Marriage Counseling

Practical Priorities We may have lived much of our lives feeling drained by the pressures and expectations placed upon us.  So much of our focus was spent on doing things that we weren’t even intended or supposed to do.  We took on everyone else’s priorities and needs, often at the neglect of our own.  As…

Convergence Principle © In His conversation with a Jewish leader, Jesus clarified the purpose of life on this earth: “Love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.  And love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no greater commandment than these” (Mark 12:29-31 NIV). In this simple…

If all of these are unhealthy methods of seeking identity, then what is the true method by which we should begin to discover who we are?  Surely it can’t mean we should stop relationships, live immorally, fail on purpose, let our appearance go, or quit our job?  Of course not.  Identity involves a much deeper…

Allowing Others Their Rights Setting boundaries and establishing mutual basic rights in relationships becomes challenging when we confuse our “rights” to protect our own life with the “right” to control another person’s behavior.  While learning to embrace our rights can be a welcome relief, the challenge is that we must allow others the very same…

Personal Rights Versus Relational Responsibilities In attempting to establish boundaries in our lives, we must consider two basic areas: Our God-given rights as human beings. Responsibilities. Our responsibilities in relationships versus those of God and of others. One of the saddest misconceptions is that being a Christian means every single right is stripped from us,…

“Seldom set your foot in your neighbors’ house – too much of you, and they will come to hate you”  Proverbs 25:17 NIV Turn Walls of Fear into Healthy Boundaries As we embrace our authentic identity, we learn to value ourselves in God’s eyes. We no longer desire to engage in the same unhealthy patterns…

A Process for Applying Forgiveness Talking about forgiving people is one thing.  But facing those sins on an individual basis – and fully connecting with the emotions, the damage, and the consequences – is entirely different.  Most of us inappropriately deal with the way others have hurt us.  We don’t understand the significance or the…

“Make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive anyone who offends you.  Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others”  Colossians 3:13 NLT Introduction The biggest miracle we will ever experience is receiving God’s forgiveness and entering into a relationship with Him based on His grace, not our efforts. From there the Christian…

Identifying False Guilt While we may have legitimate sin issues in our lives that Satan plays on, sometimes we experience false guilt.  False guilt is based entirely on a lie.  It tells us we are to blame for something that was not our fault or that we played no part in.  When we allow false…

Unworthiness We can be bound by a sense of guilt, shame, and condemnation that seems to justify why we believe we can’t be forgiven (or why we shouldn’t forgive ourselves).  We need to come to understand that the very essence of forgiveness is that it is unmerited and undeserved.  Although it may be difficult, we…