The Happiest Baby on the Block can be your baby! When I look back on my life, one of the hardest yet most joyful seasons was when my babies were getting me up at night. The look in their eyes that said, "Mommy you are my world," delighted my heart but the sleep deprivation was brutal. One night as I paced the floor holding my sleepless baby, a horrible recurring thought kept popping into my brain: Toss her into the swimming pool. She won’t make a sound! Then you can go back to sleep! Arggghhh, I would moan as my heart beat fast with terror, Oh Lord, help me. Then it would cycle through my weary brain again . . .

God made us to attach to him and to others. Isn’t that amazing? If we don’t learn how to attach to God, how to trust in his love, care and provision the world can be an anxious place. If we don’t learn to attach to safe families around us either biological or spiritual, we will find something to cling to. It could be sugar, or performance, or cocaine. Our attachment style forms during our first 1000 days of life, from the moment of conception to our second birthday. During those same 1000 days, our brain grows. In the womb we grow our brain stem and the lower levels of our right hemisphere . . .

What? you may be thinking. Is Betsy going to tell us that babies like to party and need a Facebook page? No. Not that. But they are social. Get this: according to Beatrice Beebe, Ph.D. babies begin seeking social interaction when they are only ten seconds old! In a world where parents are primarily concerned with their children’s physical (can he walk yet?) and cognitive (can he read yet?) development, I find the idea that babies have social needs absolutely fascinating. Studies show that meeting a baby’s social and emotional needs impacts their mental health not just during their childhood but for their entire life span . . .

Babies need parents who delight in them, understand the stages of child development, and are fully mature. Let me unpack this a bit. When we are glad to be with our children, when we delight in them the way God delights in us, it builds joy. A baby‘s brain grows primarily during the first two years of life in response to joyful and peaceful interactions with his or her mother, or primary caregiver . . .

Read three testimonies from participants at the Immanuel Approach Conference in January, and how live interactions with Jesus Christ healed their hearts and helped them reach out and share him with others!

Sungshim Loppnow, with some help from her husband, John, created the Immanuel Journaling method. They have given HCI an exclusive interview so check out this intimate look at the process behind the creation of Immanuel Journaling. Learn how it can help you find healing and grow in intimacy with Immanuel, God with us.

Immanuel Journaling is a tool that is readily accessible, needs only a few minutes to complete, and has the potential to turn around one’s perspective from distress, offense, resentment, for instance, and to see things from God’s view, which is always powerful.