He already knows all your thoughts, attitudes, dreams and desires.
“O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before the word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.” Psalm 139:1-6 (ESV).
“Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” Psalm 139:24-23 (ESV).
Yes, I definitely think it is important to get ‘counseling’ when dealing with marital issues, during and after, but not marriage counseling necessarily, and certainly not divorce recovery. A couple preparing to walk down the aisle together most certainly should experience intensive marriage counseling, the kind that teaches you all about each other as well as God’s plan and purpose for marriage. And, should red flag issues become apparent during marriage counseling, be prayerfully and boldly willing to make the decision to NOT get married. Despite the fact I have shared my standing with different counselors, even preachers and devoted Christian friends, I must admit I continued to struggle to find a perfect fit, a genuine Confidential Encourager. I longed to find someone who:
I could afford
was a good listener
offered valuable insight
knew how to ask thought provoking questions
I felt I could trust
was a devoted Christian
understood the difference between a relationship with God vs being religious
understood the concept of standing
understood prodigals are not just repentant sons
had been married to the same person for many years
encouraged standing vs divorce recovery
focused on God’s perspective of marriage
didn’t use all the psycho babble terms
honestly believed in marriage for life
believed not just in putting our requests before God, but who understood the power behind not just praying, but praying and believing with thanksgiving.
“…do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV).
I longed to find a Confidential Encourager who believed in the sanctity of a God-ordained covenant marriage.
If I can offer my Confidential Encourager insight into your marital concerns, please feel free to email me: taylorjamesalbert@aol.com for a complimentary consultation.
Photo Credit: Ernesto Alvarez
Hope you enjoyed reading this post and will consider sharing your thoughts, following me on social media and subscribing to my blog.
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” Galatians 6:2 (ESV)
On this roller coaster ride called life, our emotions can sometimes get very messy. We find ourselves wishing for someone to listen to us as we untangle our thoughts. Family and friends may mean well, but do we really want to share our deepest emotions with those closest to us? These are the times we need someone who will listen without judging and interpret without being opinionated, a sounding board, a sage, a wise soul, an imaginary friend, someone who we can trust: a Confidential Encourager.
While I am thankful I have a college education, much of the wisdom I have learned has come not from within the classroom, but from life itself. With motherhood and thirty-plus years of marriage, and a growing relationship with my Lord and Savior, I have learned so much about emotions, relationships, and how marriage and family best function.
So while you may think of me as a coach, a mentor, an older sister,…I have been blessed with a listening ear and prefer to be called a “Confidential Encourager”, offering a safe place to talk as well as be encouraged by my insight.
If you have found this post to be of interest and would like to read more of what I have written, please feel free to view other posts on my blog. I am also in the midst of writing a book for people who are struggling in their marriage or are dealing with the after effects of their marital issues.
God has taken me on the most amazing wilderness journey for which I will be eternally grateful. So, while we excitedly await the publication of my standing for marriage book, please pray for its completion and the opportunity to share it with as many hearts as is possible.
In the meantime, let’s chat. You share and I’ll listen. For a complimentary Tea Time please email me: taylorjamesalbert@aol.com. I look forward to hearing from you!
Photo Credit: Izabelle Acheson
Hope you enjoyed reading this post and will consider sharing your thoughts, following me on social media and subscribing to my blog.
“Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!” Psalm 40:4 (ESV).
“Once your prodigal has had their heart broken by the realization of what they have done, several things will start happening. None are instant, but they will happen. Foremost is the establishment of a forgiven relationship with the Lord.”
“Your returned prodigal will also come to respect the stand you had taken. If your walk matches your talk, and we pray that it does, time and time again, and without any help from you, your beloved will come face to face with the sacrifice you made for them.”
“As your spouse grows in the Lord, recovering from where they have been and what has happened, your trust will come back.”
“If you are a stander, I want to give you the prodigal’s perspective on trust. Regardless of what your prodigal is doing or saying, the one you love still wants to know they can trust you now, divorce or no divorce.”
“Standing and trusting are processes.”
“Do things His way and He will teach you how to trust again.”
“Can I Ever Trust Them Again?” Bob Steinkamp Rejoice Marriage Ministries (Tuesday, June 23, 2020 devotional).
“The KEY, is not to lean on your own understanding, but to instead TRUST Him in all of your ways” Saron Woodworth Kingdom Billionaires “How to make God the CEO of your business”.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV).
What makes an atheist an atheist? Losing a child to cancer led Dr. Solomon Harkens (Kevin Sorbo) to walk away from his marriage and family while also blaming God for killing his son. However, losing a child to cancer can also be the catalyst necessary in order to change the hardened heart of the world’s most famous professing atheist as he discovers who God truly is. Written by Sam Sorbo and Dan Gordon, this is such a story.
What actually does it mean to claim the title of atheist? According to Google an atheist is “a person who disbelieves or lacks belief in the existence of God or gods”. The question always remains the same: if a person does not believe in God, then why blame God when bad things happen while neglecting to give God credit when good things happen? At its root is humanistic pride which says I don’t need God.
Turning his back on his praying wife and loving family Dr. Harkens seems to have it all as he angrily and arrogantly pushes his agenda of God being unnecessary in his life, all the while ultimately blaming God for the death of his son. Giving the impression he has no need of God, Dr. Harkens’ religious credo of “party on” resounds as he chooses to live the superficial life of “sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll” yet senses in the depths of his heart something is amiss as late at night and all alone he sarcastically toasts his life of “livin the dream”.
It is clear Dr. Harkens is seeking answers, but unwilling to consider God and Jesus Christ as being a viable option. As he angrily encourages his audience to believe as he does, he makes a harsh correlation between the terrorist organization known as ISIS and that of Christianity having the same agenda (listen closely as he later explains their clear and distinct difference). With a near death experience he now finds it difficult to reckon his atheistic, strongly denounced disbelief of the afterlife as a brief encounter with his much loved deceased son helps him to grasp who God truly is and why He sent His son, thus bringing him out of the darkness and into the Light. “And God said, ‘Let there be light’: and there was light” Genesis 1:3 (KJV).
As anyone who comes to God, Dr. Harkens is a variation of the prodigal son found in the gospel of Luke. While Satan toys with those who are deeply hurting: the bold, the arrogant, the self righteous, the proud,…those who feed into his agenda, God so gently and lovingly never gives up.
Photo Credit: geralt
Hope you enjoyed reading this post and will consider sharing your thoughts, following me on social media and subscribing to my blog.
Racial issues will not be solved merely or totally by laws and legislation, but by a change of the heart. Hatred must end. It is simply a matter of the heart.
Matthew 22:36-40 (ESV) “Teacher [Jesus], which is the great commandment in the Law? And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets'”.
Jesus said…”I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26 (NKJV). “Death for the believer is but a portal into Heaven” Franklin Graham: “Faith Over Fear, Trust in the Lord” (Decision Magazine April 1, 2020).
