Relationships

Can You Hear Me Now?

When it comes to couples communication, a common complaint is, “We fight over the stupidest things.” Why do small issues generate such big emotions? It is usually because that small issue is symbolic of a core emotional issue in each mate. Communication skills are essential to solving the issues that come up in every marriage or relationship. If you do not learn how to communicate and resolve issues, you will just move from relationship to relationship. Why couples have issues Why would people not expect to have issues with all the differences involved in relationships? Here are just four common […]

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Abstinence: Saying No to Temptation and Yes to God

Ocean Currents. They are strong and mighty fellas; convincing enough to sway everything in their path in one direction. Picture yourself right smack dab in the center of one. Waves are weighing hard against you, pushing you down the easy path, the path that requires little to no effort to wade through. Does this image remind you of anything?  As we take a moment to look around, it seems our culture today prefers the easy route. We are a nation conditioned to convenience, a nation that expects its desires to be met. Look anywhere and we can see businesses advertising […]

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True Confessions: The Role of Repentance

You’ve heard it said, “Confession is good for the soul.” Why is this true? Because we are not made to live with guilt and shame. True confession is how God designed for people to remove guilt from their conscience. However, true confession is more than just saying some words or going through a religious ritual. Guilt not properly dealt with has the potential to create a number of emotional and psychological problems. King Saul in the Old Testament is a good example of this. To engage in true confession, we must first understand why it is necessary and, secondly, how to […]

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Who Needs Chocolate?!

It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas, then, before we knew it, the New Year stole that show and, bam, the month of February hurls us into chocolates, flowers and begging Hallmark for unique ways to proclaim our undying love for our significant others. Kind of hard to keep up during this busy time of year. So what’s your Valentine’s Day surprise? Do you have anxiety about what to do for your sweetie, or do you have something really cool up your sleeve this year? How about a little help to kick start a few new ideas to […]

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Be Mine

Ah, here come those chalky, colorful heart candies that whisper sweet nothings like “Tweet Me”. Things sure have changed since we traded cards in elementary school and talked face-to-face! Valentine’s Day history The history of Valentine’s Day is actually pretty intriguing. Many sources confirm that “Saint Valentine” was actually the name of several martyred saints under the Roman Empire. He is said to have ministered to persecuted, third-century Christians. He performed weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry. He also signed a letter “From your Valentine” to his jailer’s daughter. At the time, Claudius II had outlawed young men […]

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Finding Freedom

Your past need not control your present or determine your future unless you choose to not face it. However, if these steps are not taken, a person will be forever in bondage to their past. They will not know freedom from such things as shame, guilt, fear, anxiety and insecurity to name just a few. How can a person properly process their past? This would involve identifying the issues, extending forgiveness where necessary, rejecting false belief systems, accepting the truth, and letting go of unhealthy emotions. Let us look at part of the process of attaining emotional and relational freedom […]

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Love is Patient

Which standards are we singles using to find a spouse? It certainly goes beyond a stable income, vehicle and residence. Just being a Christian is not enough because many of us are unhealthy. Jesus explains in Luke 5:31 that, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do.” Unless our most important relationship is with God, we cannot expect other relationships to thrive. Marriage is a life-long commitment, so we need all the wisdom we can get, but where do we find it? Thankfully, the Bible defines true love. Two areas of scripture provide a great litmus test in […]

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Successful Relationships in a Social Tech Era

It is no secret that social media has revolutionized the world; the way we communicate, interact with one another, and gather information. In fact, nearly one in four people worldwide use social networks and the numbers continue to rise. According to a recent report by eMarketer, between 2012 and 2013, social network users from across the globe are grew from 1.47 billion to 1.73 billion – an 18 percent increase. Yet, despite the level of connectivity social networks have provided humanity, they have also created a real sense of disconnect in relationships – e.g. surfing Facebook at the dinner table […]

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Band of Brothers

It seems that, so often, when we see a man’s friendship portrayed on the big screen these days, it’s usually a pretty sorry excuse for a friendship. We are, of course, generalizing here and this certainly does not apply to every film or TV show, but in the general mainstream of movies and sitcoms, men usually have shallow friendships, while women tend to have deeper abiding ones. But why? In these mediums, male friendships break down into a few simple groups: If you are single, conversations greatly revolve around meeting and pursuing women or else a very one-dimensional topic such […]

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Correct Your Christianese

There are many expressions that have become common in Christian vernacular. Sometimes we can use these phrases for so long that we forget what they may sound like from the outside. It’s good to reexamine what we say from time to time; to rethink sayings that could easily be misunderstood or simply seen as lacking sincerity. Here we have a few phrases that may need to be retired, or at least rethought. “Christians aren’t perfect, they’re just forgiven.” What it is supposed to mean: We as Christians are no better or more worthy of salvation than the rest of the world. We […]

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