I really enjoyed talking to Chris and Julie about their journey with parenting. While moving to California, Julie was diagnosed with cancer, yet they found the strength to thrive, rebuild a church and a community from scratch, and share their story in their new book, 'Fighting for Family.' I witnessed a lot of generosity and humbleness in their book and through my conversation with them. They have a great relationship with their children, which to me is the ultimate proof of a strong family. Here are the topics we covered:

• Fostering resilience and connection: highlighting the importance of learning resilience personally before teaching it to their children, and emphasizing the need for authenticity and vulnerability within the family.
• Setting practical goals for your family: seeking to understand before being understood, believing the best about each other, having open and honest conversations, working through difficulties, and inviting feedback without defensiveness.
• Recognizing when support is needed: Julie was able to see when her daughter needed emotional well-being support, ultimately leading her to homeschool her.
• Setting healthy boundaries: Julie shared how she and Chris were able to communicate openly about their needs in their relationship.
• Embracing imperfection: acknowledging that messiness is a natural part of family life and encouraging embracing imperfection rather than striving for an unrealistic ideal.
• Three commitments they strive to live by: admitting they can't control everything, being messy around others, and letting people be complicated, among others.

Click here to contact Chris and Julie

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