When you’re having a disagreement with your spouse, you have two choices: You can respond or react. Reacting is a reflexive, defense mechanism that kicks in to protect our ego. We react because we sense that we are being misunderstood, dissed, criticized, corrected, or attacked. Reactions are typically impulsive (i.e., “shoot from the hip”) and [...]
It has been called by a variety of terms, such as "living together", "shacking up", "cohabitation,” "serial monogamy,” and "living in sin." By definition, cohabitation occurs when two unmarried people of the opposite sex live together before marriage. It is a halfway house, of sorts, for people who do not want the degree of personal [...]
Marital success or failure can now be predicted before the wedding day with 81 percent accuracy. The following is a seven-point checklist for preventing faulty mate selection. The decision to get married is made too quickly. It is a fact that choosing a mate for life is much more complex than the movies make it out to [...]
It’s getting harder by the day distinguishing Christians for non-Christians. This is particularly true in the area of divorce. Statistically, our failure rate for marriage is not significantly different from those outside of the faith. As a Christian counselor, nothing disturbs me more than to see a couple deliberately throw in the towel with little or no attempt [...]
Laying a good foundation during a child’s formative years is critically important in determining who and what they will become as an adult. Key Thought: When a father clearly understands and consistently carries out his God-given role, his children tend to excel in the areas of character, conduct, and achievement. Corollary: When a father abandons his God-given [...]
Beware of thinking, "Adultery would never happen in my marriage." Sadly, many who believed they were invincible are the very ones who have fallen into immorality. I have counseled countless men and women who have sat with their heads in their hands lamenting their stupidity for having been involved in adulterous behavior. I have [...]
American families are in a state of constant motion. Kids seem to always have someplace they are supposed to be. The typical day for kids begins early and ends late, which means the parents’ day does too. There is school, sports, entertainment, friends, hobbies, church, youth group activities, and on and on it goes. Everyone [...]
Respect the image of God in the other person. Gary Smalley, one of the country's best-known authors and speakers on family relationships, has said, “How would you treat your spouse if you saw them as being autographed by God?" The Bible tells us that we're ALL made in the image of God (and that [...]
“Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.” I Pet. 3:7 (ESV) It's been a bad day; a really bad day. So, what do you [...]
Consistency is the Golden Rule of effective parenting. It is the most important decision you will make when it comes to disciplining your child. Being consistent, however, is not easy. It requires dedication even on the days when you feel exhausted, when life is hectic, and when you just want to make your child happy. [...]
