Category: Discouragement

• 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

• Running from Healing? Devotional

  

  Years ago, a devotional I had written, “Running from Healing?” was published on the now defunct “Life Letter Cafe” site. But I believe it is a subject that resonates with a lot of my readers. So I’m sharing it again here on Messy Marriage! I hope it gives you some food for thought.  Ever feel…

  BethSteffaniak

  September 14, 2018

  Anxiety, Attitude, Avoidance, Bible Study, Christ-Centered, Discouragement, Emotions, Encouragement

  Confession, Faith in God, Fear, Healing, Humility, Lack of Faith, Prayer

• 2 Devotionals Offering Encouragement and Relief

  

  Today I want to point you to some encouragement and relief by sharing two devotionals I’ve recently written, which are featured at two inspirational Christian sites. The first devotional starts off by pointing you to see the unseen. An impossible sounding task, I know! But read on to find out how … I’m about to…

  BethSteffaniak

  August 30, 2018

  About Me, Acceptance, Anxiety, Bible Study, Christ-Centered, Discouragement, Encouragement, Faith in God, Fear, Hope, Insecurity, Love of God, Patience, Perseverance, Perspective, Prayer, Relief, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Practices, Thankfulness, Trials, Trust

  Anxiety, Faith, Faith in God, Patience, Prayer, Thankfulness, Wait on God

• 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

• Asking For Too Much Conversation in Marriage?

  

  Let’s face it. There are major differences between men and women, but none more obvious than in the desire for conversation. There’s a drastic difference in the amount of communication women typically use on any given day versus men. Studies have actually been done on this that reveal how women use approximately 20,000 words per day,…

  BethSteffaniak

  July 29, 2018

  Acceptance, Avoidance, Boundaries, Communication, Conversation, Differences, Discouragement, Emotions, Encouragement, Expectations, Gender Differences, Magical Thinking, Marriage, Openness, Personality, Positive Focus, Proactive, Realistic Expectations, Self-awareness, Self-sacrifice, Wedded Wednesday

  Communication, Conflict, Conversations, Expectations, Gender Differences, Realistic Expectations

• 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

• 5 Battle Tools to Help in Hard Moments

  

  I’m excited to have a guest blogger and author, Kelly Balarie, with me today! I’m honored to be on the launch team of her latest book, Battle Ready, that is available starting today, July 3, 2018. (You can find the link to her book on Amazon by clicking on the book cover below.) Kelly offers such…

  BethSteffaniak

  July 3, 2018

  Attitude, Bad Habits, Choices, Christ-Centered, Deception, Discouragement, Encouragement, Faith in God, False Beliefs, Identity, Insecurity, Negative Self-Talk, Perfectionism, Perspective, Positive Focus, Prayer, Realistic Expectations, Self-awareness, Self-deception, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Warfare, Truth, Victim Mentality, Wounds

  Faith in God, Fear, Insecurity, Perfectionism, Prayer, Rejection, Satan, Spiritual Tools, Spiritual Warfare

• How Being Broken in Your Marriage is a Good Thing!

  

  Ever ignore something that is or might be broken in your life or marriage? It can be scary and intimidating to face this harsh reality. I know, because I did so with one of my my sons and also with my marriage to its detriment. Years ago, my two oldest sons were enjoying a fun…

  BethSteffaniak

  June 24, 2018

  Accountability, Attitude, Bad Habits, Brokenness, Change, Choices, Christ-Centered, Confession, Denial, Discouragement, Emotions, Entitlement, Expectations, Failure, God’s Redemption, Grace, Laziness, Lust, Marriage, Marriage Mistakes, Perfectionism, Positive Focus, Prayer, Pride, Redemption, Responsibility, Self-Reflection, Self-sacrifice, Spiritual Practices, Surrender

  Broken, Brokenness, Confession, Entitled, Laziness, Lust, Perfectionism, Perfectionist, Prayer, Self-deceived, Self-Righteous

• 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