For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water. - Jeremiah 2:13 Over the past 25 years of serving in a biblical counseling and equipping ministry, I've run into a multitude of harmful and false teachings in the Church, as well as in the realm of counseling. However, I have not come across a more destructive teaching among Christians—particularly when it comes to married couples, Continue Reading
One Last Try: Marriage Counseling
THE END OF OUR MARRIAGE? After several years of unhealthy communication, harmful coping, growing resentment and hopelessness, and so much more, our marriage seemed to be over. Pop-psychology and some religious leaders affirmed that it likely was over, that too much damage had been done. At the same time we were continuously told to “trust the process” and “give it time”—and that involuntary separation from each other without guidance could be healthy, even in parental alienation with our Continue Reading
California Marriage Conference
Marriage is potentially an ongoing source of many blessings. However, the reality is that marriage can also be hard, very hard. Far too many people struggle, and even fail, when it comes to their marriage. So what, exactly, makes the difference between those who overcome and are blessed, and those who fall short in reaping peace and joy? So much hinges on this one thing: how well we know and live according to God's design for marriage. Not only did God create us, He created marriage. Continue Reading
A Shattered Marriage
Personal + Story Before we came to Hope for Life, our marriage, along with our personal and spiritual lives, was set on auto-pilot. We were just going through the motions of attending church, going to work, and living as though everything was fine. Our lives revolved around work and hanging out with friends. We spent hardly any time together, and almost always needed some sort of buffer between the two of us to mask what was really going in our hearts, and to draw the attention away from the Continue Reading