Upcoming Event: Thriving Marriage Series.
Let’s be real. Right now, do you feel like your spouse is your best friend and partner in life? Your
Number One Person? If not, then I’ll bet you wish he did! The good news is that no matter where
your marriage stands now, if you want to refresh your connection and deepen your intimacy, you
can. You just need the right tools and knowledge. Starting July 6, my friend and colleague, coach
and positive psychology practitioner Anne Nelson is hosting a free interview series, the Thriving Marriage Series: How to Create Deep Connection & Intimate Communication in Your Life & Marriage. It brings together more than 20 experts to share their best advice for developing
greater intimacy and purpose in your marriage (and it will improve all your relationships)! Sign
up here, now: https://fullythriving.com/clifford&joycepenner
Upcoming Event: “Building a Passionate Love Life
Listen to The Penner’s two part interview with Dr. Dobson!
March 25, 2020
https://www.drjamesdobson.org/Broadcasts/Broadcast?i=e382b6b7-2fed-461a-b155-e5c95c85342d
March 26, 2020
https://www.drjamesdobson.org/Broadcasts/Broadcast?i=8dabf691-0d4b-49d9-b9bf-ce517b5503d9
Upcoming Event: Marriage Mastery Summit
March 14, 2020
Marriage goals! What are yours? If you want to be the couple you truly want to be, then it’s time to get real about what really goes into a fulfilling marriage that lasts a lifetime. My colleague Anne Nelson, an internationally credentialed coach with a passion for helping couples get unstuck in their relationships, is putting together a no-cost video interview series, Marriage Mastery: Transforming Conflict into Connection and Avoidance into Intimacy. In it, she’s interviewing 29 experts, including me, to get our best advice on things like how to communicate intimately without chronic conflict, improve your teamwork in life and in parenting, and enrich your sexual intimacy. We’re covering what character disorders look like (and how to cultivate a great marriage when one or both members of the couple have one), and how to rebuild trust between people. Plus, you’ll discover the difference between power and control in a marriage, and how to parent well without losing your identity as a couple. It all starts March 14, and you can sign up to join us at no cost, here: https://fullythriving.com/Penners
Upcoming Event: Moms Now!
Lake Avenue Church
April 21, 2020 @ 9:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
-Joyce Penner
Listen to The Penners on The Savvy Sauce Podcast!
Decemebr 9, 2019
Dr. Clifford and Joyce Penner join Laura Dugger on her podcast The Savvy Sauce!
Head to your favorite podcast app or click on the link!
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-savvy-sauce/id1435790871
Formula for Intimacy Card
Transitioning from the attraction and excitement of a new sexual relationship to the attachment and deep loving connection of married, committed sex may take engaging in some intentional practices.
♥ Are you no longer feeling the spark of your initial sexual connection?
♥ Do you kiss passionately just for theenjoyment of the moment?
♥ Or is your sexual response triggered by an external stimulus, like porn?
♥Do you fight the idea of connecting bydecision – a task to check off?
You can find intimate connection that lasts a lifetime by deliberately, with extreme intentionality – going against your natural inclination, practice our Formula for Intimacy!
- Determine together a time of day that will be most likely to work for the two of you to take the 15 minutes to connect
- Decide who will make sure this will happen or assign turns for initiating.
- Throughout each day, attend to the positive thoughts, feelings and moments you experience in order to start your time with a positive share.
- To exaggerate the intentionality, set at timer for each step of the formula – like 5 minutes for sharing; 5 minutes for connecting spiritually; 20 seconds for full body, front to front hug; 5 seconds for passionate kissing (or you may wait to add this to your practice until the other steps are comfortable and enjoyable)
New Book from Scott Symington!
If you suffer from anxiety and experience racing, panicky thoughts, you need help right away. You’ve probably heard about mindfulness, and how effective it can be in easing anxiety, worry, and destructive moods—but how do you do it, exactly?
In this go-to guide, psychologist Scott Symington presents a practical, breakthrough approach called the two-screen method to help you in the midst of worry and overwhelming feeling states.
Using this simplified mindfulness approach, you’ll learn to accept and redirect your thoughts and focus on your values. By using the two-screen method outlined in this book, as well as the three anchors—mindfulness skills, healthy distractions, and loving action—you’ll learn to relate to your thoughts and feelings in a whole new way. And when threats, fears, insecurities, and potentially destructive thoughts and feelings show up, you’ll have a game plan for dealing with these difficult emotions so you can get back to living your life.
If you have anxiety, being present with your negative thoughts and feelings is probably the last thing you want to do. That’s why the two-screen method in this book is so helpful—it shows you how to defuse these threats to wellbeing by not fighting their presence and placing your attention and life energy on what really matters.
Fuller Studio Interview with Cliff and Joyce
What Parents Need to Know—And Do—About Teenage Sexuality
The sex talk.
Many parents dread it.
The typical teenager dreads it even more.
And we think that’s a tragedy.
After all, God created us—all of us—as sexual beings. While our sexual identity transcends every life stage, adolescence is a time of particularly high sexual energy. As our children move away from their parents toward their peers, they will make choices—choices with consequences. We hope that they will fulfill their God-given potential. We pray that they will make choices that align with God’s teachings and will lead to healthy friendships, good mate selection, and a lasting marriage.
Formula for Intimacy Card
Transitioning from the attraction and excitement of a new sexual relationship to the attachment and deep loving connection of married, committed sex may take engaging in some intentional practices.
♥ Are you no longer feeling the spark of your initial sexual connection?
♥ Do you kiss passionately just for theenjoyment of the moment?
♥ Or is your sexual response triggered by an external stimulus, like porn?
♥Do you fight the idea of connecting bydecision – a task to check off?
You can find intimate connection that lasts a lifetime by deliberately, with extreme intentionality – going against your natural inclination, practice our Formula for Intimacy!
- Determine together a time of day that will be most likely to work for the two of you to take the 15 minutes to connect
- Decide who will make sure this will happen or assign turns for initiating.
- Throughout each day, attend to the positive thoughts, feelings and moments you experience in order to start your time with a positive share.
- To exaggerate the intentionality, set at timer for each step of the formula – like 5 minutes for sharing; 5 minutes for connecting spiritually; 20 seconds for full body, front to front hug; 5 seconds for passionate kissing (or you may wait to add this to your practice until the other steps are comfortable and enjoyable)
New Book from Scott Symington!
If you suffer from anxiety and experience racing, panicky thoughts, you need help right away. You’ve probably heard about mindfulness, and how effective it can be in easing anxiety, worry, and destructive moods—but how do you do it, exactly?
In this go-to guide, psychologist Scott Symington presents a practical, breakthrough approach called the two-screen method to help you in the midst of worry and overwhelming feeling states.
Using this simplified mindfulness approach, you’ll learn to accept and redirect your thoughts and focus on your values. By using the two-screen method outlined in this book, as well as the three anchors—mindfulness skills, healthy distractions, and loving action—you’ll learn to relate to your thoughts and feelings in a whole new way. And when threats, fears, insecurities, and potentially destructive thoughts and feelings show up, you’ll have a game plan for dealing with these difficult emotions so you can get back to living your life.
If you have anxiety, being present with your negative thoughts and feelings is probably the last thing you want to do. That’s why the two-screen method in this book is so helpful—it shows you how to defuse these threats to wellbeing by not fighting their presence and placing your attention and life energy on what really matters.
Fuller Studio Interview with Cliff and Joyce
What Parents Need to Know—And Do—About Teenage Sexuality
The sex talk.
Many parents dread it.
The typical teenager dreads it even more.
And we think that’s a tragedy.
After all, God created us—all of us—as sexual beings. While our sexual identity transcends every life stage, adolescence is a time of particularly high sexual energy. As our children move away from their parents toward their peers, they will make choices—choices with consequences. We hope that they will fulfill their God-given potential. We pray that they will make choices that align with God’s teachings and will lead to healthy friendships, good mate selection, and a lasting marriage.