Interview with Authors and Speakers Richard and Linda Eyre From Values Parenting

WINTER WONDERLAND AT LDS PARENTING

     I have been the biggest fan of Richard and Linda Eyre for years ! I loved their books on marriage and studied them as I was preparing to marry my cute husband. I loved and still do love their books on parenting and have studied them since as soon as I found out I was pregnant with my first child - to just yesterday when I consulted my favorite book by Linda and her daughter Shawni - which I will talk about later in the post ! This couple amaze me. They are so blessed and they pour those blessings out on us as they write their books and share them with us, as they speak throughout the world and teach us and as they bring resources like Joy School and more to our homes and families. Please join me in thanking them for everything they have done for us ! Below you will find an interview that I was blessed to have in January of this year and I can't wait to share it with you! Love, JL~ 

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Questions ~ 

JL~ You have a link on your website VALUES PARENTING that takes us to a page where we can read all of your books for free ! Why did you decide to do that ? We are incredibly grateful ! Books are expensive these days and families can struggle with money while trying to pay for braces and sports and food for growing kids. Having this incredible treasure trove of all your books is an incredible blessing and it is growing families all over the world. Did you just have an "AHA" moment where you knew you wanted to give the best gift ever ? ( To read their books for free go here to register : FREE BOOKS 

EYRES~ Yes! Our whole goal with our books, at least at this stage, is to get them into as many hands as possible. Books have been good to us financially and we were lucky to have bestsellers and have them translated into more than a dozen languages. Because they are on parenting and relationships, they don't get old or outdated and now our whole objective is to make them available to everyone. 

JL~ I know I will be reading each and every one of them ! For busy moms and dads who don't get a lot of time to read - what one book would you recommend they start with ? 

EYRES~  The key with reading books, particularly these free books, is to pick out the one now that deals with what is challenging you right now. Trying to read too much or do too much will discourage any parent, but selectively picking topics of current relevance or concern will feel timely or right. 

JL~  Sister Eyre ~ The book that you wrote with your daughter Shawni ~ MOTHER'S BOOK OF SECRETS ~ is honestly one of my absolute favorite parenting books of all time ! I have a humongous bookcase full of them so that is really saying something ! My copy is dog-eared and torn up. It's been highlighted all the way through. I can pretty much just highlight the whole thing because every single page is important. I love how the book is small and simple. Shawni's amazing photographs coupled with the easygoing way that you take turns writing the chapters and discussing things like you are just sitting beside us talking, really makes it such a blessing for mothers everywhere. The chapter that I think helped me the most was " The Big Talk" ! I used it with all three of my precious children. It worked perfectly! And it was fun. My kids were very excited to find out what the big, miraculous, amazing, secret was ! Plus anytimte that you get to spend that one on one time with a child is special. For my readers, would you be willing to give a little peek as to what that big secret is and how you came up with the concept ? 

SISTER EYRE~ You have said this well ~ thank you ~ and I wouldn't change a word of what you said. 

( PS- note from JL- the big secret is.... procreation.... hehehe ;) 

JL~ A big part of your life is traveling and speaking all over the world. You're in Switzerland right now, correct ? How exciting ! How in heavens name do you get all of that energy to travel the world ? Is there a secret formula that you are willing to share with the poor, tired parents out there ? :) 

EYRES~ Energy is a product of how excited you are about the cause or purpose you are pursuing. We love the cause of stronger families ! Part of why we are here this time, along with some speaking, is that a European film producer who loved THE TURNING is going to make the book into a documentary film. If we truly prioritize and remind ourselves of how much we love our families, it will energize us in our parenting. 

JL~ Here's another question that kind of goes along with the secret formula for energy ! You travel the world, prepare speeches, write books, you keep up with websites like VALUES PARENTING and EYREREALM, you have created JOY SCHOOL and ALEXANDERS AMAZING ADVENTURES, and of course you go and visit all 9 of your kids and spouses and over 25 grandkids that I know of haha ! How do you manage your time ? Just being a mom and trying to raise righteous children, homeschool my kids, be a wife and homemaker and run my blog - I feel like I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off ! Do you use a specific planner or system to make sure that you remember everything ? Or do you have about 50 strings tied around your fingers so you don't forget ? ;)

BROTHER EYRE~ I wrote a book called LIFEBALANCE that explains that when we prioritize the important and not the urgent, there seems to be time for everything. 

JL~ What is your absolute favorite subject to speak about when you are speaking at different lectures and workshops etc ? You speak to so many different types of groups - from Fortune 100 companies to local church groups - what is that one subject that really gets you super fired up ? 

EYRES~ Two subjects we love most right now : 1. Getting kids over their entitlement attitudes, and 2. Being proactive grandparents ( grandparents can change the world ) 

The Eyre's with their children, their spouses, and grandchildren ! What a legacy ! 

JL~ One of the questions I have been dying to ask you, is what is the best piece of advice for parents. While researching all of the different websites and different aspects of your life , I found a recent blog post that stated, SUMMARY OF THE TOP TEN PARENTING IDEAS . How perfect is that ?!! I read the blog post and recognized quite a few of the ideas from reading your different books and I was excited to see a few that I haven't heard of before . So you answered my question in a way, before I even asked it ! But here's a hard one for you... what is the number one for you in that list ? If you only had ten minutes to talk with the entire world of parents ~ what would be the one thing you would tell them ? We sure look up to you as great examples of love, family unity, and purposeful parenting. I , for one, am incredibly thankful for you! 

EYRES~ Can't give a number one ! We did that list of 10 because they all WORK and parents have tried them successfully all over the world. Pick the one that is your number one need and you will have your number one idea ! 

JL~ Do you feel like Heavenly Father has helped you every step of the way to create these things and share them with others ? There are so many resources that you provide for families it is incredible. You have used your time on this earth in such an awesome way. It's a big inspiration to me ! Your entire family now has made it a priority to strengthen families across the globe.  I know that me and my daughters read Shawni's blog at 71 TOES every time she updates haha ! Your website EYREREALM shows us just what your entire family including all 9 kids, their spouses, and those beautiful grandbabies are doing with their lives to strengthen families. They each have their own unique ways of reaching out and helping families around the world. Do you ever stop and think about the incredible legacy you will be leaving behind one day ? Can you even believe that you have created this family and encouraged them and taught them and now they are doing the same thing with their sweet families ? Is it ever overwhelming ? It's amazing ! 

EYRES~ One of the greatest joys of our life is that our kids have picked up the parenting and family banner. All of our daughters have big time blogs with extensive worldwide readerships, and 4 of our kids are currently working on family oriented books of their own. They are way better parents than we were, seriously ! 

JL~ My blog is centered around LDS Parenting, but most of us are married also. You write and speak about marriage often. What is something that you just adore about each other ? :) 

EYRES~ Honestly, we love everything about each other, even the things we don't love.... does that make sense? Think about it... 

AREN'T THEY THE BEST ???????? I LOVE THEM ! 

Oh I hope you enjoyed this interview as much as I did and that you can go and explore all of the many resources that they have provided for us. The books that I linked to Amazon... that was so you could read the description of the books or purchase physical copies. :) I believe they are on the free books list... 

Happy Parenting ! Love, JL~