Formerly Hardy and Stephens Counselling Associates
It can be overwhelming to know where to start on your journey to make some changes in your life. Especially if it feels like there is a lot that needs to change. Instead of looking at everything all at once (which is daunting), break it down into small, manageable steps. God sees the big picture …
Parenting may be the hardest thing you ever do, and also one of the most important. It stretches our mind and emotions, and fills our hearts like none other. What is also true, is that some of us may find ourselves “losing it” with our children more often than we’d like to. This can be …
Parenting Is Hard: Breaking Generational Dysfunction Read More »
It is common to feel trapped in the darkness of life. Depression, grief, and fear can feel heavy and dark. When life feels dark, it can feel daunting and hopeless. John 1:5 states, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”. The light will always shine through the dark, and …
As human beings, we do not enjoy discomfort. When a difficult emotion surfaces, many of us instinctually, but unknowingly, work very hard to avoid experiencing those unpleasant feelings. This can look like turning to TV, social media, eating, shopping, substances, or other unhealthy outlets to escape that feeling. We all do it. Unfortunately, this does …
We make choices all the time and our thoughts guide our choices and our attitudes, perhaps even more than we realize. These thoughts and beliefs affect our emotions and also our actions. There is good reason why God tells us in His Word to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. …
When couples have ongoing and repeated conflict that is not repaired, they can get stuck in a pursue/distance pattern. Over time, they can feel increasingly stuck and hopeless. The pursuing partner will often bring up their concerns and not want to stop talking until they feel reassured, while the distancing partner will tend to avoid …
Our fears, worries, and anxiety can often have such a loud voice that it covers the joyful thoughts inside our head. It can be so easy to get caught up in our worries and let them take over our precious thinking time. Jesus says in Matthew 6:34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow …
Do you find yourself picking up emotions from others around you? Do you feel other people’s emotional pain as if it were your own? Empathy is a wonderful, amazing thing. It helps us connect with, care for others, and have others care for us. However, without healthy emotional boundaries, we can find ourselves carrying other’s …
One of the things that got ingrained in my mind since my college Introduction to Psychology class was that opposites attract, but birds of a feather who flock together often create easier marriages. I was reminded of this when I was reading some of Neil Clark Warren’s book “Finding the Love of your Life”. He …
With a life of busy schedules and unexpected challenges, it can be easy to get caught up in our society’s unrealistic standards and feel shame about our lives. Often, we become so wrapped up in our mistakes or uncontrollable situations that we flagellate ourselves with self-criticism. The bible says, “clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, …