All Christians

With February right around the corner, conversations of a romantic date are in the air. Reservations are being made, roses are being purchased, and babysitters are starting to come in short supply. But the conversation of date nights for couples who are married and engaged is bigger than this one day. The concerning question is, are Christian’s missing out on date night?

I want to start off this article understanding that there are different seasons for people. Having contracted with the military, I understand it can actually be impossible for people to date at times in their life. Newborns become the most important thing for a moment, big events hit life that can take the immediate focus, and sometimes our own mental health can cause barriers. If dates are not an option, I encourage you to check out our post on improving communication in your marriage. But I want to speak for every other day, the other 40 or 45 weeks of the year.

Not dating is a problem.

On April 5, 2019, we will be in Cleveland, OH attending
Inclusion Fusion Live!, a conference hosted by Key Ministry. We will be present at the “Mental Health Inclusion Ministry” and “Starting A Special Needs Ministry” Intensive workshop.

If you are curious about what it is, here is their “Values” video from last year:

Trauma can happen in any number of forms. Being caught up in a wildfire or flooding, being in, near, or closely linked to a shooting, being the victim or witness of rape, domestic violence, or a car accident all can cause trauma symptoms. This doesn’t even include the every day pains of emotional abuse that can impact us to our core or betrayal and hatred that appear in our daily lives and online.

Why does God allow this to happen?

We talk about the Church needing to step up with regards to mental health. No greater need from the Church is present than crisis services and suicide prevention and we’ve talked about how churches can help prevent this in their community now. And amazingly, there is a Christian suicide prevention ministry already there you can utilize, To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA).

TWLOHA is a non-profit movement dedicated to presenting hope & finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, & suicide. Originally started simply as the founder Jamie Tworkowski wanting to save the life of his friend who struggled with addiction and suicide, so did a fundraiser to help her get into treatment. Here’s their story.

Welcome to 2019. A new year, a fresh start. And for Christian bloggers, it seems it is a time to put down those who enjoy coming up with New Years Resolutions. In fact, Gospel Coalition has five articles on their site basically renaming resolutions. Not only do we encourage New Years’ Resolutions, but we want to help you with how to make the best of them with great tips from best counseling practices. (Note: I’m a fan of Gospel Coalition, I know several writers there. Just seems like lazy writing on the topic.)

If you have already made some, but they already seem to not be working, no worries, we can fix them as you go. If you haven’t but thought about it, it’s not too late.

If you have watched the news for the past 4 years, if you are involved with your local and state communities, or if you are involved in counseling, you know of the opiate epidemic. My experience as a mental health and substance abuse counselor is that many people know some things but few know most of what has been happening. The news is getting this opiate crisis only partially reported, mostly because there is so much happening. Dreamland, authored by Sam Quinones, touches on all that has been happening since the late 20th century.

[Read more…] about Dreamland [Book Review]

You may have heard several conversations about money within the Church. From the necessary “tithe your percentage to the church” sermon, being part of a small group on Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey, sitting in on a budgeting meeting for the ministries when it gets heated, or trying to decide if you are going to pay for that $2 donut and $4 coffee at the newly installed church coffee shop, money is apart of every church.

One thing is true, there is stress in money.

We don’t have enough money, it seems difficult to keep money, and it’s hard to obtain money. The Church even talks about how money is the root of all evil.

But what if there was a way of taking the stress out of money?

[Read more…] about Taking The Stress Out Of Money

Marriage is hard. Think about being in a relationship with someone, them knowing all of your deepest flaws and you knowing theirs. Further, your understanding of family, finances, or sex is different from theirs. You have children, but struggle to keep your own marriage as a priority. Then we throw in disappointment, in-laws, and personal expectations that may not be met. Having a resource to help you understand what you are currently going through in marriage as well as having something before you say ‘I Do’ is huge and having it faith-based is all the more important.

Below, I have shared several resources for people to use, though I will be honest, they all require you to have a mentor couple to work with you. It’s not easy and you should not go it alone.

[Read more…] about Christian Marital and Premarital Curriculum

Working with children and their families in counseling, one conversation that comes up over and over is concerns of the parents, teachers, and other important figures for the children that they are either misusing technology or putting themselves at risk. While you cannot prevent all problems from affecting children, there are several things that parents can do for their family in order to protect them.

Below I have links to several contracts and pledges for the family to go over and sign on how to properly use and expect to work with family members with the internet and smartphones. Further, I have several tips you need to consider as you begin dialogues with your children because a simple contract is not going to prevent harm, but constant vigilance and communication.

[Read more…] about Family Phone And Internet Contracts