Communication in Marriage: How to Keep the Fire Burning
When you combine time with certain things, it can have either a positive or a negative effect. Under the right conditions, time applied to squeezed grapes can produce fine wines of excellent vintage through the fermentation process. With the right kind of milk reacting with certain kinds of bacteria cultures in the proper conditions over time, you can produce cheeses of a wide variety, consistency, and taste. That’s the good stuff. When you expose meat, or bread, or milk to the elements, the [...]
“Should I Get Married?” Practical Questions to Ask First
A slight breeze stirs the trees as a cloudless sky gently pours out the liquid radiance of the sun. The peal of wedding bells echoes as a newly married couple walk down the aisle and outside the church, where beaming guests shower them with flower petals. The glowing bride looks resplendent in her gown, her incandescent joy obvious as she looks with longing into her new husband’s eyes and clasps his hand. The dashing groom drinks in the sight that is his new [...]
Codependent Relationships: Power Struggles
Codependent relationships are complex, yet common. The codependent person in a relationship tends to have too much dependence on the other. The relationship becomes unbalanced, and further problems can develop. However, when the power balance is restored, there is hope for a healed relationship. Codependent people usually have a hard time seeing how they are contributing to unhealthy relationship dynamics. It’s helpful to get an objective, compassionate viewpoint from a Christian counselor if you think you may be struggling with codependent tendencies. Codependent [...]
The Steps to Forgiveness
Forgiveness isn’t easy to do, no matter how strong your faith may be. However, it is a key component of the healing process, and it can help you live a new life of freedom. A Christian counselor can help you learn to forgive the people who hurt you so you can move forward in faith. Forgiveness Meaning The definition of forgiveness may be different than you think. It is not forgetting what happened to you. It does not require you to be reconciled [...]
When You Love an Addict
“Almost twenty-one million have at least one addiction, yet only 10% receive treatment.” (see references) Drug and alcohol addiction steal thousands of lives every year. Addiction is a mental disorder in which someone can hardly function without using the substance. It is not only responsible for many crimes, deaths, and economic difficulties, it is also very damaging to relationships. When someone loves an addict, he or she will inevitably experience a lot of pain and hardship in life. Certain behaviors often accompany addiction [...]
Spiritual Development Through Exploring Spiritual Practices
Spiritual development is foundational to our faith and life as Christians. If we are not developing and growing our faith, it will become stagnant and weak. Just as we work to grow and develop our relationships, we develop our faith as well. “All growth that is not toward God is growing to decay.” - George Macdonald Look back on your faith one, five, ten, or twenty years ago. Think about how it has developed, deepened, changed, and grown. This will be a continual [...]