pray together daily strengthened their understanding of one another, reduced conflict, and knit their hearts together in a deep, spiritual bond. Their thirty days of reflections can do the same for your relationship—starting today!

The bestselling author of And Then I Had Kids offers encouragement and guidance to parents of teens and preteens. Drawing from her experiences raising five teenagers, she offers parents a unique blend of insight, compassion, and advice. Yates empathizes with parents and, at the same time, helps them consider their teenagers' perspectives and needs.

Are you struggling to connect with your child now that they've left the nest? Are you feeling the tension and heartache as your relationship dynamic begins to change? In Doing Life with Your Adult Children, bestselling author and parenting expert Jim Burns provides practical advice and hopeful encouragement for navigating this tough yet rewarding transition. If you've raised a child, you know that parenting doesn't stop when they turn eighteen. In many ways, your relationship gets even more complicated--your heart and your head are as involved as ever, but you can feel things shifting, whether your child lives under your roof or rarely stays in contact. Doing Life with Your Adult Children helps you navigate this rich and challenging season of parenting. Speaking from his own personal and professional experience, Burns offers practical answers to the most common questions he's received over the years, including: My child's choices are breaking my heart--where did I go wrong? Is it OK to give advice to my grown child? What's the difference between enabling and helping? What boundaries should I have if my child moves back home? What do I do when my child doesn't seem to be maturing into adulthood? How do I relate to my grown child's significant other? What does it mean to have healthy financial boundaries? How can I support my grown children when I don't support their values? Including positive principles on bringing kids back to faith, ideas on how to leave a legacy as a grandparent, and encouragement for every changing season, Doing Life with Your Adult Children is a unique book on your changing role in a calling that never ends.

John and Susan describe how both parents and children can intentionally grow in character through the normal, daily events in life. They highlight eight essential character traits: integrity, faith, a teachable spirit, a servant's heart, self- discipline, joy, compassion, and courage. Questions at the end of each chapter and a leader's guide in the back of the book make this an excellent book for a group of parents to study together.