Every day, inner and outer violence ravages the soul, leaving us weak, fearful, and malnourished. In Soul Custody, Stephen W. Smith presents eight choices to help readers reclaim custody of their one and only life—choices about silence, community, vocation, honoring the body, finding one’s true self, and more. As Smith reminds readers, allowing God to shape the soul leads to the deep, full, and satisfying life that God had in mind all along. This is not a self-help book. It is not a book of easy steps to a happy life. It is an invitation to the life God dreams for each of His children. It is a call to start living—to let the soul wake up to life as God intended.

Global chaos. Dictatorial rule. Gripping fear. And Dalton knows it’s just going to get worse. When the rapture didn't happen like he’d preached it would so many times, former pastor Dalton James was left questioning his faith while his wife and congregation turned on him. Now he wanders the earth all alone. On what might be a fool's journey to a supposed island paradise hidden from the terrors of the new world—and the grasp of the “Peacekeepers,” who are anything but peaceful—Dalton finds that he’s not truly alone. There are others left who haven’t bowed to the evils. The remnants the Bible spoke of. Impossibly, the others are also headed to the fabled paradise and despite his desire to remain alone, Dalton soon finds himself the disenchanted leader of a group of wayward pilgrims. Dalton knows their journey isn’t going to be easy. In fact, it will be nearly impossible to navigate the burning earth while avoiding those who rule it with fear and domination. And “shoot to kill” orders for anyone who stands in their way. Will Dalton overcome his fears and finally find faith? Read now to find out! Great for fans of Jamie Lee Grey, Mark Goodwin and Kyla Stone, A Restless Soul series are short stories of biblically truthful and Christian-based fiction. This is a stand-alone series, meaning each book can be read out of order, much like a television series. Due to content, not recommended for children under 13.

This open access book provides an overview of the ever-growing phenomenon of children in shared physical custody thereby providing legal, psychological, family sociological and demographical insights. It describes how, despite the long evolution of broken families, only the last decade has seen a radical shift in custody arrangements for children in divorced families and the gender revolution in parenting which is taking place. The chapters have a national or cross-national perspective and address topics like prevalence and types of shared physical custody, legal frames regulating custody arrangements, stability and changes in arrangements across the life course of children, socio‐economic, psychological, social well-being of various family members involved in different custody arrangements. With the book being an interdisciplinary collaboration, it is interesting read for social scientists in demography, sociology, psychology, law and policy makers with an interest family studies and custody arrangements.

The positive male presence has always been extremely important in our society. However, for decades that presence has become more scarce and is lacking in the very places where it is most needed: schools, churches, and especially homes. As time goes on, more families are breaking apart because men are walking away. I often wonder if it was my destiny to experience this first hand. Soul Custody is my testimony. It depicts how people can seem to have it all together while completely broken and falling apart inside. In telling my story, I hope to help other men and women dealing with feelings of abandonment, neglect, lack of self-worth, and the despair that is often felt in the absence of the maternal or paternal presence. It is my prayer that this book will assist in the healing process, and help every reader to find a way to move forward.

Twenty years ago, joint custody was considered a questionable parenting arrangement when a marriage dissolved. Now, with shared responsibility by both parents having become a widely accepted alternative, the debate has shifted toward examining what circumstances make it workable and the extent to which responsibility should be shared. The first edition of JOINT CUSTODY AND SHARED PARENTING, published in 1984, set the agenda for law reform and research on the effects of joint custody. The initial volume reported on preliminary data from the small research samples then available and surveyed existing law. Benefiting from the studies that have been conducted since then and from new legal developments, this second edition--completely revised and updated to encompass the wealth of new research, literature, and law--represents the collective knowledge of child developmental experts, therapists, mediators, researchers, economists, and lawyers. Part I provides an overview of the history of child custody and considerations for and against. Part II, focusing on the factors that influence the choice of joint custody, discusses when it is most likely to succeed, obstacles that can impede its acceptance, and how a workable parenting plan can be structured. Also examined are related concerns such as female dependency, inequality, and economic considerations. Part III reports the results of research on the effects of joint custody for both children and their parents. Chapters examine findings on co-parenting two years after divorce, compare joint custody with maternal and paternal sole custody arrangements, and discuss the effects of custody arrangements on preschool children, child support payments, and ongoing post-divorce conflict. In Part IV, chapters explore trends in the law, judicial preference for one type of child arrangement over another, and the effect of joint custody on Aid For Dependent Children eligibility. Also included is discussion of California's joint-custody statute and Canada's legal perspective. The book concludes with two helpful appendices: a state-by-state chart of all statutory enactments and key cases on joint custody and shared parenting; and a sample joint-custody agreement with alternative provisions to suit different circumstances. There is also an extensive bibliography. Shedding light in an accessible format on the myriad issues, questions, law, and research findings that surround the topic today, JOINT CUSTODY AND SHARED PARENTING is a timely, invaluable resource for professionals who help parents make decisions about child-care arrangements when a marriage ends.

When journalist Josh Levs was denied fair parental leave by his employer after his child was born, he fought back—and won. Since then, he’s become an advocate for modern families and working fathers. In All In, he explores the changing face of fatherhood and what it means for our individual lives, families, workplaces, and society. Fatherhood today is far different from previous generations. Stay-at-home dads are increasingly common, and growing numbers of men are working part-time or flextime schedules to spend more time with their children. Even the traditional breadwinner-dad is being transformed. Dads today are more emotionally and physically involved on the home front. They are “all in” and—like mothers—they are struggling with work-life balance and doing it all. Journalist and “dad columnist” Josh Levs explains that despite these unprecedented changes, our laws, corporate policies, and gender-based expectations in the workplace remain rigid. They are preventing both women and men from living out the equality we believe in—and hurting businesses in the process. Women have done a great job of speaking out about this, Levs—whose fight for parental leave made front page news across the country—argues. It’s now time for men to join in. Combining Levs’ personal experiences with investigative reporting and frank conversations with fathers about everything from work life to money to sex, All In busts popular myths, lays out facts, uncovers the forces holding all of us back, and shows how we can all join together to change them.

Updated and revised with seven new chapters, a new introduction, and a new resources section, this landmark book is invaluable for women facing a custody battle. It was the first to break the myth that mothers receive preferential treatment over fathers in custody disputes. Although mothers generally retain custody when fathers choose not to fight for it, fathers who seek custody often win—not because the mother is unfit or the father has been the primary caregiver but because, as Phyllis Chesler argues, women are held to a much higher standard of parenting. Incorporating findings from years of research, hundreds of interviews, and international surveys about child-custody arrangements, Chesler argues for new guidelines to resolve custody disputes and to prevent the continued oppression of mothers in custody situations. This book provides a philosophical and psychological perspective as well as practical advice from one of the country’s leading matrimonial lawyers. Both an indictment of a discriminatory system and a call to action over motherhood under siege, Mothers on Trial is essential reading for anyone concerned either personally or professionally with custody rights and the well-being of the children involved.