In today's episode, the Eyre's expand on their recent theme of JOY by explaining that the very things we often think will bring us happiness--Control, Ownership, and Independence--actually suck joy away from us. They then suggest three alternative "rescuers" to replace the robbers with. First, replace the paradigm of Control with Serendipity, Second, replace Ownership with Stewardship. And third, replace Independence with Synergicity.

In this ongoing series on Joy, particularly joy in families, Linda and Richard talk personally in today's episode about how many kinds of joy there are and how many things in our lives can have an element of joy within them if we are looking for it. They talk about the joy of gratitude, of generosity, of nature, of slowing down and feeling the flow, of deep communication, of imagination and creativity, and of course, of family relationships.

The first book Richard ever wrote was called "The Discovery of Joy" and the current book that he and Linda are working on is called "The Parental God." The tie between those two books is the subject of this episode of Eyres on the Road. Richard and Linda outline Joy's four levels, the highest of which involves faith in a Parental God, made up of a Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother--and their unconditional love and our "siblinghood" with all other people.

Continuing on their mini-series of JOY, Richard and Linda focus today on how we can give and receive joy to and from children. They begin with one of their family maxims, "Joy is the purpose of life and a choice you make." Helping children to feel certain kinds of joy is the best way to help them repeat positive behaviors, and the "case study method" or role playing is one of the most effective ways to teach joy.

Today, the Eyres begin a new podcast mini-series on JOY. Ever since their first book, called The Discovery of Joy, and through their national best-seller Teaching Children Joy and the worldwide Joy Schools that spun off from that book, Richard and Linda have centered much of their writing and speaking on this wonderful three letter word.

This week, the Eyres return to the "stories" format and tell some experiences of what music can do for a family, of music lessons for kids, and of creating a calm atmosphere in a home through music. Linda is an accomplished violinist and holds a music degree while Richard is a novice at best, but they share stories of using music in their own home and give a few suggestions for parents and grandparents in making music a part of children's lives.

On Today's show, the Eyres talk first about the FAMILY.IS social media awards, which recognize the best family and parenting centered Instagram, Facebook, Podcast, YouTube, Blog and Websites, and invite all BYUradio listeners to vote for their favorite social media influencers at https://awards.family.is/2021. Then Richard and Linda turn to the concerns parents have about Pandemic Stressed kids of and offer ideas about showing empathy rather than worrying about permanent mental illness.

On this episode, the Eyres talk about an article from the Institute for Family Studies and a book by Joseph Henrich on how the medieval Christian Church snuffed out practices like cousin marriage and polygamy and changed society from extended kinship tribes into a society of nuclear families which create responsibility and community and promote economic well being. But the main blessing of monogamy, the Eyres say, is the intimate, oneness relationship that can only come in committed marriage.

Today Richard and Linda start with Family History and what they are doing to honor "Grandpa Dean" who would have turned 100 this year, and how a family's history and founders can influence children today. Then, the Eyres get into what goes into any institution that lasts and endures--traditions, rituals, mottos, laws and standards, mission statements--and how we can make our families unified and permanent by using these same approaches and methods.

On today's show, Richard and Linda, still in Hawaii, tell some family stories about how the islands became a part of their family narrative. The year they build a "nipa hut" from bamboo to try to teach their children hard work and to replicate how much of the world lives, the Christmases spent there, and how two of their children attended college on Oahu. But the main theme of this episode is the importance of creating family memories that endure.