I’ve recently figured out the four most important rules to apologizing (I’m sorry I didn’t figure them out sooner). It came out of the fact that apologizing is a major complaint for most couples I see as a psychotherapist. The complaints almost always come in twos. The first is the apology … [Read more...]
How Christian Parents Should Talk to Their Kids about Sex
Please note: A practical list of tips can be found at the end of this post Sex, there’s a topic parents want to avoid talking about to their kids... unless they’re those creepy parents who are way too open about it. Talking to your kids about sex should be a bit awkward because who wants to … [Read more...]
Eye Rolling Destroys Relationships
I’m going to assume you know what I mean when I write “eye rolling.” To be safe, let me point out I’m not referencing a new-age eye exercise where you move your eyes around in circles to improve your chakras or a strange zombie game where you roll eyeballs down a lane like bowling. (Did you just … [Read more...]
Why You Shouldn’t Listen to Parenting Books (& why my parents were great parents)
A few years ago I was talking with a child therapist who had been in practice for twenty five years, but she didn’t have her own kids until she had been in it for fifteen years. What she said confirmed what I had long expected: “Everything I taught was from the books I was given at school, and … [Read more...]
It’s Hard to Trust When…
I was recently feeling that particular kind of awful when you’ve eaten too much (the typical Thanksgiving trap) and, on top of it, I was stuck in my head. I decided to help my mood by doing the escarpment stairs (I try to follow my own advice since being a hypocrite isn’t on my to-do list). … [Read more...]
Having Mental Illness is Not an Excuse to be a Bad Person
Thirteen years ago I became friends with a guy for which I have the utmost respect. When I first saw him, he was leading the worship team at the front of the church I was visiting because I was thinking of applying to work there as the youth pastor (and yes, I did end up working there). When I … [Read more...]
Men aren’t as dumb as their wives think… sometimes
My underlying fear, that under-the-surface-pops-his-head-up-every-once-in-awhile-to-throw-me-off fear is that I’m stupid. At least I’ve had this fear for the past fourteen years since being with my wife. Before that, I can’t remember if that was as much of a problem. Is that a sign of my … [Read more...]
Do We Have a Right to Know Who Our Parents Are?
Here is the question of the day: Is it better to know the truth even if it’s painful or is it better to live with the mystery looming in the back of our mind? This is the question I walked away with after watching Shazam (don’t worry, no spoilers here). For the record, I found this move … [Read more...]