Category: Alienation

• 3 Ways to Weather Seasons of Transition in Marriage

  

  I’m excited to have as my guest this week blogger Liz Giertz, who is sharing personal insights on how to navigate a season of transition in marriage. She knows quite a bit about this as a military wife! You’ll find her bio and a link to her blog below. Please make her feel welcome by…

  BethSteffaniak

  October 7, 2018

  Acceptance, Alienation, Attitude, Boundaries, Choices, Christ-Centered, Commitment, Communication, Connection, Differences, Discouragement, Encouragement, Expectations, Faith in God, Lessons Learned in Marriage, Marriage, Negotiation, Perseverance, PTSD, Realistic Expectations, Spiritual Growth, Stress, Support, Transitions

  #marriagetransitions, #militarymarriage, Commitment, Communication, Expectations, Faith in God, God’s Love, Military Wife, Realistic Expectations, Transitions

• 6 Lessons that Motivate Me to Forgive My Mate

  

  I’ve always struggled to let go of offenses and forgive my husband from the heart. In the moment it feels like God needs my help to point out my spouse’s sin or at least to stop it from happening again. When I give in to that thinking it mushrooms. I feel like I need to…

  BethSteffaniak

  September 23, 2018

  About Me, Acceptance, Alienation, Anger, Blaming, Choices, Christ-Centered, Confession, Conflict, Control, Denial, Emotions, Entitlement, Expectations, False Beliefs, Forgiveness, God’s Redemption, Grace, Lessons Learned in Marriage, Marriage, Marriage Mistakes, Negative Self-Talk, Perspective, Positive Focus, Prayer, Pride, Realistic Expectations, Resentments, Responsibility, Self-deception, Self-Protection, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Practices, Surrender, Victim Mentality, Wounds

  Anger, Bitterness, Christ’s Forgiveness, Forgive, Forgiveness, Realistic Expectations, Redemption, Surrender, Trust in God, Wounds

• 5 Best Practices to Help Your Marriage Survive Tragedy

  

  I’m excited to introduce you to my latest guest blogger—Rachel Lee—who’s talking today about recovering from a tragedy in her life and marriage. See her bio below for more on where to find her. And be sure to make her feel welcome by commenting and sharing this moving and meaningful post all around the web!…

  BethSteffaniak

  September 16, 2018

  Acceptance, Alienation, Christ-Centered, Commitment, Communication, Conflict, Counseling, Depression, Differences, Discouragement, Emotions, Grief, Hope, Lessons Learned in Marriage, Marriage, Motherhood, Pain, Parenthood, Prayer, Spiritual Practices, Support, Trauma, Trials, Wounds

  Communication, Counsel, Death of Child, Grief, Loss, Marriage, Prayer, Tragedy, Trauma, Trials

• How the Bible Addresses 5 Common Problems in Marriage

  

  I did a Google search recently and found several articles offering common problems in marriage, in order to come at them biblically. Below are just a sampling of some of the problems I found … 1. Boundary Problems Sadly, an awful lot of boundary problems can erupt in marriage. The good news is that the…

  BethSteffaniak

  August 19, 2018

  Acceptance, Accountability, Affairs, Affection, Affirmation, Alienation, Anger, Attitude, Attraction, Betrayal, Bible Study, Boundaries, Change, Choices, Christ-Centered, Communication, Conflict, Desires, Differences, Discouragement, Forgiveness, Infatuation, Intimacy, Listening Skills, Love, Love of God, Lust, Marriage, Marriage According to Bible, Positive Focus, Resentments, Sex & Sexuality, Sex-Drive, Spiritual Leadership, Spiritual Practices, Submission

  Affair, Bible, Boundary Problems, Communication, Forgiveness, Marriage, Marriage According to the Bible, Marriage Problems, Sex, Submission

• 7 Ways to Develop Empathy and Gain Insight into Your Mate

  

  Have you ever struggled to truly understand your mate’s feelings—feeling empathy for what he/she is going through? I sure have! 😉  But it’s important to examine this important responsibility from every angle. So, first off …  What exactly is empathy? Empathy is the ability to come alongside someone, and not only understand a person’s point…

  BethSteffaniak

  July 15, 2018

  Acceptance, Alienation, Anger, Bonding, Boundaries, Christ-Centered, Codependency, Communication, Connection, Discouragement, Emotions, Empathy, Encouragement, Forgiveness, Listening Skills, Love, Marriage, Pain, Perspective, Positive Focus, Prayer, Resentments, Self-Reflection, Toxic Baggage, Validation, Wounds

  Communication, Emotional Wounds, Empathy, Pain, Prayer, Trust God, Understanding

• Feeling the Forgiveness

  

  I’ve talked a lot about forgiveness on this blog over the years, because I’ve learned first hand that it’s what brings calmness out of messy moments in my marriage. So it only makes sense that it should be the foundation of marriage, since forgiveness is the foundation of what Christ did for us in all…

  BethSteffaniak

  July 8, 2018

  Acceptance, Alienation, Anger, Blaming, Boundaries, Choices, Christ-Centered, Forgiveness, Grace, Jesus’ Sacrifice, Love of God, Marriage, Perspective, Positive Focus, Resentments, Self-awareness, Self-Reflection, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Practices, Truth, Wounds

  Acceptance, Forgiveness, God’s Love, Offended, Offenses, Perspective

• The Unfair Task of Making God Priority Over Your Mate

  

  Ever find yourself frustrated or even embarrassed by your mate’s devotion to God? Or maybe it’s your own spiritual fervor that your mate feels bothered and/or intimidated by. Maybe you both feel like your marriage is faltering, even though you’ve focused intense energy on each other and your family. So it just doesn’t add up…

  BethSteffaniak

  June 17, 2018

  Acceptance, Alienation, Avoidance, Christ-Centered, Commitment, Conflict, Differences, Discouragement, Expectations, Faith in God, Marriage, Perseverance, Perspective, Positive Focus, Prayer, Priorities, Realistic Expectations, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Mismatch, Spiritual Practices, Spiritual Warfare, Spiritually Unequal, Unfair Realities in Marriage, Withdrawal

  Devotion, Devotion to God, Division, Jealousy, Priority, Resentment, Retaliation, Trust God

• The Unfair Task of Remembering Your Spouse is Not the Enemy

  

  Do you ever feel like your mate is your enemy—or is at least acting like one? Sadly, in the heat of conflicts in marriage, it’s easy to be confused about who the real Enemy is. In marriage, we’re often tempted to point fingers at each other, rather than keeping in mind that it might NOT…

  BethSteffaniak

  June 10, 2018

  Alienation, Blaming, Christ-Centered, Conflict, Discouragement, Encouragement, Faith in God, False Beliefs, Forgiveness, Humility, Marriage, Negative Self-Talk, Perspective, Pride, Realistic Expectations, Resentments, Salvation, Spiritual Warfare, Trials, Truth, Unfair Realities in Marriage, Vulnerability, Weakness

  Christian, Deception, enemy, Humility, Lies, Pride, Resentments, Salvation, Satan, Spiritual Warfare, Trials, Truth

• The Unfair Task to Avoid Lust and Attraction to Others

  

  When I first got married I was under the mistaken notion that I would never feel attracted to anyone other than my husband. I was, after all, deeply in love and thought that “love was all I needed” to fight back any desires, urges or attractions to others. This made me a prime target for…

  BethSteffaniak

  June 3, 2018

  About Me, Accountability, Affairs, Alienation, Attraction, Bad Habits, Betrayal, Bonding, Boundaries, Change, Choices, Christ-Centered, Commitment, Contentment, Desires, Discouragement, Emotions, Encouragement, Faith in God, Infatuation, Love for God, Lust, Marriage, Positive Focus, Prayer, Resentments, Self-Reflection, Self-sacrifice, Sex & Sexuality, Sex/Porn Addiction, Spiritual Practices, Unfair Realities in Marriage

  Accountability, Attraction, Boundaries, Desire, Faithful, Guard Heart, Guard Marriage, Love of God, Lust, Prayer, Unfair Realities

• The Unfair Task of Praying for Your Marriage Even If It Feels Passive

  

  We all have heard the phrase, “Well, if all else fails, at least we can pray about it!” It’s like you’ve tried everything else to get your marriage back on track and nothing has worked. So, I guess it’s time to get busy praying! 😉 Well, yes and no. It is time to pray. But it…

  BethSteffaniak

  May 13, 2018

  Acceptance, Accountability, Alienation, Anger, Apologies, Attitude, Choices, Christ-Centered, Conflict, Discouragement, Encouragement, Faith in God, Marriage, Marriage Mistakes, Positive Focus, Prayer, Priorities, Proactive, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Practices, Surrender, Unfair Realities in Marriage

  Conflict, Encouragement, Faith in God, Healing, Marriage Prayer, Peace, Prayer, Unity