Articles
What to Do With an Unhappy Marriage
Marriage is beautiful. The coming together of two souls, two lives, two bodies, and two minds, into one lifelong relationship is one of the mysteries that still confront us in daily life. But it is also hard. When you love someone, that often requires setting aside your desires to be present for them and meet their needs. Taking someone else’s opinion and feelings into consideration in every decision you make can fray even the best of nerves, and it strains our hearts that delight in being safe and getting what they want. The union is beautiful and mysterious, but it is [...]
7 Methods to Treat Depression in Children All Parents Should Know
Children, at times, may experience depression. However, unlike adults, they likely have not developed the insight to identify when they experience depression-related symptoms, the vocabulary to explain how they are feeling or the insight into how their behavior toward others may impact their relationships. Parents may notice a change in their child’s demeanor, behavior, or ability to tolerate stress. Luckily for children, they may be blessed with resourceful parents that are looking to better understand changes in their child and how to help. If you’re reading this, you may be that parent. Here are 7 methods to treat depression in children [...]
Premarital Counseling: What to Discuss Before the Big Day
If you are recently engaged, there is a high chance your head is spinning with excitement at the prospect of marrying the person you love most in the world and premarital counseling may be the farthest thing from your mind. You may be neck-high in bridal magazines, potential venues, guest lists, registries, and honeymoon planning. What an exciting time of life this is for so many soon-to-be brides and grooms. When a person becomes engaged to someone they love, they often experience heightened feelings of safety and connectedness in the relationship. This is exactly how God intended it to be. The [...]
Behavioral Strategies to Help Your Children’s Mental Health
Children's mental health issues can start early. When Sally was a toddler, she struggled sometimes with leaving her mom’s side to go to preschool. However, as she got older and practiced drop-off many times, she started to recognize that her parent was coming back and her anxiety lessened. However, the anxiety that resulted from separation returned when Sally was nine. It took her mom off guard – she thought they had tackled this earlier in her daughter’s young life. This scenario is common. If one or more of your children are struggling with separation anxiety, you are not alone. Separation Anxiety Disorder [...]
Stress Management Techniques to Help You Unwind and Relax
We are two years into a global pandemic and its resulting chaos, and humans are feeling the effects. We could all use a refresher on stress management techniques. Stress management is something we all know we need, but the unfortunate reality is that in the moments that you need stress management techniques the most, you often can feel the most incapable of accessing them. That’s why it’s so important to develop strategies and tools when you’re not in an acute state of stress. What Is Stress? Stress is often framed as entirely negative, but the fact is that stress is an [...]
Emotional Abandonment: How to Recover
Emotional abandonment is a hidden pain that many people carry but don’t realize how it affects them now. They may think of abandonment as being physically separated from a loved one, or perhaps neglected. But emotional abandonment can be just as painful because the one who is abandoning you emotionally is still present w ith you. People often first experienced this dynamic as children, and now the resulting problems may carry over into adult relationships. An experienced Christian counselor can help you determine if you have experienced emotional abandonment and how you can heal from it. Emotional Abandonment in Childhood All [...]
Caregiving: When Caring for Others Becomes Overwhelming
Caring for others can be one of the most rewarding tasks on the planet. Over time, and without the proper system in place, it can also wear one down - mentally, physically, and spiritually. Tia Walker said, “Caregiving often calls us to lean into love we didn’t know possible.” Perhaps you are an in-home caregiver, work at a nursing home, volunteer to take care of a sick or elderly family member, drive a neighbor to and from cancer treatments, are a foster parent, or perhaps you are in the trenches of raising a family of your own. Regardless of which path [...]
Practical Tips for Dealing with Shame
“God so loved the world . . .” This familiar verse personifies our Heavenly Father (John 3:16). Love is not only what God does, love is who He is. Forgiveness pulses through the Father’s heart. It releases the promise of life to a world dying – of reconciliation with its Creator, the one Lord, and Father of all (Ephesians 4:6). All in Christ receive the gift of redemption. Salvation brings a new identity and deliverance from sin’s control and punishment, freeing us to love and forgive like God. Although God has forgiven and forgotten our transgressions, and while we are no [...]
Thanksgiving: Breaking Free from the Fear of Not-Enough into the Fullness of Life
It is nearly Thanksgiving Day as I write this. Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Growing up, it was one day to give thanks, spend time with family, and enjoy a bountiful supply of scrumptious, homemade food. But all that has changed for me. Now Thanksgiving has become a daily celebration of an endless supply of trivial things that add up to a full life. For me, this thankful life began ten years ago when I first read Ann Voskamp’s book, One Thousand Gifts. Currently, more than 1.5 million copies have sold, and Ann no longer lives in obscurity as [...]