I find it very interesting that we have no record of Adam asking God for a mate, yet God knew he needed a wife and provided just what he needed! Many husbands still remain clueless to how much they really need us – LOL! But God knows, and God built into marriage a teamwork plan that really blesses couples who … Read More
“I am the Lover of my Home!”
I cannot count the number of times I’ve heard men demand to be the leaders of their home, characterizing their role as that of the boss, with their wife expected to follow and respect them as a private would submit to his commanding office, unquestioning. Men may even abuse the intended meaning of the phrase in Eph 5:23, “the husband … Read More
How is the warmth of your relationships?
Last week in Chicago we set records for cold weather, and the hero of my week was my new gas furnace. Despite having -50° wind-chill, our family stayed warm during the 48 hours straight that we stayed inside. One of life’s realities is that relationships, like a heater in the brutal cold, take work to stay warm. If we ignore … Read More
Four Realistic Goals for a Church’s First Year of Embracing Biblical Counseling
I recently talked with several churches that had taken groups to week-long biblical counseling training conferences or purchased curriculum to develop a training process. Unfortunately, they are frustrated because they have little to show for their efforts. They received valuable teaching that they wanted to implement in their church, but they seem no closer to developing a biblical counseling strategy. … Read More
5 Benefits of Learning Biblical Counseling
We hear it over and over again. When people start training in biblical counseling, they are amazed by the outcome. They see so many benefits it their life, and the lives of others. Here are some of the main benefits of learning biblical counseling. 1. You will grow in your understanding of the bible and how to apply it. So … Read More
Recognizing the Signs of Unhealthy Church Leadership
When people leave a difficult and painful church, they often ask in counseling, “Is this normal?” “Am I crazy or over-reacting?” “Is this unhealthy church leadership?” It’s a difficult question to answer without knowing all the details. However, I’ve been in that situation, and I’ve found it helpful to share what I’ve been learning since then. Shortly after I completed … Read More
Characteristics to Look for in Church Leadership
This past fall, we wrote a necessary post entitled “Not all churches and pastors are like that.” We talked about the faults of some churches and leaders, but relayed that there are so many good churches that are led by godly and caring pastors. There are still many high profile churches that are struggling with very serious issues. We thought it … Read More
Life-Giving Stories Matter
The stories we tell of our lives and those that are told to us can shape who we become. Each of us absorb our stories from many different sources. These include the families we grew up in, our culture, and our faith traditions to name a few. It is not the things that happened in our past that define us … Read More
Transforming Traditions
You can begin new traditions of blessed rest in 2019. Staff counselor Donna Hart, whose article appeared first here, invites you to the three traditions of keeping a Sabbath box, offering a blessing, and a taking a Sabbath walk. There are traditions or spiritual disciplines for our time with the Lord that can be restfully transformative. Before we begin our … Read More
