FamilyFire

Caregivers burn out when they try to manage everything on their own. Allow others the blessing of helping you along.

God will provide the strength for persevering through challenges. Lean on him and  those he has given you to support you from within your community of faith.

There is joy to be found in accepting changes and finding the blessings in each day. Nothing will be gained by focusing on what  gifts God chose not to give you. Celebrate the blessings you have.

Grieving the losses that we experience is a necessary part of accepting our situation in life. Let God hear your hurts, he cares about each tear that falls.

When we marry, we promise for better or for worse and in sickness and in health. Life will not always go smoothly, but we need to honor our commitments even when the road is difficult.

Share with your family how much your faith means to you personally. Personal testimony carries spiritual weight and it is hard to argue with someone's experience.

Kids may be resistant to attending church especially when one parent chooses not to go, but keep encouraging their participation and ask your spouse to support you. Get others at church to befriend your kids.

If your spouse doesn't want dinner time devotions, set another time to connect spiritually with your kids. Read and pray with them and show them how much you value your faith.

If your spouse doesn't practice faith, it is even more important to be the living, breathing example of Jesus that your kids (and your spouse) need to see.

Parenting is always difficult when you and your spouse are not in agreement, not least on religion. As much as possible, keep a united front and show each other respect.

If we focus on all the Lord has done for us instead of focusing on the negative, we will discover that we have much to be thankful for.

Handing our anger over to God and trusting him to secure justice is not a one time event. Keep handing it back to him.

Unchecked anger can give the devil a foothold in our relationships. Living with anger robs of the joys from the moment.

Jesus had anger for those who corrupted God's house. Anger in itself is not a sin, but a normal human response to hurt. It is how we respond in our anger where sin creeps in.

Express your anger to God. God is big enough to handle all of our emotions and he longs for us to share the pain on our hearts.

Pornography exploits the human body and tarnishes the image of God that we all carry. It has no place in a healthy marriage.

God placed sex in the boundaries of a committed marriage relationship. It does not belong anywhere else.

Your spouse needs to be the only person that you desire. Nurturing a longing for anyone else will only damage your relationship.

We are told to flee from temptation. This means removing our contact with things that tempt us. Do not flirt with temptation, it will only hurt you.

Jesus tells us that when we gaze lustfully after someone we are not married to, we are committing adultery. It is natural to look, focusing on desiring is sinful.

Intellectualizing about what someone is going through misses the mark of bearing each others burdens because it minimizes the hurt they are experiencing. What really matters is to acknowledge one another's pain!

In our desire to help, we often focus on the problem instead of the person. Giving advice and problem solving still leaves our spouse bearing their burden alone. Acknowledge their emotions first before trying to fix things.

In our desire to understand, we sometimes focus more on the details of the story than how it made the other person feel. Probing for details and pestering with questions may get us information, but it will not help bear another's burden. You need to care more than you need to understand.

Bearing another's burden means entering their pain with them. Offering reassurance might seem caring, but saying "Everything is fine" or "It'll be OK"  can trivialize the pain they're experiencing, suggesting their pain is no big deal.

For us to fully bear one another's burdens, we need to put aside our own agendas and hear the concerns of another.  When someone interrupts or changes the topic they are telling us that what we say doesn't matter to them.