Tag: Prayer

• 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

• How to Reconnect After a Drift in Your Marriage

  

  I’m excited to have a guest post by Melanie Redd to kick off our new series, “Lessons Learned in Marriage.” Please make her feel welcome by commenting on, as well as sharing her wise words with others to all your favorite social media spots.  It was the craziest thing really. My raft and I got…

  BethSteffaniak

  September 9, 2018

  Acceptance, Affection, Attitude, Attraction, Bonding, Change, Choices, Christ-Centered, Communication, Connection, Conversation, Dates with Mates, Encouragement, Faith in God, Friendship, Lessons Learned in Marriage, Marriage, Marriage Spark, Positive Focus, Prayer, Priorities, Romance, Spiritual Practices, Togetherness

  Affection, Connection, Conversation, Dates for Mates, Drift, Fun in Marriage, Marriage, Perspective, 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

• Are You Invisible or Transparent in Life and Marriage?

  

  Over the years, I’ve discovered just how important being transparent is to the health of my life and marriage. Sadly, in our day and time, transparency has been replaced with either pretentious posturing or defensive dodging. I’d like to refer to pretentious posturing AND defensive dodging as actually choosing to be “invisible.” People who react…

  BethSteffaniak

  August 5, 2018

  Acceptance, Authenticity, Bonding, Christ-Centered, Communication, Confession, Connection, Humility, Insecurity, Love of God, Marriage, Openness, Prayer, Self-Protection, Truth, Vulnerability

  Deception, Honesty, Image Management, Prayer, Transparency, Truth, Vulnerability

• 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 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