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Combatting Anxiety with 7 Bible Verses About Fear

2024-09-27T11:00:00+00:00July 28th, 2022|Anxiety, Featured, Individual Counseling, Spiritual Development|

We are all afraid of something. Whether it be fear of the future, the unknown, illness, loss, or even what others think of us, anxiety is an inevitable part of life. In 2020 Chapman University surveyed a group of 1,035 adults in the United States to better understand the fears of the average American at that time. The survey results showed that the following circumstances are what they most commonly feared: Corrupt government officials at 79.6% People they love dying at 58.5% A loved one contracting COVID19 at 58% Widespread civil unrest at 56.5% A pandemic or major epidemic Economic collapse at 54.8% Pollution of oceans, rivers, and lakes at 50.8% Biological warfare at 49.3% Just looking at the above list, there must be a fear we each relate to. Fear is a natural part of life and is an emotion that can help protect us from harm. But when we allow fear to rule our lives and become chronic, that’s when it might be time to reevaluate. In today’s blog, we are going to explore the positive side of fear, chronic fear and its effects, Bible verses about fear and what the Word of God has to say on the subject, and two simple ways to battle fear with faith. The Positive Side of Anxiety We tend to think that being afraid makes us weak. But actually, feeling fear is completely natural and can even save our lives. The positive side of fear is often overlooked as we try to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and fight them in our own strength. But what if we chose to let the fear in a little, sit with it for a minute, as we held it up to the light of God’s loving presence? Maybe acknowledging what we fear [...]

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The Best Bible Verses for Married Life

2024-09-27T10:59:29+00:00July 11th, 2022|Couples Counseling, Featured, Marriage Counseling, Relationship Issues, Spiritual Development|

Married life can be full of blessings, but it can also be full of challenges. If you want to bless your marriage and make it stronger, you can study the best Bible verses for married life. These verses will help you both as individuals and a couple to know how God wants you to live. Bible Verses for Married Life The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” – Genesis 2:18, NIV Even before sin entered the world, God called something not good. The first man, Adam, needed a helper suited for him. That's why God created Eve to be Adam’s wife, helper, friend, and lover. God wanted Adam and Eve to have a thriving relationship with each other just as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in relationship with one another. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. – Genesis 2:23-24, NIV God wants us to be united as married couples as if we are one flesh. We must leave our parents and bond together to form a new family. If you are having problems with your in-laws, you can come back to these verses for perspective and guidance. Remember that this is God's design for you to separate as a couple and enjoy your life together without other family members interfering. Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. – Hebrews 13:4, NIV Sex is a powerful waiting for couples to [...]

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Overcoming Depression: Learning How to Manage It and Remain in Control

2024-09-27T10:53:26+00:00July 6th, 2022|Depression, Featured, Individual Counseling|

Everyone has a bad day now and then, but depression can make every day a bad day. Depression feels like a hopeless loop of endless negative thoughts that sap your vitality and your motivation and can make the very thought of doing something that you know could help you feel better to seem too exhausting or impossible.It can be so debilitating that it becomes physically disabling. Even simple things like walking around the block or picking up the phone to call a friend may feel like more than you can handle. This makes overcoming depression much more difficult. “[Depression] essentially hijacks the prefrontal cortex, the part of our brain that enables us to use logic and think clearly, and shapes our thoughts and worldviews to be incredibly negative and hopeless.” – Max Maisel, Ph.D. Although you can’t just will yourself to snap out of depression, there are ways to break through it. The following are some positive things you can do that will help boost your mood and increase your energy. Do as many of them as you can each day. If you are consistent and keep on keeping on even when you don’t feel motivated or in the mood to do so, it will get easier and you will, in time, feel the heavy cloud of depression start to lift, and feel happier, healthier, and more hopeful to boot. It may be difficult at first, but difficult does not mean impossible. Just take that first step. Overcoming depression one baby step at a time Find small ways to be of service to others. Doing something for someone, being a volunteer, brightening someone’s day by giving them a compliment, or even just smiling and being kind can all boost your mood and be of help in overcoming depression. Care [...]

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12 Examples of Gaslighting in Relationships

2024-09-27T11:00:20+00:00June 22nd, 2022|Couples Counseling, Featured, Individual Counseling, Relationship Issues|

Listen to this article Gaslighting in relationships is a form of emotional abuse. It is a destructive and manipulative tactic by an abuser to keep a victim off balance. When someone is being gaslighted, they are persuaded to believe something patently false or to question something true. If you are regularly being gaslighted by someone, this can take an enormous toll on your psychological well-being. But you can gain help, perspective, and practical tools for overcoming this problem when you meet with a Christian counselor. How does gaslighting work? The term gaslighting comes from a play by the name gaslight which debuted in 1938 and was later turned into a film. In the original story, a man dimmed the gas lamps in increments but denied doing so to the woman. A woman's visual senses told her the lights were being dimmed, but she chose to believe the falsehood the man was telling her, and this eventually drove her crazy. An abuser uses this tactic of manipulating the truth to toy with their victim’s emotions, perception, memory, and sanity. It is a deliberate move to keep the victim under their control. But often, the abuser works in subtle ways so their insidious behavior will not be called out. Unfortunately, the subtle approach can make it difficult for the victim to know they are being gaslighted. People who use gaslighting in relationships do it to exert power over their victims. Sometimes they simply enjoy the twisted pleasure of feeling like a puppeteer over someone's life. They may also wish to gain emotional, physical, or financial power in the victim's life. 12 examples Here are several examples of gaslighting that occur in different types of relationships. 1. A man tells his wife that he loves her and had no [...]

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4 Ways to Manage Anger and Why It’s Important

2024-11-28T12:40:16+00:00June 17th, 2022|Anger Issues, Featured, Individual Counseling|

Is it difficult for you to find ways to manage anger? Does it sometimes seem like anger is managing you? You have the power to learn how to manage anger, and you can get help by meeting with a Christian counselor. Why it is Important to Manage Anger You probably already understand why it is important to manage anger. Out-of-control anger costs you much in your relationships at home, work, and other places. You may know that your anger costs you but have yet to learn how to manage it well. Still, you may seek help because your anger has caused damage and distance in your relationships. You may be able to see evidence that anger is costing you in terms of relationships. But you may not see the damage it is doing to your mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health. In these ways, anger exacts a high price. The mental price for anger can be a lack of concentration or obsessive thoughts linked to the source of your anger. the emotional price for your anger may be an inability to empathize with others and a lack of self-control. When left untreated, anger can morph into depression, which exacts an even higher price on your mental and emotional well-being. The physical price of anger can manifest in many ways. Anger may be causing you to experience insomnia, rapid heartbeats, raised blood pressure, gastrointestinal problems, immune system disorders, skin issues, weight gain or loss, and other problems. Unchecked anger can also lead to serious problems like stroke or heart disease. anger seeks an outlet, and if you do not deal with it properly, it will show up in your body. The spiritual price of anger can be a distance in your relationship with God. You may act out in [...]

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5 Stress Management Tips from a Christian Perspective

2024-09-27T11:00:42+00:00June 6th, 2022|Featured, Individual Counseling, Personal Development, Professional Development|

Stress management is important because daily stress exacts a heavy price on our overall health. It can cost us dearly in our work, relationships, physical health, and even spiritual wellbeing. We can all use more stress management tips to help manage our stress loads. Two Types of Stress Not all stress is bad in your life. You need some stress to push you toward meeting your goals. A little bit of stress related to a deadline can serve as a motivating factor. So, your goal should not be to eliminate this good type of stress, but cut out as much bad stress as possible. Bad stress is the kind that takes more than it gives. It is fueled by adrenaline and cortisol, hormones that work well in short-term situations but wreak havoc on our minds and bodies in the long term. We need to learn to control what we can about bad stress, so we limit its impact on us. Let’s look at a couple of examples. Some stressful situations just happen to us without our control – your car gets wrecked; you receive an unfavorable diagnosis; or a pipe freezes and bursts, flooding your house. These situations would be stressful to anyone, but your level of stress can be controlled by how intentionally you respond to these situations. You can admit that the situation causes you stress and take steps to actively manage it. Or you can allow your emotions to get out of control and cause you additional stress over the same situation. Some stressful situations can be prevented. You may be taking on more work than you can manage, spending more than your budget allows, or procrastinating your work tasks. These situations all cause stress, but they can be prevented by employing techniques of stress management. [...]

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