Shows Main Idea – A phobia is an intense and irrational fear of a specific object, situation, or activity that poses little to no actual danger. This fear can be so overwhelming that it provokes severe anxiety and interferes with normal life functions. Phobias are a type of anxiety and can be categorized into specific phobias. In this episode, I’m answering someone’s question about how to overcome a phobia. Show Notes: https://lifeovercoffee.com/podcast/ep-511-how-to-deal-with-phobias-from-a-bib...
Jul 06, 2024•39 min
There are several ways to motivate your spouse to change. Here are six awful examples. As you go through this list, examine your heart to see which ones you tend to employ the most often when your spouse is not changing and maturing according to your expectations. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/day-21-the-best-way-to-help-your-spouse-change/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you ca...
Jul 04, 2024•5 min
Biff and Mable married 13 years ago. Most of those years were difficult. Mable struggles with insecurity, which has played out in their marriage by her keeping tabs on Biff. He calls her a nag. Her deeper insecurity is born out of something that Biff did not cause, which is why he sees her interrogations and accusations as a burden. Rather than discerning Mable as an opportunity to shepherd her, he responds by drifting farther from her, which puts their marriage in an unresolvable, circular trap...
Jul 02, 2024•5 min
Shows Main Idea – Overcoming the challenges of introversion involves embracing how God uniquely designed you while also seeking ways to engage with others in meaningful, God-honoring ways. It's not about changing who you are but rather using your natural tendencies for the glory of God and the good of others. Show Notes: https://lifeovercoffee.com/podcast/ep-509-a-gospel-message-for-all-the-introverts-out-there/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a s...
Jun 22, 2024•31 min
The most significant problem hindering humble discipleship in a marriage is self-centeredness. Too many spouses demand and manipulate what they want while relegating their role of discipling their spouse to a tertiary consideration. Nothing will blow up a marriage quicker than a lack of other-centeredness, a mindset that is contrary to the gospel. Jesus set aside His desires to help broken people. Discipleship is every spouse’s responsibility. Christ took on the form of a servant to transform da...
Jun 20, 2024•6 min
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Jun 19, 2024•2 min
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Jun 19, 2024•5 min
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Jun 19, 2024•3 min
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Jun 19, 2024•2 min
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Jun 19, 2024•2 min
How do you positively or negatively contribute to your marriage? In broad categories, you can help in one of two ways, though you may contribute in both, depending on what is going on during any particular season of your marriage: You can motivate your spouse by grace. You can demotivate your spouse by sinful attitudes, words, or behaviors. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/day-15-does-your-behavior-your-spouse-to-christ/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You ...
Jun 18, 2024•5 min
A few years ago I was counseling a couple who were angry with each other. During our counseling, I asked the wife what was wrong with the marriage. Without hesitation or skipping a beat, she gave me a long, clear, and detailed list of all the things that were wrong with her husband. There was was no question about it: he was a failure. Because I like to play fair, I turned to the lady’s husband and asked him about the state of their marriage. Without flinching or taking a breath, the husband gav...
Jun 13, 2024•6 min
What were the practical things you did when you first won your spouse’s affections? Are you still doing them, or has the pace of life diverted your attention from your early marriage priorities? Reflect upon the giddy time in your relationship. Do you remember those carefree and silly days when it was just you two? Those days do not have to remain in your past. It was important to Lucia and me that we fight to keep the dating experience in our marriage experience. Because of God’s grace, we stil...
Jun 11, 2024•5 min
The modeling of Christ and practicing repentance in your home are at the top of the list of what you both should be doing in your family relationships. Suppose you are not imitating Christ or repenting of sins. In that case, your marriage can only limp along, with a Band-Aid approach while accelerating the accumulative frustration that leftover, hungover sinning does until death disrupts your one-flesh union. There is no way to circumvent the hard and humble way of going to your spouse, confessi...
Jun 06, 2024•6 min
One of the most powerful ways to imitate Jesus in our marriages is by having an other-worldly lack of self-interest (Philippians 2:5-11). A profound statement that connects so well with the gospel is that if the gospel truly anchors us, we have nothing to fear, nothing to defend, nothing to lose, and nothing to hide. Isn’t Jesus like that with you? He is so secure in His relationship with you that any angry frustration from you or the other ways in which you express your disappointments to Him d...
Jun 04, 2024•6 min
Finally, after several attempts to convince them of the futility of their positions, I conceded any further hope of a ceasefire. There would be no redemptive-relational progress that day. They were too mad, too self-justified, too hurt, too unforgiving, and too stubborn to change. At that point, I gave up and recommended that the combatants continue fighting. Yes, I told them to pursue their anger toward each other. “Keep on keeping on. Duke it out.” Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/day-10-...
May 30, 2024•6 min
When your spouse sins, who pays for it? Do you make them pay for what they did wrong, or do you take your spouse to Jesus and show them how His death is enough punishment to remove the transgression? Christians understand the point of the gospel: Christ paid for our sins. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/day-2-who-pays-for-your-spouses-sins/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can ...
May 28, 2024•6 min
Shows Main Idea – The struggle with pornography is a significant issue that affects both men and women, though it might manifest differently and need somewhat nuanced approaches to overcome it. In the context of biblical teaching, the use of pornography is a misdirection of the God-given desire for love and intimate connection, which becomes corrupted by sin, making our normal desires self-centered. Women may struggle with pornography for several reasons, including a longing for relational conne...
May 26, 2024•44 min
If you are going to imitate the Lord in your marriage (Ephesians 5:1), being for your spouse must be a logical and loving objective and practice. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/day-3-are-you-for-your-spouse/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.
May 23, 2024•6 min
God never condemns, mocks, criticizes, or puts you down when you share your heart with Him (Ephesians 4:29). He is always ready to listen and willing to help. The Father knows your frame and understands your weaknesses. He encourages you by speaking into your various situations with love (Psalm 103:12-14). Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/day-4-no-more-condemnation/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoff...
May 21, 2024•6 min
A husband and wife are not just two people within the marriage. Yes, they have independent relationships with the Lord and with other people, but they are also one flesh. Like our blessed Trinity, there is perfect oneness that unites the Persons. This kind of union is both a mystery and a practical reality. Though you cannot fully understand what a one-flesh union means, you can functionally and faithfully participate in a one-flesh marriage while enjoying its benefits. Read Here: https://lifeov...
May 16, 2024•7 min
If you put two sinners in a room (home) for an extended period with no plan for escape, you can expect problems. There may be a lot of love along the way, but there will also be problems. It's unavoidable. The dating couple can break up and go on to the next relationship. Vocational workmates are similar. If you don't like your boss or the environment in which you work, you can move on to the next thing. Marriage is different. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/day-9-dating-to-divorce-and-how...
May 14, 2024•6 min
What Adam lacked was not someone to fill his empty love cup but someone who would allow him to display God in the world in a more complete way. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/day-13-the-main-reason-you-need-someone/ Will you help us to continue providing free content for everyone? You can become a supporting member here https://lifeovercoffee.com/join/, or you can make a one-time or recurring donation here https://lifeovercoffee.com/donate/.
May 09, 2024•7 min
We are one body (Hebrews 13:3). When I sin—no matter what it is—my wife has a responsibility for that sin. She would never say, "That's Rick's problem. That's his sin." No, it's our sin. She is not guilty of my sin, and she does not repent of my sin, but she has a role to play because she is me, and I am here—we are one. When I sin, she runs to my aid by calling me out or caring for me. She becomes my discipler—my mentor. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/day-6-problems-problems-one-problem/...
May 07, 2024•6 min
What is the most important quality you would like to have in your life? Of all the qualities to choose from, there is one transcending quality that must be at the top of your list. That one transcending quality is God's glory. If your desire to glorify God is the chief aim of your life, there is a fantastic chance you will experience a meaningful and satisfying life and marriage, even should your spouse not meet some of your expectations. There is nothing that transcends this God-centered qualit...
May 02, 2024•7 min
One of the more common complaints I hear from spouses is when one of the partners in the marriage talks about being alone in the marriage. These lonely spouses perceive a seemingly invisible barrier between each other. It's a communication barrier they cannot change because the deepest and most intimate component of marriage communication is uniquely spiritual. While couples can relate in many ways, there is one way that is non-negotiable if you intend to engage each other like Christ and His ch...
Apr 30, 2024•7 min
The sex talk begins in a child's toddler years as they learn about sexuality, intimacy, and relationships through the attitudes, words, and interactions of their parents. Sex is a shame-laced subject because of our mutual fallenness. One talk just before they head off to high school is not enough to help them think right about gender, identity, and sexuality. Even our worldly counterparts—though they give the appearance of no sex shame and have all the answers—are not free from sexual entangleme...
Apr 25, 2024•15 min
One of the most exciting and bittersweet times in a parent’s life is walking their child through the sex talk. It’s the season that leads them into adulthood. It’s the secret handshake that lets them know that the curtain of childhood is dropping and a brave new world is in front of them. It’s exciting because you are the one leading her. It’s bittersweet because your little kid is growing up. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/practical-and-effective-instructions-for-the-sex-talk-01/ Will yo...
Apr 23, 2024•35 min
The sex talk is a transitional time in a child’s life, but long before you have the talk, your child will have a worldview and practice in place that will form the backdrop for how he will process what you’re telling him during the sex talk. His home environment forms that worldview and develops his relational habits long before he learns about the most intimate aspects of male and female relationships. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/practical-advice-before-you-have-the-sex-talk-with-your...
Apr 20, 2024•31 min
Is there a terrific way to introduce the sex talk to your child? Every parent is faced with the challenge, though every parent does not think about sex the same way. Of course, there are a few parents who kick the sex talk can down the road, assuming they will learn eventually. I suspect if you brought the sex talk up to a group of adults, there would be a mixed bag of responses. Read Here: https://lifeovercoffee.com/terrific-way-for-introducing-the-sex-talk-to-your-child/ Will you help us to co...
Apr 18, 2024•33 min
