Valentine’s Day is approaching, and it is easy to hyper-focus onto romantic love at this time of year. Do we have it? Do we not? We celebrate with single girlfriends or romantic partners, or we hide at home avoiding the day. This is so much smaller than God’s view of love. Consider these verses from … Continue reading Finding love in 1 John
It’s the classic symptom of “craziness.” We’ve all stood in line behind the guy muttering to himself for 10 minutes. We cross the street to avoid the lady having a conversation with no one nearby. Am I one of these crazy people? I don't think so - but I do talk out loud to myself. … Continue reading Why I talk out loud to myself
iHope is a distinctly Christian counseling center. We say this often, and it’s even printed on our business cards. But what does it even mean? Christian counseling is a typical mental health counseling process, involving a client who sits down with a trained counselor to work together toward a goal - with the distinction that … Continue reading What is Christian counseling?
Humans want to be happy. We want the people we love to be happy. Of course, we know that this will not always happen, that hardship will come. But it is a particularly hard thing to watch your loved one struggle with depression. Unfortunately, your love cannot “cure” their depression. It is unlikely that you … Continue reading Dealing with your loved one’s depression
We live in a broken world. Horrible things happen on a regular basis, and I’m certain that some of those things have happened to you. Yet God calls us to forgive. Repeatedly in Scripture, God calls Christians to forgive others when they hurt us - even if they do not ask for forgiveness. Why? Simply … Continue reading Why does God want us to forgive others?
Even though our world is more and more connected, individual people consistently report feeling more and more lonely. We don’t like it, but we all feel it. At least sometimes. There are many reasons why the struggle with loneliness has grown. We work remotely, fill our schedules to the gills, and zone out for hours … Continue reading No one likes to feel lonely
I am a big believer in setting goals. Not only is it helpful to have something specific that you are working toward, I think that goal-setting helps each of us to define our priorities. Sure, we want every area of life to go well and continually improve. But our energy is limited. Our time, money, … Continue reading The turning of the calendar: Set some goals!
I hope this isn’t true for your family. But many people find the holiday season to be the hardest time of year. From Thanksgiving through Valentine’s Day, there are numerous holidays that are meant to bring family and loved ones together. But what if your family is filled with drama, conflict, or pain? What if … Continue reading Surviving the holidays when there is family drama
Hangnails are not the most painful or distressing part of life. There are much bigger and more painful problems around each of us. But consider with me the power of a small, regularly occurring annoyance in life… like a hangnail. Perhaps a bigger example: I have a colleague who worked with a couple in marriage … Continue reading There won’t be any hangnails in heaven
We do not typically introduce ourselves to new people by listing out our weaknesses. “Hi, I’m Jessica, I’m not a great musician.” That is not how I introduce myself. Instead, we focus on our strengths and talents. I introduce myself as a counselor, as my husband’s wife, or as fellow fill-in-the-blanker that matches the situation … Continue reading Why I treasure my weaknesses