Whenever we feel anxious or fearful, there are certain thoughts going through our mind that are triggering or sustaining that fear. And often, those thoughts are based in some sort of lie from the world and culture around us. In this series, we’ve looked at the importance of testing our thoughts to identify truth, reminding ourselves … Continue reading Responding to anxiety, doubts, and fears (Part 4): Know the true and living God.
Anxiety is a big problem in today’s western culture, especially among adolescents and young adults. Why do we give in to the power of worry? How can we respond to doubts or fears thoughts that plague us over and over again? One big problem is that we begin to believe lies that the world is … Continue reading Responding to anxiety, doubts, and fears (Part 1): Are your thoughts really true?
Do you love to read? Or perhaps you wish that you loved to read. Whether you love it or hate it, reading is valuable. Reading teaches us new information. In our youth, we are constantly learning new things. As we enter adulthood, we’re putting learning into practice, pruning our areas of knowledge and expertise. In … Continue reading The Value of Reading Throughout the Lifespan
We all like to feel happy, excited, joyful, and relaxed. But what about the emotions like sadness, anger, fear, or discouragement? These are much harder. Yet God has created us as creatures with a full range of emotions. How do we express and share them well? There is a time and place for every emotion … Continue reading Sharing Your Hard Emotions
Talking about problems in relationships is hard – whether it’s a work relationship, romantic relationship, friend relationship, or family relationship. But if you are feeling angry or frustrated and the relationship “give and take” feels unbalanced, talking it through will be even more difficult. Here are some tips for talking it over well: Prepare Identify … Continue reading Give and Take (Part 3)
“Okay, counselor, so, what if I’m in a relationship where I’m the only one giving anything? I give all the time. They need to give sometimes too!” Did you read Part 1 and find yourself thinking this way? Most of us have felt this way at least once in our lives! It is true that … Continue reading Give and Take (Part 2)
Have you ever felt like you were putting more into a relationship than you were getting out of it? If you’re human… you probably have felt this way! It can be tempting to hold back and wait to invest in someone else until they’re already done something for you. But if we all waited, we … Continue reading Give and Take (Part 1)
During and after tragedy, it is only natural to experience sorrow, grief, fear, and anger. We cry out to God “Why?” and seek comfort and often seek distraction. These hard emotions are important, natural, and expected – but they are uncomfortable. We can expect sorrow and grief in life, but how do we handle it? … Continue reading Handling Sorrow and Grief
Almost every moment of our lives, we are communicating something to someone. You may be talking with your children, yelling at your employees, or sitting quietly with your aging parent. We communicate by sharing information, expressing emotions, and simply by being present with someone. Communication happens on many levels, and includes more than just talking … Continue reading What is “communication” anyway?
In life, we will encounter problems. Your income, relationships, lifestyle, faith life, job, education, and church can’t stop the inevitable reality that in a world broken by the Fall (Genesis 3), we will each encounter problems. Fortunately, there are skills and strategies we can strengthen in our lives that will help us to solve those … Continue reading Life Skills to Solve Any Problem