The foundation of a Christian marriage is Christ. It makes sense then, that Christian couples should spend time with God – as a couple. Sadly, the spiritual side of many marriages is neglected and couples miss out on a huge bonding factor for their relationship. Sharing spiritual thoughts and praying together automatically brings a couple closer together and creates intimacy. But, reading the Bible and praying together can feel really awkward at first – because it’s actually quite an intimate thing to do. It can also be hard to find the time for couple devotions because you’re balancing careers, kids…
The safest place to be in a crisis is right where God wants you to be. That’s why we began with spiritual preparation for end times. While it’s essential to be spiritually prepared, it’s also wise to be physically prepared for the troubled times ahead. The bible speaks of this in Proverbs 22:3 – “A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” (NIV) Are you prepared for a crisis? Would you be able to survive in your home without any outside help? – No power, water, communication…
How do you let a guy know you like him without coming on too strong? I was raised with these ideas drummed into me: Don’t chase guys. Wait to be pursued and don’t show interest unless a guy has clearly initiated first. Being too friendly is cheap. I wasn’t sure if it was wrong to smile at a guy I liked, make eye contact with him, or talk to him. Was I supposed to ignore him and hope that somehow he would notice me? The fuzzy line between friendly and flirty left me confused, guilty, and…
Do you struggle to tell the difference between flirting and friendliness? How do you tell if someone is flirting or just being nice? Not being able to recognise the difference often leads to being hurt because you thought the person really liked you and had a genuine interest in you. Flirting happens to both single and married people and it can be hard to tell the difference because they’re so close. It can also be difficult to know how to be friendly without flirting. I’ve seen naturally friendly girls mistaken as flirts, and I’ve also…
So your child is now a teenager and you’re noticing some rebellion. They tend to back chat you, spend more time alone, are embarrassed by you, argue more with you and generally resist your authority. What happened to your pleasant pre-adolescent? How can you navigate these turbulent teen years? How do you deal with a rebellious teenager? What makes a teenager rebellious? It’s a biblical principle that we reap what we sow. And the teen years are the reaping years. Generally speaking, teenage rebellion is a reaction to bad parenting. Ouch. I know that hurts. It’s…
Is it wrong to have sexual desires before marriage? Absolutely not! God created physical attraction as an exciting part of romantic relationship. God created sex to be a healthy part of the marriage relationship. He designed it to be a bonding experience between a man and woman that connects them physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The trick is to keep it under control until the right time. The natural progression of love is for it to be expressed physically at some point. However, God designed physical touch between a man and woman to be the catalyst for sexual intimacy and restraining…
We all face situations where we just wish God would tell us exactly what to do. But how do you know if it’s God speaking to you, just your own thoughts, or worse, the devil speaking to you? How can you discern God’s voice and get His direction for your life? Is there a way to know that it is God speaking and not just what you want to hear? Why is hearing God’s voice so hard? There are a few reasons it’s hard to hear from God. We haven’t learned to be still and…
It’s common knowledge that Satan is God’s enemy. If you are a follower of God, then you are automatically Satan’s enemy, and you can be sure he’s fighting to separate you from God. But God is one step ahead of the devil, He warns about the enemy: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 Satan’s strategy to defeat us The devil has developed tactics that he uses to separate us from…
Do you ever stop to think about how you are doing as a parent? How would you rate your parenting skills? One of Richard’s most common sayings is, “Apply your mind”. Are you “applying your mind” to your parenting, or are you drifting along without much thought? Becoming a better parent takes being intentional. Applying your mind. One way of doing this is to conduct a parenting audit. To evaluate what’s working and what’s not, and how you can improve. What is a parenting audit? A parenting audit is an intentional review of all the areas…