I posted an article earlier in the week “Talking to Kids about the Tornado in OK” so I don’t want to repeat that information. I’d like to concentrate on talking to kids of divorce.

Kids of divorce are in general fearful after the divorce. After a parent moves out for some reason the children experience undue worry about their safety.

• They worry the parent they live with might leave them.
• They worry about the other parent if things are okay.
• They worry the divorce is their fault.
• They wonder if anyone will love them.
• Younger children worry if they will have enough to eat.
• Living through a severe storm or tornado seems to be scarier when only one parent is there.

The list goes on and on. Many adults that work with children of divorce don’t realize kids are experiencing all these fears. The other thing you might not realize is many children of divorce feel they have no one to talk to about these things.

A child might have one parent who will protect them from all the TV broadcasts. Perhaps they monitor the child’s Internet viewing also. The child goes to the other parent and the TV is on all the time. The child is allowed to be on the computer and scours the Internet for stories about kids in the tornado.

Internal fears flourish but they feel they can’t talk to either parent about their fears. They know they have betrayed the parent at the other home by spending a lot of time on the Internet and watching TV. They also don’t want to get into a discussion with the parent they are visiting about why they don’t get to watch TV at the other home. Confusion reigns.

Please take a few minutes to stop and minister to the child of divorce and find out what they know about the tornado in OK. If you live in a state that doesn’t have tornados, the questions may be few. If you live in a state that has tornados or hurricanes, the kids may want more information. Or they may just want to talk to an adult they can trust.

Linda Ranson Jacobs is one of the forefront leaders in the area of children and divorce. She developed and created the DivorceCare for Kids programs. DC4K is an international program for churches to use to help children of divorced parents find healing within the arms of a loving church family. As a speaker, author, trainer, program developer and child care center owner, Linda has assisted countless families by modeling and acting on the healing love she has found in Jesus Christ. Linda offers support, encouragement and suggestions to help those working with the child of divorce. She serves as DC4K Ambassador (http://www.dc4k.org) and can be reached via email at ljacobs@dc4k.org. You can find additional articles from Linda on her blog at http://blog.dc4k.org/.

Free articles and devotions for single parent families in your church can be found at Linda’s website Healthy Loving Partnerships for Our Kids (http://www.hlp4.com).

One of Linda’s first series on the new blog highlights how divorce affects kids at every age and stage of development.  This is a great resource for you and for members of your church and children’s ministry in terms of ministering to children from divorced or separated homes.

Here are the installments in that initial series:

• How Divorce Affects Children
• How Divorce Affects Infants and Toddlers
• How Divorce Affects Preschool Age Children
• Effects of Divorce on the 6, 7 and 8 year-old Child
• Tweens and the Effects of Divorce on Their Lives
• Effects of Divorce on Teens and the How Mobile Devices Can Complicate Healing

We would like to congratulate Linda on her new blog.  We are grateful for her continued work to educate those in the church about the plight of children of divorce, and we know that this will be a valuable new tool in that effort.  We will continue to highlight resources from that blog here on Divorce Ministry 4 Kids.

As girls grow into adulthood, become involved in a relationship and marry or start a family, the memories from the divorce of their parents pop back into the brain – the sleeper affect kicks in. They begin to worry if the other person in the relationship will walk away. They wonder if their marriage will fail like their parent’s marriage. The worry if they know how to be married.

They feel doomed in their relationships. They don’t know how to be in a relationship. One young woman told me she could only breathe and trust her marriage after she has surpassed the number of years her parents had been married. She said she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. For 17 years she had waited anxiously, but after her 17^th year of marriage she felt she could finally relax because they were going to make it.

Judith Wallerstein, author of “What About the Kids” and a pioneer in the psychosocial effect of divorce in children says this about the sleeper effect,

“the effect of something that happened long ago, went underground, and only come up when issues that draw on those past experiences move to the center of the stage.”

She goes onto state,

“Whatever they have observed in how parents treat each other and how parents treat children are the images they bring to young adulthood and work on as they mature.”

I have to wonder if there might not be a “sleeper effect” to the religious side of the brain. We know kids form their basic attachment to God from the attachment they have with the earthly parent. It would seem then if that relationship with an earthly parent is skewed, then their image of God and a relationship with Jesus Christ might not also be confusing.

Most kids do more of what is modeled before them than what is told to them. As children’s church leaders and volunteers we have an incredible opportunity to model Christian values, loving marriages and interactive relationships with your own children. We can model a faith walk and a prayer life.

What matters?

• You matter
• Your life matters
• Your ministry matters
• Church matters
• God matters

What about that sleeper effect? Oh yes, it is there, and it matters deeply in the lives of children of divorce.

What can you do to lessen the sleeper effect in the kids of divorce you work with at your church?

Linda Ranson Jacobs is one of the forefront leaders in the area of children and divorce. She developed and created the DivorceCare for Kids programs. DC4K is an international program for churches to use to help children of divorced parents find healing within the arms of a loving church family. As a speaker, author, trainer, program developer and child care center owner, Linda has assisted countless families by modeling and acting on the healing love she has found in Jesus Christ. Linda offers support, encouragement and suggestions to help those working with the child of divorce. She serves as DC4K Ambassador (http://www.dc4k.org) and can be reached via email at ljacobs@dc4k.org.

Free articles and devotions for single parent families in your church can be found at Linda’s website Healthy Loving Partnerships for Our Kids (http://www.hlp4.com).

As those who work with kids on a regular basis, we need to be in a position to react to, and deal with, those circumstances that are likely to occur in the lives of some of the kids in your ministry. As I thought back on some of my most uncomfortable moments I’ve experienced personally in children’s ministry, I realized that they were uncomfortable primarily because I was unprepared for the situations to come up. Given the circumstances involved (one was a child who had a grandparent die, and the other was when a child told me they had spent the day before helping Dad to move out of the house), I should have been better prepared. Since then, the same or similar circumstances have presented themselves multiple times. The only difference was that I was better prepared for the conversation. They are never easy conversation, but they can be made less uncomfortable with adequate training.

As leaders in children’s ministry, it is your responsibility to make sure that your volunteers are not caught off guard by these conversations and that they are equipped to speak into these kids lives no matter what circumstances they may find themselves in. Particularly in a large group/small group format where the small group leaders consistently speaks into the lives of the kids in their group, they need to understand and appreciate what the child of divorce and child from a single-parent home is going through.

Here are some ideas for how to train your volunteers to help them to minister to children of divorce and children from single-parent homes:

• Make the basics part of your initial volunteer training. Share the statistics about divorce and children’s living arrangements with your volunteers so that they will have an appreciation for how rampant the issue is. Much of that information can be found right here on DivorceMinistry4Kids.com.
• Continue to train your volunteers on a regular basis (at least annually) on the impacts of divorce and separation on kids. Teach them about the emotions these kids experience and how best to deal with them.
• Role play with your volunteers in training to discuss how they would react to children sharing news about changes in their families.
• Provide resources like Dealing With the Effects of Divorce on Kids, the My Feelings Workbook and other resources found here and on sites like IAmAChildofDivorce.com that your leaders can utilize or provide to parents in ministering to these kids.
• Teach your leaders techniques like the GAP Method for dealing with fear, the RACE against anger or breathing techniques for dealing with stress. You never know when these techniques might be helpful in dealing with kids from divorced or single-parent homes.
• Teach your volunteers about the difference between empathy and sympathy and teach them how to empathize with children of divorce and the situation they find themselves in.
• Remind volunteers about the importance of using inclusive language and not making children from single-parent homes feel left out by using ordinary phrases like “check with your mom and dad.”
• Educate your volunteers on how children of divorce may react differently to common biblical stories like the prodigal son or the time Jesus was left at the temple.
• Encourage your volunteers to volunteer for a divorce recovery group like Divorce Care 4 Kids, the Big D or the I Am A Child of Divorce Online Support Groups.
• Remind your volunteers that in dealing with difficult children in your ministry, there may be something more underlying the behavior.
• If possible, send your volunteers to a children’s ministry conference and encourage them to sit in on a workshop on ministering to children of divorce. Linda Ranson Jacobs will be leading a four workshops in a Ministry to Kids of Divorce and Single Parent Families track at the Group Kidmin Conference in Columbus, Ohio on October 11-14, 2013. I will be leading a five workshop track on Ministering to the Modern Family in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania on November 8-9, 2013. Linda frequently presents at the CPC Conferences as well.

I remember one year I stood in the church parking lot and watched all the families come out of the church and shout to each other, “Hey we’re taking our mom out for lunch. Why don’t you guys grab your mom and come with us.” Or, “The kids and I are going to celebrate mother’s day for Peggy at the Golden Corral. Why don’t you bring Betty and the kids? Our families can celebrate together.” I swear pain stabbed my heart just as if a knife had been laid to it.

I wondered why when church and pastors recognized mothers they only acknowledged the moms in complete families. I know some single moms who won’t even attend church on Mother’s Day.

A friend of mine shared that one Mother’s Day the minister at their church had all the moms and dads stand. He asked the dads to bring the moms to the front of the church where he prayed for the moms and her kids. My friend said the single moms were seated all over the sanctuary. As she looked around, she said every single mom left standing alone was weeping.

She said she wanted a husband so bad at that moment in time. She wanted a dad for her kids. She wanted to be a complete family.

At Single Parents About.com, they state that 84% of single parents are mothers. These are mighty women warriors. They walk the road alone and let me tell you it takes gumption, stamina, fortitude and the ability to exist on hardly any sleep.

Take a minute to search out the single moms in your congregation this Sunday, and if they are sitting alone, offer to sit with them. If you have room at your table, invite a single mom to join your family for lunch.

Jesus loved the widow and orphan. How about you?

Linda Ranson Jacobs is one of the forefront leaders in the area of children and divorce. She developed and created the DivorceCare for Kids programs. DC4K is an international program for churches to use to help children of divorced parents find healing within the arms of a loving church family. As a speaker, author, trainer, program developer and child care center owner, Linda has assisted countless families by modeling and acting on the healing love she has found in Jesus Christ. Linda offers support, encouragement and suggestions to help those working with the child of divorce. She serves as DC4K Ambassador (http://www.dc4k.org) and can be reached via email at ljacobs@dc4k.org.

Free articles and devotions for single parent families in your church can be found at Linda’s website Healthy Loving Partnerships for Our Kids (http://www.hlp4.com).

It’s hard to tackle these burdens alone. A support group, private coach, professional counselor or other similar resources will be very valuable in reminding parents that

1) You are not alone in your experiences or feelings, and

2) There is a brighter future ahead for you – if you take proactive steps in that direction.

While family and friends are usually very well-intentioned, their support may not always be valuable for you. They have their own agendas, perspectives and values about marriage, family and divorce. What parents most need at this difficult time is a support system that is dispassionate, compassionate and knowledgeable about responsible behaviors that will move you into a more positive chapter in your life.

Here are a few suggestions to guide parents in boosting their self-esteem during the divorce and its aftermath.

Be committed to releasing the past

If you stay stuck in reliving and clinging to what no longer is your reality, you will not open the door to the next chapter in your life. There will be better, brighter days ahead – if you allow that awareness into your experience. Make space in your life for new friends, relationships, career options and fulfilling activities. Look for and expect new opportunities in new places. See the future as a positive beginning for you and your children. You’ll be pleasantly surprised about what you can create when you anticipate good things ahead.

Choose your company wisely

We can’t easily change other people, but we can change the people we associate with. If your social group isn’t supportive of you, or tends to wallow in self-pity, realize you have a choice in your life about who you spend time with. Choose instead aware, introspective people who accept responsibility for their own behavior and proactively move ahead in transforming their lives. Move out of the blame game and put yourself in the company of positive people with high self-esteem who can appreciate you, with all your assets and baggage, as the wonderful person you are. You may find these people where you least expect them. So step out of your comfort zone – and be receptive to new friends and new experiences.

Be Flexible about Change

Life is always filled with changes, not just during divorce. Get comfortable with the unknowns ahead and accept that change is inevitable. While dark periods are tough to handle, realize they too will fall away and be replaced with better days and new relationships. Listen to your self-talk. Let go of limiting beliefs about yourself. When you catch yourself in doubt, fear or put-down language, become aware of that message and consciously refute it. I am a worthy parent. I can attract a new loving partner. I deserve to be happy in my relationships. My children love me and know how much I love them. Determine what you want to change about yourself from within and relax about controlling circumstances around you. When you come to accept the reality of changes in your life, you’ll feel more at peace with yourself and those around you.

Life is all about choices and decisions. Use your divorce as a catalyst for positive change. Choose to be the person and parent you most want to be. Then watch how circumstances around you settle into place more harmoniously than you ever expected.

Rosalind Sedacca, CCT, is a Divorce & Parenting Coach and author of How Do I Tell the Kids about the Divorce? A Create-a-Storybook Guide to Preparing Your Children — with Love! For her free book on Post-Divorce Parenting, her free weekly ezine, coaching services and other valuable resources about divorce and parenting issues visit http://www.childcentereddivorce.com. To learn more about her internationally acclaimed. ebook, visit http://www.howdoitellthekids.com.

You’ve got to love forms, right? Whether you collect information in a computer database or still use a paper based system, most churches collect some sort of information about the kids that come through their doors and their families. Given that roughly 40% of children do not live with their married biological parents, it is important to consider whether or not your forms reflect the changing shape of American families.

How would a family that was cohabiting fill out your intake forms? What about a divorced family where the child splits time between two houses? What about a single-mother and her kids? How would grandparents who are living with their grandchildren fill out your forms? Do you know which kids in your ministry come from non-traditional family forms? Do you have a systematic way of sharing this information in a confidential way with the children’s teachers and/or small group leaders?

Take some time this week to sit down with the forms you use for your children’s ministry and consider how they might need to be revised to be more accommodating to kids from divorced and single-parent homes. Here are some suggestions on things to consider:

• Do you have separate sections on your forms where both mom and dad can fill out their addresses and contact information? Consider a form which includes separate sections for mom and dad with a checkbox they can check in the event that the contact information is the same.
• Do you ask for information about other churches the children in the family may be attending with non-custodial parents? If you gather this information you may have a chance to reach out to the children’s pastor/director from the other church to collaborate on the children’s spiritual development.
• Many forms include a section for listing brothers and sisters. Do you have a section on your forms for capturing other children who live in the same house with the child like step-siblings and half-siblings? What about children of a live-in partner of one of the parents?
• Is there a place on your form where parents can list other adults (other than mom or dad) living in the home? This would allow parents to list significant others, aunts, uncles, grandparents or friends who live with and influence the child.
• When you look at the design of your form is it clearly intended to be filled out by a traditional married mom and dad family or does it acknowledge different family types?
• Is there a place for parents to explain the living arrangements of the child? Do you know if the children in your ministry are splitting time between homes?
• Do your forms inquire as to whether or not the child’s parents are still married?

As you think about redesigning your forms, keep in mind that some explanation as to why you are gathering this information might be helpful to parents who may feel like you are prying into their personal lives. Reassure them that, like them, you are only interested in their child’s well being and that this information will help you to best minister to these kids. For practical reasons, you may want to consider an abbreviated form for allowing children into your ministry on a Sunday morning with a more detailed form to follow that the parent(s) can take home and bring back the following week. This will prevent the proverbial logjam at the check in counter.

Forms are critical to gathering important information, and information is key to effective ministry. Sit down with a copy of your forms this week and consider whether you are gathering sufficient information to really know the kids in your ministry who do not come from traditional homes.

The scriptures say,

“Then Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him and a bronze helmet on his head. David fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around, because he was not used to them. ‘I cannot go in these,’ he said to Saul, ‘because I am not used to them.’ So he took them off.”

King Saul was proud to try to dress David in his own outfit. But, when David tried walking around King Saul’s garb, the “garb” did not fit David. Of course it didn’t fit! David was a young shepherd boy. The outfit was not made for him. It was made for King Saul, not a small boy.

Parents, church leaders and other adults often try to fit children of divorce into “outfits” for the adults but just don’t fit the child of divorce.

Divorcing parents load the kids down with all their issues. They dress the kids in a coat of ugliness and bitterness; they put on the tunic of resentment and shame. Then they plop on the helmet of aloneness and add on many other decorations.

These children come to church and we try to make our ideas, our experiences, fit them, and we want them to do battle with our sword. We give them the sword of scripture and religious jargon. Our adult perceptions and religious jargon are confusing to a child who is only truly concerned with his or her family’s situation. Children can’t make the connection between the scripture and what is happening in their own lives.

Just like the sword Saul wanted David to carry into battle against Goliath was too heavy for him, the scriptures we give to these kids don’t seem to fit the child’s situation. Unchurched children don’t understand this foreign language. Even if they have been raised in church, all of sudden to them the meanings behind the words are confusing.

They may think things such as, “IF God loves me, why doesn’t He make my mom move back home?” They have to have simple explanations given to them so they find their own way just as David had to find his way to fight Goliath. His way was something foreign to Saul, for it was five smooth stones and a sling.

We can only facilitate the healing process for these children. We can’t make the kids heal, but we can show them and make it easier for them to find their way to the Lord, to Christ and where they will find true healing. When David faced Goliath, he said,

“You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied” (v. 45).

We have to come against the giant of divorce not only with God’s Word, but with God’s love. These children will come to us with large amounts of baggage and bitterness. We have to make it easy for them to pick up the smooth simple words of Christ and use those words to put in their slings. Then we can send them out into the world to do battle with what they are comfortable with and what works for each child.

Love, acceptance, understanding and connections are paramount with the children who attend our churches.

Linda Ranson Jacobs is one of the forefront leaders in the area of children and divorce. She developed and created the DivorceCare for Kids programs. DC4K is an international program for churches to use to help children of divorced parents find healing within the arms of a loving church family. As a speaker, author, trainer, program developer and child care center owner, Linda has assisted countless families by modeling and acting on the healing love she has found in Jesus Christ. Linda offers support, encouragement and suggestions to help those working with the child of divorce. She serves as DC4K Ambassador (http://www.dc4k.org) and can be reached via email at ljacobs@dc4k.org.

Free articles and devotions for single parent families in your church can be found at Linda’s website Healthy Loving Partnerships for Our Kids (http://www.hlp4.com).

Ending a marriage can be a difficult and ugly thing for everyone involved, but it is still the responsibility of all parents to make every effort to minimize the trauma the divorce causes for their children. Unfortunately, it is all too common for adults who are angry, sad, and/or hurt to become so consumed with their own feelings that they forget about, or overlook, those of their children.

Child Custody – What is it and how does it work?

Divorce is difficult in any circumstances, as no one enters a marriage with the vows, ‘until it gets too hard.’ When children are involved, things get much more complicated. Deciding how much time the kids will spend with each parent, which household will be their primary residence, and who has final say on the important decisions that impact their lives is a delicate process, and one that usually has to involve the courts.

In cases that have to be litigated in a courtroom, the judge will be the person who makes the final decision regarding all of these issues. If parents are able to work through a mediator instead, they will be in control of the outcome, and as long as they are able to agree and to abide by their own decision, the courts won’t have to be involved. Unfortunately, the bitterness and anger that divorcing adults feel often forms an obstacle that keeps them from placing the best interests of their children over their own desire to punish the person who betrayed them.

When the time comes to make difficult decisions about custody and childrearing, this advice should help parents remember to make the long-term best interests of their children their top priority, as it should be.

So, how can parents help to minimize the impact and stress of divorce on their children when it comes to child custody issues?

Bring in a neutral party

Every parent believes that they are the person best qualified to make decisions about their child. However, in the case of a divorce that may or may not be true, and at the very least there are often two competing ideas about what is “best” for the child. Anger and resentment that have built up over the years can make it easy to forget the difference between your ex as a spouse and as a parent. The fact that you have decided that you no longer want you’re your ex as a husband or wife in your life may overwhelm the knowledge that your children still need both of their parents.

Involving a disinterested third party can help to ensure that everyone is represented, especially the child or children whose futures hang in the balance. There are a couple of options when it comes to disinterested third parties. A qualified mediator is someone who is trained to deal with disputes, who has education and vast experience with these specific situations. This person will facilitate a conversation instead of a fight while working for the best interests of the child. One online service that can help you to find such a mediator is Peace Talks.

A child custody lawyer can help parents to protect their parental rights and navigate any legal steps that are required. The site I write for is called Attorneys.com. One of the services provided by the site is to help parents link up with the appropriate lawyer.

Let go of the anger

Whatever led to the end of the marriage, once you have separated and begun the process of divorce, the time for anger has passed. It may not be easy, but try to remember that carrying around impotent anger is unhealthy and unproductive, and if you have children you will have to continue to be a part of each other’s lives.

Divorce ends marriage, it doesn’t end families! Try to put aside your feelings about your ex’s failings as a spouse and focus on their importance as a parent. A bad husband can still be a good father, and long-term separation from either parent is almost never in the best interests of any child, except, of course in cases of abuse. Trying to keep a child from either of their parents when their own safety isn’t a concern is cruel and selfish, and overcoming the level of anger that blinds a parent to the pain they’re causing their child is difficult, but absolutely worth doing.

In many cases, divorced parents avoid contact with each other as much as possible, thinking that if they see each other they’ll fight and that isn’t good for their children. While seeing their parents fight is definitely traumatic, feeling like their family has broken is much worse. Putting aside the anger that you feel toward each other to spend time together as a family will be comforting and therapeutic for a child who feels that his or her world has splintered. After all, making your child feel secure and loved should be more important than a spiteful exchange about a past mistake.

Alan Brady is a freelance writer who focuses on issues that affect families. He began to educate himself about divorce and its effects on children after realizing that the fact that he and his wife were still together put his own daughter in the minority among her peers. He lives in Idaho with his beautiful wife and currently writes for Attorneys.com, which helps to connect people with the legal representation they need.

In some states there is actually a law called, “In the Presence of Child.” If there is domestic abuse when the child is present, even if the child is asleep, the perpetrator can be convicted. Don’t believe words have power? Think again. Research was done in this area before these laws came into being. Make no mistake – negative words will impact a child’s inner voice for years!

Kind and pleasant words can be a driving force when helping a child to process their parent’s divorce. Commenting on the child’s effort will go a long way in helping the child understand they have the ability to work through the hurt. Praising their effort doesn’t mean you are praising their intelligence. It means you comment on their persistence in moving forward. It means you praise their effort to control their anger and how they are making strides in how to handle depression. It means you give them hope that life is going to get better. You are truthful with them, and when you are asked questions you don’t have an answer for, you let them know you don’t know.

Generic praise is the use of words that a lot of us say but which don’t have much meaning. They are actually judgmental. You know the “Good job” or “Good boy” types of praise. It is your judgment that what the child did was good.

Children of divorce hear much of this kind of praise from parents. For example a dad who doesn’t live with a child might make a comment such as,

“That was a good job on the spelling test. You are really smart.”

or

“You are one smart kid. You must get the brains from MY side of the family.”

Not only do the words praise the child’s intellect, they also serve as one more jab at the ex spouse. Plus, you have put the child in the position where the child has to be worried about always being smart enough to be worthy of the brainpower on his dad’s side of the family. What if he fails a test? What then?

Trying to “happy up” the child by saying things like, “Oh come on now, you know your mom loves you. Let me see that frown turn into a smile” or “It can’t be that bad” will only serve to drive the child deeper into anger or depression. You might not see these emotions come out because children of divorce are chameleons when it comes to displaying their feelings in front of adults. Many will take on the nuances of the adults around them. However, the hurts in their hearts do not change.

Incidences like these only serve to drive a nail deeper into the wall around their inner being. Healing the heart doesn’t happen. Resilience doesn’t happen. Coming to grips with living in two homes doesn’t happen. Coming to Christ as their risen Savior doesn’t happen and understanding there is a God that will never leave them doesn’t happen.

Psychologist Heidi Grant Halvorson in Psychology Today (March 2013) says,

“Being praised for effort or other aspects of performance directly under your control leads to resilience, while being praised for being smart or some other innate abilities can lead to feelings of helplessness or self-doubt when a setback occurs. The ideal is to help someone think positively but realistically about achieving goals while praising their hard work. When praised for persistence, those who think the path ahead will be difficult invest more effort.”

We want the child of divorce who comes to church to invest more effort when it comes to coping with the many aspects of living through the death of their once intact family. We want them to be resilient. We want them to cope well. We want them to know the true healing that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and we want them to draw close to God, the Heavenly Father who will never leave them.

Linda Ranson Jacobs is one of the forefront leaders in the area of children and divorce. She developed and created the DivorceCare for Kids programs. DC4K is an international program for churches to use to help children of divorced parents find healing within the arms of a loving church family. As a speaker, author, trainer, program developer and child care center owner, Linda has assisted countless families by modeling and acting on the healing love she has found in Jesus Christ. Linda offers support, encouragement and suggestions to help those working with the child of divorce. She serves as DC4K Ambassador (http://www.dc4k.org) and can be reached via email at ljacobs@dc4k.org.

Free articles and devotions for single parent families in your church can be found at Linda’s website Healthy Loving Partnerships for Our Kids (http://www.hlp4.com).