Family Life: Dealing With Difficult Relatives

Summer is almost upon us. It’s time to break out the BBQ grill, the sun tan lotion, and for many, it’s time for family vacations that involve visiting relatives. And while we may dream of postcard perfect times that create wonderful family memories for our children as well as ourselves, that’s not always the case.

For many, these dreams can quickly become a nightmare when challenging personalities are put together for an extended period of time. This is especially true if you have relatives who don’t share the same parenting ideas  or Christian values as your family.

Yes, of course, picture perfect families, who blend very well together and enjoy family vacations, visits, and even hotel sharing without a hitch, do exist…but for the rest of us, here are some tips that will ensure that family vacations and get-togethers can be “relatively” stress free…(pun intended) Read more

Newsflash! God’s Plan for You is Prosperity…

Is this a prosperity message? Absolutely…

Too many individuals today (Christians included) get all squirmy when it comes to talking about prosperity. I’ve got news for you. It’s not that big of a deal.

Does God want us, as His children, to prosper? Yes, He does. If you read the Word to any extent, it’s pretty plainly written.

In Jeremiah 29:11, God tells us this, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

In 2 Corinthians 9:8, He declares, “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.”

God’s desire is never to have His people limping around or living in lack. If you think this somehow brings pleasure or glory to your Creator, think again. Now, as with anything that we are given, there certainly is a level of responsibility. But it’s really not too difficult to understand that part either. God wants us to prosper not only financially, but in all areas of our life. He wants us to have healthy relationships, stable emotions, wisdom, and to live in health. That is His ultimate desire for us. Do we all live in that kind of abundance? No, we don’t. But, just because we aren’t experiencing it, doesn’t make it untrue. Read more

Your Children: Are You Raising Leaders?

After you fall into the habit of accepting what other people tell you to think, you lose the power to think for yourself.  –John Taylor Gatto, A Different Teacher, 2002

Sometimes, in all of life’s busyness and running our children from scheduled practices and sporting events to making sure their homework is complete, we can lose forget to teach our children to think for themselves. Raising Godly leaders is a task that takes a purposeful approach, but how is it accomplished? I’m glad you asked. It’s not as difficult as you may think. Read more

Is Facebook Threatening Your Marriage?

Facebook can’t be ignored. Regardless of your age, career, or social status, Facebook is affecting you. The 2010 statistics reveal a steady rate of permeation, with more than 400 million active users. That’s not all…Of those active users, 50% log onto Facebook every single day.

With so many marriages already in trouble, is Facebook going to provide even more opportunities for misconduct, suspicion, jealousy, and crushes that can turn into full blown affairs? …Only if you allow it to.

The Real Threat

Bottom line? The only real threat to your marriage lies in the choices you make. Whether the scenario is a business after hours event, a new employee at the office, or Facebook…the opportunities to weaken or strengthen your marriage will always be there. Read more

Are You Living Life at Warp Speed?

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. –Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

Finding Rest

In today’s fast paced society where every waking moment is run according to a daily planner and overwhelmed by deadlines and agendas, is it possible to find rest?

Absolutely…That’s the good news. But how to get from where you are now, to where you want to be is the question. It’s going to take some action on your part, but by making that first quality decision and following through with a daily attitude of finding and keeping peace in your life, it can be done. Let’s look more closely. Read more

A Healthy Marriage Series: How Your Children Can Strengthen Your Marriage

If you are a parent who has done any amount of reading at all about marriage and children, I’m sure you’ve heard the negative statistics surrounding this topic. According to studies conducted by Discovery Health, the thought that “babies bring you closer together” is ranked number 4 on their list of Marriage Myths. Studies suggest that having children is a major source of stress that bring marriages to the breaking point.

I’m not here to try to convince you that these studies are right or wrong. These are tough times we live in, and raising a family can certainly have its stressful moments. Most parents are aware of that. But instead of focusing on the possible negatives, I want to give you a fresh perspective of how children can bring your marriage closer than it ever was before.

Psalm 127:3 tells us that our children are a blessing and reward from the Lord. This means that the addition of children to a marriage should have a positive effect, right? If you’re not exactly in that mindset right now, just keep reading. The following tips are designed to help you to make a few adjustments which will create a better atmosphere for the blessings and rewards to become evident.

Read more

A Healthy Marriage Series: Love is the Fuel

What kind of marriage do you desire? Have you ever really thought about it?

Do you wish you were more strongly connected, closer, and happier in your marriage? Don’t settle for a ho-hum, distant, tolerable relationship. It doesn’t have to be that way.

If you give your relationship the proper fuel, you can have exactly what you desire.

Fuel powers your marriage and takes it to a deeper level.

So, what is the proper fuel? It all comes down to the language of love.

Are You Aware of Your Spouse’s Love Language?

Gary Chapman has an excellent book called the Five Love Languages. In it, the five different ways an individual likes to be loved are revealed. Everyone is not the same and every person does not receive or recognize love in the same way. We each have at least one distinctive way to feel truly fulfilled in our relationships.

Have you ever thought about how you prefer to be loved? What about your spouse? This is a wonderful discussion to have during your next date night. (If you don’t have a scheduled date night…quality time set aside just for your spouse…you are already behind the game.) Read more

A Healthy Marriage Series: Whose Behind the Wheel?

A couple of my friends are coming up on some serious anniversaries. One of them is 24 years. As I consider what this entails; the good times, the arguments, and the hurdles, it inspires me. Marriage is a wonderful union between two people that takes a lot of time, effort, love, forgiveness, and grace.

Unfortunately, a 24 year anniversary is not the norm today. Why do you think some marriages stand the test of time while others end in divorce? I’m sure if we took a poll, we could pool all of our knowledge (or collective ignorance) and come up with hundreds of reasons. Once the reasons were in place, there would be groups of us who would disagree on what ‘exactly’ constitutes grounds for divorce.

All that sounds pretty messy, so instead, we are going to go with a series of informative and fun posts that will help keep the health of your marriage at optimum levels. Just like checking the oil in your vehicle, you need to keep tabs on the health of your marriage. Our first post, Where Exactly Are We Going will help you to figure out if you both are moving in the same direction with the same goals in mind. That’s step one: Read more

Planting Seeds of Faith in Your Children

Most of us have heard Christ’s parable of the farmer sowing the seed, found in Matthew 13:3-9 and 18-23. The story talks about different types of soil and how the seed (or the Word of God) thrives in various conditions. We can learn a great deal from this parable, particularly regarding the condition of our hearts and minds when receiving the seed, or Word of God into our hearts.

However, as a parent reading this parable, let’s take a different approach, placing yourself in the position of the sower instead of relating only to the conditions of the soil. As a Christian parent your primary task is to sow seeds of faith into the hearts and minds of your children.

This is a big responsibility. But don’t let it be a source of stress, because along with any task, comes the grace of God that will empower us to fulfill it. Read more

How to Keep Your Marriage Healthy and Strong

There are many seasons that a marriage goes through. Of course, we all enjoy the elation experienced during the courtship and honeymoon period, but like all marriages–life happens and seasons change. We talk a lot on this blog about healthy living. Another piece to that puzzle includes a healthy and strong marriage.

With divorce statistics holding at over fifty percent even in the Christian world, have you ever wondered how some couples seem to run a steady and stable course, during the ups, downs and cycles of life? How do these couples keep their marriage healthy during times when life’s demands seem to be pulling for every bit of attention and somehow a 24-hour day just doesn’t seem to offer as much time as it used to? As the Word of God reminds us in Ecclesiastes 1:9, “There’s nothing new under the sun.” What worked for mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, still works for us today. The key is to take these principles and apply them: Read more

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