Extreme Grandparenting

Grandparents have a vital role in the lives of their grandchildren, not only as a mentor and loving family member, but as a spiritual rock during the hard times. Extreme Grandparenting helps readers understand how to make the most of the new role of grandparent and how to grow the next generation for greatness.

Grandparenting with Grace by author Larry McCall explores what grandparenting looks like from God's perspective. In this profound and accessible guide, McCall invites readers to glean from God's Word how they can have an impact on their grandchildren that can bear fruit not only throughout their grandchildren's lives but even into eternity.

Many powerful voices are influencing our grandchildren, from those at home and in their schools to those in the world of entertainment and media. What can you as a grandparent do to speak wisdom and godliness into their lives? Equipping Grandparents is a brief book to teach pastors how to begin a grandparenting ministry in their church.

This book investigates the changing culture of grandparenting. Depending on the group, the period, and the family, grandparents have been powerful patriarchs and matriarchs, reliable second parents, dependents, burdens, or community figures. The book examines the history of grandparenting and the changing depiction of grandparent culture from “old” to “hip,” including the development of the celebrity grandparent, the emergence of media technologies that allow for new communication and relationships between grandparents and their grandchildren, new rituals associated with grandparenting, the growth of the marketing of grandparenting as a new stage of life, and the impact on our culture of the commodification of grandparenting. Prior to the twentieth century, within the United States the idea of the modern grandparent likely did not even exist. Many people did not live long enough to reach the grandparent stage of life. Today, people are living longer, and grandparenting is occupying a longer phase in one’s life. Grandparenting is becoming its own life stage, where new rituals exclusive to grandparents are emerging. Newer technologies, such as Skype, Google Hangout and FaceTime, allow grandparents who are far away to establish relationships with their children. Many grandparents also use social media and blogs to chronicle their experiences. Some grandparents have turned their grandparent lifestyle into a business. The representation of grandparenting in popular culture is shifting as well. Grandparents are becoming their own figures on television and film programs, including reality shows. Others have been thrust into the public eye across social media. Marketers have realized the power of this new consumer subgroup and have begun to direct marketing campaigns to grandparents. Yet, despite the pervasive images of grandparents, some of which present empowered figures, grandparent representation in popular media continues to mimic many of the stereotypes commonly associated with aging, encouraging people to laugh at versus laugh with these figures. The Third Act: Grandparenting in a Digital Age examines grandparenting through history, interviews, and popular culture to study the changing image of grandparents in society.

Many grandparents experience a surge of joy with the birth or adoption of a grandchild. For years afterward, time together is eagerly coveted, pictures are treasured and displayed, and multiple gifts along with various kinds of support are gladly provided. Richard Olson, a retired minister, professor of theology, and grandparent many times over, presents the unconditional love of a grandparent as indicative of a vocation, a calling from God. He explores the vocation of grandparent in all of its multiple dimensions of being and doing. Informed by a biblical perspective, the book explores the author’s personal journey of grandparenting and includes conversations with a diverse set of other grandparents. Olson examines biblical examples of grandparenting and suggests that the grandparent vocation has possibilities that often go unnoticed. These include care, enjoyment, and response to issues throughout a grandchild’s growth. He also addresses concerns for our grandchildren’s future world, and how grandparents can engage in mutual conversation about faith, morals, and values in a changing world. In addition, Olson discusses increasingly common relationship types such as grandparents serving as primary caregivers, adults becoming step-grandparents through marriage, interreligious family systems, and grandparents handling children with special needs. The book includes questions for personal or group reflection.

Many powerful voices are influencing our grandchildren, from those at home and in their schools to those in the world of entertainment and media. What can you as a grandparent do to speak wisdom and godliness into their lives? Grandparenting gives you a biblical foundation for investing spiritually in your grandkids, walking you through the principles of influencing them for Christ--from sharing with unbelieving grandkids to discipling them into a mature faith. This book is perfect for individual use, small groups, or Sunday school classes. A Grandparenting DVD is available that features eight family ministry experts with over five hours of video content. Two other resources are also available: Biblical Grandparenting is a full-length leadership book that places grandparenting ministry on a firm scriptural foundation. It is ideal for pastors and church leaders as well as for use in the classroom at seminaries. Equipping Grandparents is a brief book to teach pastors how to begin a grandparenting ministry in their church.

When the kids are gone, you can discover a richer, deeper, and more fulfilling life than you ever imagined! Whether you've been looking forward to it or dreading it, the experience of coming home to an empty nest brings with it a well of emotions, realizations, and one gigantic, all-consuming thought: Now what? In Finding Joy in the Empty Nest, Jim Burns combines his personal experiences with his expertise as a family educator to help you navigate your new life as an empty nester and find joy in this new season of life. Rather than offering shallow suggestions of hobbies you should take up, Burns encourages you to actively pursue a fresh start, reinvent yourself, and thrive. Backed by extensive research and filled with interviews with fellow empty nesters, this book equips you with practical advice and timeless principles, teaching you how to: Change the relationship you once had with your children for the better Face big issues--including aging parents, finances, and kids returning home--with confidence Rekindle your fire and purpose to live with passion day by day Amid Burns' wealth of know-how, you'll uncover what may be the most important takeaway of all: the best is yet to come. Praise for Finding Joy in the Empty Nest: "Jim Burns is smart, witty, grounded, and immeasurably practical. Whether you're getting close to the second half of marriage or are in the thick of it, you won't want to miss out on this fantastic book." --Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott, bestselling authors of Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts

Why do some people risk their lives regularly by placing themselves in extreme and challenging situations? For some, such as astronauts, the extreme environments are a requirement of the job. For others, they involve the thrill and competition of extreme sports, or the achievement of what seem like unimaginable goals to some - such as being the first to reach the South Pole or climb Mount Everest. Whether for sport or a career, these people have made the personal choice to put themselves in places where there is a significant risk. What drives such people? What skills and personality traits enable the best to succeed? Does a successful mountaineer, astronaut, and cave explorer share the same abilities? Are there lessons the rest of us can learn from them? In Extreme, Emma Barrett and Paul Martin explore the challenges that people in extreme environments face, including pain, physical hardship, loneliness, disagreements, and the approaches taken to overcome them. Using many fascinating examples and personal accounts, they take a close look at the psychological impact on those who face these challenges, the traits that enable some people to succeed, and what we can take away from their experiences.

"Accessible and appealing, Contemporary Grandparenting begins in a way that immediately involves the reader in a personal way. The material included is highly engaging, written with many examples to support the theory and research. I have seen nothing that comes close to this important contribution. The research and real-life 'stories' make the work particularly valuable for a wide range of audiences. As an author, Arthur Kornhaber speaks to our hearts as well as our minds as he brings his intellectual points to life." --Carol Tice, Lifespan Resources, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan "I enthusiastically recommend this eminently readable book for anyone of any generation. Contemporary Grandparenting is especially appropriate for the cynics who, like some poets, in moments of despair, describe old age as 'no place for old people.' . . . Arthur Kornhaber conveys best, if not beautifully, grandparents' most wonderful side. . . . This book is a treasury of information that has been mined from the long tunnels the author has explored."

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.