• Back to School Tips for Getting Through the Morning

    Back to School – Tips for Getting Through the Morning

    by Carolyn Knarr, MSW, LCSW, Director of Children’s Therapeutic Services School is back in session. How is your morning going? Are your kids getting out of bed bright-eyed and bushy-tailed? Do they come down and sit for a nutritious breakfast and then cheerfully go brush their teeth and get dressed? No? What is a mother or father to do? If you’re like most parents, you may get frustrated, then annoyed, then start to nag or yell. And it is deja vu, morning after morning. Kind of like the movie “Groundhog Day.”  Nothing ever seems to get better —  but it can. And the answer isn’t nagging or yelling. Have you…

  • Helicopter Mode: Who's It For... Really?

    Helicopter Mode: Who’s It For… Really?

    When we love and are committed to our family members, we want to ensure their success and happiness. It’s natural at times, however, that we may feel responsible, or be made to feel responsible, for the failures or unhappiness of those we love. This can include both our children and our spouse. Feelings of responsibility for another person’s emotions and behaviors can drive us into guilt, which may challenge our own personal boundaries. Before you know it, we might be climbing into the rescue helicopter and dialing the automatic pilot to the “No Boundaries Mode” so that we are always emotionally available to the other person. Now don’t get me wrong. Being emotionally available is a…

  • 1 Corinthians 13 Parenting With Love

    1st Corinthians 13: Parenting with Love

    by Carolyn Knarr, MSW, LCSW, Director of Children’s Therapeutic Services Sometimes it is hardest to apply God’s Word to relationships within our family. Let’s face it, our family and children can push us to our limits. We are often quick to react to the flaws of our family members even though we can easily show grace to strangers; and we easily show love and patience and bite our tongues when co-workers do things that bother us. Below is the well-known chapter on love from 1st Corinthians, applied to parenting. It is not meant to make you feel guilty or a “mess up,” but to encourage. It is a goal given…

  • June 2015 Newsletter Square

    Bridge to Wholeness | Volume 2 Issue 6 June 2015

    Welcome to the June 2015 Issue of the Agape newsletter, Bridge to Wholeness! Our monthly newsletter is the best way for you to keep up with what is going on around Agape, with events and updates, and articles written by our counselors. We hope it will help bring you a little bit closer to emotional, mental, and spiritual wholeness! In this issue (click to read individual articles): When A Loved One’s Desperation Turns to Thoughts of Suicide by Kristy Cobillas, MEd, PLPC Conflict Avoidance: Always Speak the Truth Even If Your Voice Shakes by Kathyrn Manley, MS, LPC, CST Technology & Your Kids: How to Set Appropriate Boundaries by Carolyn Knarr, MSW, LCSW…