Learning to Pray a Prayer of Lament: Bringing Our Pain Before God
When we find ourselves in pain, we naturally tend to cry out. A prayer of lament is one of the ways we cry out to God when we are in distress or having a “dark night of the soul.” There are many examples of prayers of lament in the Bible, with over fifty of the Psalms being laments. “In the world, you will have trouble,” [...]
Sex Addiction Signs: Knowing When There’s a Problem
Sex, like all of God’s gifts, is good. “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17), and one of the many gifts God gave humanity at the beginning was sex. As with all of God’s gifts, we can use them well for our blessing and flourishing, or [...]
Recognizing Trauma and Ways to Manage Trauma at Home
“Traumatized people chronically feel unsafe inside their bodies: The past is alive in the form of gnawing interior discomfort. Their bodies are constantly bombarded by visceral warning signs, and, in an attempt to control these processes, they often become expert at ignoring their gut feelings and in numbing awareness of what is played out inside. They learn to hide from their selves.” – Bessel A. [...]
How to Recharge Your Prayer Life
Need to recharge your prayer life? We all need to have a prayer recharge from time to time. Here are some tips to help you connect with God and enjoy your time of prayer. Why Do We Pray? Most people say they pray daily, but lots of people are insecure about their prayer lives. They wonder if their prayers really make a difference. It’s important [...]
Getting Help from a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
When you find yourself in distress of any sort, it helps to know that there’s a professional that can help you to deal with your problem. If your pipes burst or water isn’t flowing through your pipes properly, having a plumber on call is an advantage. If your lights short out and you have no clue what to do, having an electrician you can call [...]
Scriptures about Worry: Helping You Deal with Anxiety
One thing is for sure – people will always be people. No matter our differences across cultures, gender, age, or any other differences you could think of, some things cause us to worry. Over thousands of years, people have worried about their children, about their future, about whether they will have enough when they need it, about their health or that of their loved ones, [...]
Marriage Advice: 5 Tips to Keep the Home Fires Burning
Marriage is one of the first gifts that God gave human beings in the beginning. While our relationships have become messier and messier with the entrance and ubiquitous presence of sin in the world and the additional complications of living in the 21st century, it remains true to say that marriage is a gift and a blessing. It should go without saying that this gift [...]
How to Pray a Prayer of Lament
“. . . New life starts in the dark. Whether it is a seed in the ground, a baby in the womb, or Jesus in the tomb, it starts in the dark.” – Barbara Brown Taylor, Learning to Walk in the Dark This quote from Barbara Brown Taylor in Learning to Walk in the Dark reminds us of the hope in the darkness. In the [...]
What Does the Bible Say About Spiritual Gifts?
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. – 1 Corinthians 12:4–7 According to this [...]
How to Help your Kids Manage Separation Anxiety
For some children, it can be very distressing to be separated for any length of time from their parents or caregivers. While the separation can induce separation anxiety in children, at the same time parents can have mixed emotions. They can experience anger about the behavior, the desire to “have a break,” and even worry about their child with a longing to help the child [...]