relationship
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How Our Relational Style Affects Our Faith
I find that if I have a misconception of love and thus of God, that is, one that does not align fully with scripture, I need look no further than my relational style. Because we are in a genuine relationship with the Lord, we will often have similar hang-ups to those we have in our human relationships. All of us have a relational style, learned from parents and friends that we bring to our marriages and parenting. It should then come as no surprise that those relational styles affect our connection with God. A misconception of love, too, is common. As a naïve seventeen-year-old, I took my first husband’s overwhelming…
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Boundaries: Reset and Reinforce Your Broken ‘No’
Some people seem to have the gift of no. Boundaries seem to come easily to them. When asked for favors, money, or permission, they hand out noes with blithe unconcern. Others, like me, feel guilty about denying the requests, even demands of the people in their lives. But if you are naturally compliant, suffered under the rule of authoritarian parents, have undergone abuse, or are simply overly empathetic, then saying no comes at a cost. Strategizing your ‘no’ can help you make and reinforce boundaries that are important to you, whether at home or at work. Before you begin to take back the territory in your life lost to poor…
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Narcissistic Marriage: The Five Lies That Bind
Staying in a narcissistic relationship takes a lot of commitment. After all, the benefits of the relationship are fleeting at best, while the daily slog of being someone’s personal slave is exhausting. I have opened up in this blog because I feel led by the Lord to tell my story as a way of owning it. And one of the most difficult things about admitting to my past is that I am generally perceived as a competent, even gifted, woman. People ask, without meaning to hurt me, “How did you get trapped in such a circumstance?” The truth is that narcissists often target intelligent, strong women. Where’s the challenge, otherwise?…
