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.

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.

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.

The Handbook of Divorce and Custody brings together mental health professionals and forensic specialists dedicated to working in the legal arena with families in crisis. Section I provides the individual perspectives of experienced clinicians, all of whom share a psychodynamic and developmental purview, and supplements their accounts with the viewpoints of a lawyer and a judge. Section II examines parental psychopathology, which is often at the root of family conflict and turmoil. Section III deals with the nature and extent of the state's potential involvement with the family, from ensuring parents' rights to raise their children to identifying those circumstances that justify the termination of parental rights. The remaining three sections follow the progressive issues engaged by divorcing families as they work their way through the legal system: forensic evaluation, post-divorce legal arrangements, and the emotional aftermath of divorce, including indications for various types of therapeutic intervention. Through the Handbook, contributors pay special attention to a set of core issues that underlie - and complicate - the evaluations, recommendations, and judicial determinations that enter into the divorce/custody process. Specifically, they focus on the inherent conflict between the family's right to privacy and the state's commitment to the best interest of children; the increasingly uncertain question of what constitutes a family and who has the right to legal standing; the problematic role of fathers in the lives of their children; the nature of the evaluation process and the role of the forensic expert in a "good enough" evaluation; the important differences between the role of therapist and the role of evaluator; and, finally, the impact of divorce itself on the lives of today's children.

Preserving Family Ties was not written to give you a formula for action. Rather, this is a guidebook for understanding. It was written to give a clearer understanding of the complexity in child custody when parents separate. This book provides you the historical context for the changes you experience, and what you may fear. I have written this book to offer parents and professionals that context in which the new reality unfolds. It was written to help you understand that one can move forward best when they a) acknowledge your feelings as you endure so many life changes, often abrupt and unexpected; b) recognize the obstacles and options in the child custody and divorce process; and c) seek support from family, friends, community resources to affect the best transition for you and your children. There is no magic wand to solve problems that parents may encounter, real or imaginary. However, our imagination can play havoc with this journey of family transition. The future we prefer for our children, for each parent, for grandparents and other extended family members, can be far better than imagined.

Explores the advantages and disadvantages of child custody arrangements, including joint custody, sole custody, and bird's nest custody.