Randy Rolfe

FAMILY FIRST: Effective Family Health Management With Dr. Sharon Norling

How many times have you or someone in your family gone to the doctor and beenunsatisfied with the results? The typical tests ordered may be inconclusive, so that you may look good on paper. Perhaps you are told, "It's all in your head," but still you may feel tired or anxious, or you can't focus, have joint pain, can't sleep, or just don't feel well. You may wish your doctor would listen to you and get to the root cause of your problem. But your doctor may fail to see you as a whole person, more like a collection of body parts needing a different chemical for each symptom. My guest this week on Family First is Dr. Sharon Norling, M.D., a recognized leader in the practice, teaching, and advocacy of integrative, preventive, and holistic health practice, applying natural, safe, whole person strategies whenever possible. She specializes in advanced testing to find the root cause of a person's health challenges. Listen in to hear how you can manage your family's health more effectively.

FAMILY FIRST: 5 Key Activities for Preparing Kids for Back With Brenda Mott

We all look forward to summer, particularly the kids, when they have more freedom and new experiences and maybe more time to play and be with family. But it ends sooner than we think and we begin to wonder how we can best get our children off to a good start on the school year and make the school experience as successful and meaningful as possible. How do you prevent your child forgetting what she learned in the spring? Or make sure he is prepared to settle down to the routine of school? My guest this week is Brenda Mott, the founder and director of Smart Mom University, an amazing online resource for parents with wonderful courses and practical information on just about any parenting issues you can imagine. Today we will be talking about the five key activities which can put your child - you the parent - in the best possible position to make a smoothtransition from the summer months. So do tune in and gather valuable tips on simple ways to prepare for back-to-school.

FAMILY FIRST: How to Comfort a Dying Loved One With Penelope Mont

The largest generation ever is now in middle age and many of them are caring for elderly parents who are in their final transition. When your loved one asks, "What's going to happen to me when I die?" How do you answer? And how do you deal with your own feelings as your loved one leaves this life? Often families are so caught up in making arrangements, giving care, and trying to comfort a dying loved one that they don't know where to turn to get the support and answers they need. My guest this week is Penelope Mont, who has extensive experience helping families weather this difficult time. Mont has worked for decades in the assisted living and hospice care fields, also caring for Alzheimer's patients and training others to help families at this time. Mont has created useful tools to help. To celebrate the publication this week of my new book Mothers Losing Mothers: Comfort and Reassurance in Your Time of Loss, I am happy to welcome Penelope Mont, expert in end of life transition.

FAMILY FIRST: Can Parents Get in the Zone? With Michael Mendizza

Athletes have their zone, writers have their flow, children have their play - are theserelated? Is there a zone for parents? What if parents could parent from a place of self-less absorption and complete engagement in the moment? Could they tap into an intelligence much deeper than any book, expert, or training could provide? My guest this week is Michael Mendizza, author of Magical Parent-Magical Child, the Art of Joyful Parenting, with Joseph Chilton Pearce. Michael's work helps adults rediscover the "playful" and "childlike" genius of their own innate intelligence, as they guide, learn from and mentor children, which results in a radically different learning environment for children, transforming both child and parent and creating what Michael calls the Optimum Learning Relationship. Michael will share valuable insights from his 25 years of personal relationships with scientists, authors, visionary educators and athletes and his more than 100 taped interviews with them, now online.

FAMILY FIRST: Stress – The Missing Diagnosis With Peter M. McCarthy

If you ask someone if they have any stress, they either roll their eyes saying, "Doesn't everybody?" or they laugh saying, "Who me?" We all have stressors in our lives, at home, at work, even on our dinner plate. Many assume it's just that way and if we feel worn out there is nothing to do but fill up on energy drinks or medications. But my guest this week says this is a formula for ruin. Peter M. McCarthy is author of the new book Adrenaline Nation, in which he describes how the chronic stress of modern life is not only making us sick but is also bankruptingour economy, He will share the changes that we can make to turn this process around and regain our ability to protect our health from stress. He holds a Doctorate in Traditional Naturopathy from Trinity College of Natural Health and is President of the Texas Complementary and Alternative Medicine Association and Chair of the Texas Health Freedom Coalition, the largest state level grass roots natural health advocacy network.

FAMILY FIRST: What Buy USA Made Can Mean for You With Sarah Mazzone

Are social media a distraction and obsession or can they be a force for positive change? Will our children waste time and energy and become sleep deprived searching yet another site, or go into debt consuming whatever is advertised online, or will they find a way to use this new tool to make their world a better place? My guest this week on Family First is dedicated to making social media an instrument of change. Sarah Mazzone is a Registered Nurse, active blogger, newmother, and leader in the movement to live simply and buy what is needed from American manufacturers and from one's local community. Sarah Mazzone developed her growing blog, "made in usa challenge.com," to build on her love for writing and her desire to explore American consumerism and associated issues. Sarah specializes in health and wellness, informatics and technology, and research and writing. Find out how to build your family's health and our nation's economy by being conscious consumers and communicators.

FAMILY FIRST: Episode Title : Environmental Awareness for Kids - Without Scaring Them to Death With Dawn Mazzone

Almost every day we hear of another manmade environmental problem andour children are at risk for thinking it's hopeless to try to reverse some of thedestructive trends or develop sustainable communities for the future. Yet wewant our children to grow up with a sense of responsibility to theenvironment on which we depend for life. How do we do this without scaringthem to death? And what do they think of us, the adults, who have let oureconomic system proceed with so little "green" consciousness? Today we willbe speaking with Dawn Mazzone, sustainability advocate and expert, aboutthis idea of living together sustainably and about the practices and thinkingneeded in our homes and within our families for bringing forth a moresustainable - living greater - community. Dawn is one of the growing numberof thought leaders building the momentum of social change in which businessperformance is responsible environmentally and socially and our children arethe future of business.

FAMILY FIRST: What’s With Today’s Weddings? With Paul Mayer

After all the flowers, caterers, favors, videographers, expensive gowns and decorations, what does today's wedding really mean to the bride and groom or to the guests? Are weddings just a big party? Many young couples want their weddings outside of conventional settings or just outside .. Can there still be mystery, a spiritual bonding, a sense of the miraculous? My guest Paul Mayer has officiated at hundreds of weddings and has found a way to bring back the transformational meaning traditional cultures saw in weddings .. Mayer's wedding ministry came to him after over half century of leadership in the cause of peace and justice, from civil rights work with Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. to efforts regarding Central America, the Vietnam War, the Soviet Union, Israeli-Palestinian relations, Japanese Atomic Bomb Survivors, Cuba, and the Climate Crisis. Father Mayer will share his powerful insights about how weddings and family can help to create a better world.

FAMILY FIRST: Radical Unschooling With Dayna Martin

We hear a lot about how our educational systems are flawed and are both failing our kids and stressing our economy at the local, state, and federal levels. It may be that we have demanded far too much of our schools. They were designed to teach kids the basic skills they need to function in the modern world. But now as a society we have come to expect them to sit for our children before and after academic hours and to be primarily responsible for teaching basic health, sportsmanship, moral values, compassion for others, and more. But it's not working. These functions have been the responsibility of parents throughout history until only a few decades ago. Some parents are taking back that responsibility and my guest this week on "Family First" is a leader in this "unschooling" movement. Dayna Martin is Founder, Creator, and Conference Diva of Life Rocks! an annual conference in New Hampshire where families come together to learn, have fun, and share their experiences.

FAMILY FIRST: How to Reclaim Our Innate Health With Gina Loree Marks

If you watch a lot of TV you would think that we were programmed to fall apart and that only unnatural chemicals with all kinds of unpleasant and dangerous side effects can keep our bodies and minds running properly. But healers throughout history have insisted that Nature knows best and that if we work with our natural innate power to live in harmony with Nature, we can significantly reduce our likelihood of contracting disease and we can in all likelihood live healthy, happy, and long lives. My guest this week is Gina Loree Marks, who has been living and teaching this approach for over 15 years. She first discovered what has been labeled the Continuum Concept when raising her own children and has evolved this approach into a holistic practice which focuses on the healing art of shiatsu to help bring harmony and alignment into her clients' busy lives. She will share how her philosophy and techniques can help with almost any stressful situation a family member may face.