Personal Growth

We’re excited that you found this page! These resources will provide you with valuable insights into yourself and those around you and will assist you in your personal growth journey.

Learn how to be a better person, spouse or parent. Honestly assess your faith and gain insight and tools to grow deeper in your relationship with God. Learn how to overcome pain, anger, loneliness, addiction and forgiveness issues. Gain needed healing from past disappointments or trauma.

These resources are categorized to assist you in finding topics relevant to your interests. We’ve provided links to them whenever possible. So many of these books/resources have become dear friends and have helped shape who we are today. We’ve also used these same tools to help hundreds of people we’ve counseled through the years. We hope you gain as much from them as we have!

(click on the pics to open the link)

Section #1: Faith

In our opinion, this first group of books and web resources deals with the absolute most important aspect of your life. Faith.

Do you believe in God?
Have you placed your faith in His son Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?
Do you sometimes wonder if God cares about you and your family?
Do you wonder where He is when you’re hurting?

In my personal journey every hardship and everything that others meant for evil, pointed me to a God that loves me deeply and will never leave or forsake me, even when, no, especially when it seems that I am wounded, forgotten and alone.

These books will reveal, or at the very least re-acquaint you with, the God of the universe that loves you and your children. He is not some “feeble well-meaning old man” on a cloud somewhere. Nor is He “impotent or uncaring” about you or your children.

He WANTS you to seek Him in your pain. He loves your children more than you ever could. Find out what His plan is for you and all those “who are called according to His purpose in Christ Jesus”. His plan may surprise you, but it will definitely encourage and bring healing to you in the midst of the storm.

Section #2: Healing From the Devastating Effects of Divorce

From our experience dealing with thousands of individuals who have experienced a divorce, most people will tell you that their divorce was one of the most painful and stressful times in their life. Healing from divorce is a process that is often long and uncomfortable but worth every bit of effort you put into the healing process. In addition to the books below we would recommend that you don’t try and go through your divorce alone. Participate with a Divorce Care group in your area if there’s one available. It’s a place where you will find caring people who understand the issues you are facing.

You can also find additional help in our Divorce Protection Program here.

Section #3: Dealing with your emotions and getting rid of baggage

Most of the time our emotions serve us well. Without them it would be impossible to feel love, compassion, mercy and even grief. But sometimes our emotions become our master, leading us down paths that are fraught with danger, and are abusive to those around us. These books can help you to set healthy boundaries with those that would harm or take advantage of you and your children, while also freeing you from destructive habits and patterns in your life.

Section #4: Marriage tools and blending families

Everyone wants a healthy and fulfilling marriage. But the truth is that it takes consistent effort and learned skills to have a great marriage. Below are some resources to help you achieve that goal and to help you build a marriage that others (including your children) will aspire to have.

If you’ve been through a divorce, the last thing you EVER want to do is go through that again! Commit to investing the same amount of time and effort to build an awesome marriage with your spouse, as you would to build anything of great and lasting value. You better have a plan! And a bunch of skills and basic understanding of the opposite sex wouldn’t hurt either would it? There is hope after divorce!

If you think being married is difficult, wait until you start blending families! It can be great if you are equipped with effective parenting skills and have worked through your own issues, but it can be a nightmare if you haven’t. I would encourage each one of you that is considering starting another family (or blending one) to equip yourself with the best tools that you can find. Both you and your family will be glad you did.

Section #5: Parenting skills

Parenting under any circumstances is not an easy task. But when a divorce is involved, superior parenting tools and skills are needed more than ever. The following section offers help to anyone interested in learning how to effectively and lovingly parent their children. These resources will help you to lead and love your child better and to protect them from harm. Become the very best parent you can be. Your children are worth it.

Section #6: Helping your children through your divorce

Our children are the innocent victims of our choices and the choices of our ex-spouses. As parents we need to protect them from as much damage as possible and to help them in the healing process. The following books are excellent resources that help children work through the tough and even heart-breaking issues of divorce and a “broken” family.

Section #7: Parental Alienation – the “ultimate hate crime”

These books will explain what Parental Alienation is, how it is used, and how to help your children when you encounter it. A “must have” for anyone experiencing problems with their children, created by Parental Alienation! We have an entire section of this site devoted to Parental Alienation. We’ve also created a book called The Alienation Nightmare to help you explain this form of abuse to friends, family and professionals.

Section #8: Going deeper in your Faith

In this section you will find resources to help you go deeper in your faith. We start with the bibles and commentaries we love and use on a regular basis. We’ve also added some churches that we know are solid Bible teaching churches. There are many more and we will add others as we can. Please let us know if you have others to add. The last section of this page includes praise and worship songs that have touched us and been a great blessing to us. We hope they will do the same for you!

Bibles/Commentaries

Churches

We know how difficult it is to find good churches with solid Bible teaching. These are just a few of the churches we have attended over the years. Keeping Families Connected encourage to seek out a local church to connect with. Barb and I attend a local church but often go to other sources during the week to continue to dig deep and build our faith.

Music

These are just a few of the songs on our playlist that have helped us during some of the most difficult times in our lives. We hope that you will come to love them as much as we do.

We hope you’ve found these Personal Growth resources helpful and encouraging in your quest for strength, peace, understanding and healing.

FAQs

What does personal growth mean?
Personal growth means improving yourself mentally, emotionally, and socially. It includes learning new skills, building confidence skills, and finding life purpose development through self improvement tips and personal development guidance.

What are the 5 areas of personal growth?
The 5 areas are mental, emotional, social, physical, and spiritual growth. These include positive thinking habits, stress management growth, emotional growth strategies, and mindfulness and self awareness.

How do I improve my personal growth?
Improve personal growth by practicing self improvement tips daily. Focus on building confidence, managing stress, learning new skills, and following positive thinking habits.

How do you describe your personal growth?
Personal growth means continuous self improvement, better emotional control, and character development tips. It also includes spiritual and personal growth and finding life purpose development.