Falling in love, preparing to marry, and getting married should be the happiest time in your life. Many people enter marriage expecting bliss, end up horribly disappointed, and wonder what went wrong. A huge reason is because a lot of people enter marriage broken, hurting, and immature, and they believe that marriage will fix their personal issues. But marriage won’t make problems go away. Marriage only magnifies what you refuse to address prior to getting married. And these unresolved issues often create marital misery. There’s a saying that goes, “Victory loves preparation”, and it applies very much…
There’s nothing that wears a parent down more than continuous whining. We ignore it hoping it will work but mostly we just give in and give our kids what they want to Make. It. Stop! Why do little kids whine? A 3-4 year old’s language skills are improving but they still don’t have the ability to express what they’re feeling – so they often whine instead. It’s an irritating blend of talking and crying. And the reason they continue doing it is because it works. They get what they want. They continue the behaviour that…
We live in a loud world. And it’s getting louder by the day. Text messages, notifications, emails and phone calls constantly demand our attention. Technology is in a frenzy, keeping us occupied with the latest scandal or crisis. Intriguing facts and images keep us scanning and scrolling. And yes, we’ve learned to shut out some of the loud. We ignore messages, skip the ads on YouTube, put our phones on silent. But life is still loud! And God is a quiet God. He could be loud if He wanted to, but He chooses to speak in a still…
“All I can do is pray for them now.” I’m sure you’ve heard someone say this about their wayward child. Hey, maybe you’ve said it yourself. Richard and I have heard it many times (and said it ourselves), and, yes, it’s true, sometimes all we can do is pray for our kids. But we want to be praying the right kind of prayers for them. Powerful prayers. Prayers that make a difference. That sounds great, but prayers that make a difference start long before your knees hit the floor or your tears flood your pillow deep…
The world has changed a lot in the last 10 years. Our kids are being raised with unprecedented access to technology. If your kids have a smartphone, they carry the entire internet in their back pocket with all its knowledge and information, but also its pornography, cyberbullying, and creepy strangers. Do you know what your kids are doing online? It’s almost a guarantee that you don’t know half of what your child is being exposed to – either on their own technology, or that of their friends. Most kids aren’t being exposed to porn for the first…
Today I am disturbed. This week I’ve seen some awful things. The devil has an agenda for our kids, and it’s evil. Read here and here to see how the world is objectifying and sexualising children. (These articles are already 1 and 2 years old). I’m reluctant to share these because I prefer to focus on purity and beauty, but maybe you need a wake-up call. How do we protect our kids yet raise them to live in an evil world that is opposed to everything good and pure? In a world that presses its…
Does your intimate partner do hurtful things, say sorry, and promise to never do it again, until the next time it happens? Are you afraid of your spouse? Are you scared to say what you think, bring up certain topics, or even say no to sex? Does your relationship leave you feeling scared, isolated, confused, betrayed, or like you never know what’s coming next. Do you feel like you’re going crazy, second guessing yourself all the time, or that you are the one to blame for the conflict in your relationship? If you feel any of these…
A bunch of words and ideas come to mind when I think about being true to yourself: Integrity, honesty (with yourself and others), principle, authenticity (I really like that word!), acting on the beliefs and values you hold, doing what is right in spite of the consequences, backbone – yeah! I think I like these words because I used to be a doormat. A walkover with no identity of my own. I allowed others to think for me and make decisions for me. It was Shakespeare that said, “To thine own self be true.” That’s a great thought…
Do you often have feelings of just not being good enough when you’re with other people? Do other people’s accomplishments make you feel “less than”? Are you at peace with yourself, with who you are – your talents, abilities, and limitations? Have you accepted yourself? What is self-acceptance? Self-acceptance does not equal arrogance or conceit. It means being comfortable with who you are, knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are and being Okay with them. Accepting yourself doesn’t mean you don’t have room to grow and change in some areas. It means liking the…