Beginning with the end in mind has been a theme in my last two posts (Read them here and here.) Today we’re going to see how to begin with the end in mind in marriage. Have you thought about how you want your marriage to be? It’s important to have an idea of what you want your marriage to be like in 25 years’ time and work towards those goals now. Because what you do today is what you will have tomorrow. And what you do every day eventually becomes a habit – something you do without having to…
A young woman and I were chatting about guys and relationships recently. All her friends are in relationships or getting married and she’s feeling the pressure. She’s longing to find someone and get married. She’s been seeing a guy for a few months but has a couple of red flags about the relationship. Here’s one of the red flags: this guy keeps talking about how she needs to lose weight and how that one of the reasons men have affairs is because their wives are overweight. He is overlooking so much good in her – maturity, spirituality…
Everyone wants decent kids, right? But they don’t happen by accident. Do you remember saying, “My kids will never…” or, “I will never allow my kids to…?” And it all flew out the window once those mini tornadoes hit your calm, planned life. You ended up doing all sorts of things you never thought you would because parenting is just so hard and you’re trying to keep your head above water – never mind be proactive. Take it from one who parented like this for the first seven years. It was chaos. And I was…
Does our perception of love affect our relationships? I believe it does. It affects our relationship with God, our marriages, and how we parent. It also affects how we deal with sin – in our own lives, in those of our children, and in the church. Today I’m going to try and put into words the thoughts that have shaped my thinking about love and then see how they affect marriage and parenting. Let’s jump in. God is love. The Bible says so. (1 John4:8) And nothing can separate us from this love (Romans 8:38,39). We…
Are your kids difficult to manage? Do you fight battles with them every day? Do they push your boundaries and drive you nuts? While there are always two sides to every story, it may be that you are provoking your kids without realizing it. Here are some ways provoking your kids happens: [i] Never admit you are wrong. Excuse and justify your mistakes and don’t ever apologize. 2. Be a hypocrite. Have different expectations for yourself than for your kids. Make “Do as I say and not as I do” your motto. 3. Don’t keep your promises. Teach…
Do you have a teen that knows it all? They argue, always know better, and are downright disrespectful at times. How should you deal with this – crack down hard or ignore it? It’s hard to know. I mean, it would be great to have a teen that shows respect, values your opinion and advice, and agrees with you. Right? Or is that right? Is the goal really to have your teen reflect your own ideas without thinking for themselves? I don’t think so. Your child is becoming an adult. This means things could be a bit topsy…
Photo credits: unsplash.com Life is full of decisions. Unknowns. “I don’t know what to do’s”. What if you choose the wrong career? How do you reconcile a broken relationship? How do you fix the mistake you made? Should you take that job? You feel the pressure building because you’re supposed to be doing something! But what if that something is the wrong something? Risk is a part of every choice. Failure is always a possibility. These things can get you stuck before you start. If you’re stuck in an “I don’t know what to…
Do you feel like your spiritual life is stagnant? Would you like to grow spiritually? You look at other people and wish you knew your Bible as well as they do. Their faith seems strong compared to yours. You’d like to be where they are but don’t know how to get there. If you’re like me, you are impatient and want to be “up there” already! Truth is, any kind of growth doesn’t happen overnight and not without effort. While you can’t make yourself grow, there are things you can do to help yourself…
Photo by Victoria Palacios on Unsplash Is your life an endless roundabout? You run around all day, fall into bed, get up, and repeat. Again and again and again. You feel hopeless and trapped. Your relationships are dull and boring. Life is just the same old same old and you’re tired of it. How do you get off the treadmill? How do you overcome the hopelessness? How do you get some life back into your life? No one wants to live like this. No one plans for life to get lifeless. It’s time to stop…