Churches are becoming afraid to offer us support since any approach suggesting emotional healing or restoration in one’s sexuality could be called “conversion therapy,” or worse, anti-LGBTQ hate. We Christians who have experienced LGBTQ, whether openly gay or closeted in our churches, wrestle with our public response to Christ. The uproar over so-called “conversion therapy” reveals the painful challenge of that pursuit.
“For me, Playboy was my gateway into full on pornography addiction. My dad had a Playboy left out at age five and it’s affected almost every choice I made for the rest of my life…. From age five till now, having to kick the habit and it just presents itself in the open like it’s okay and I stand up and say, ‘No, it’s not ok.’” 1
Many marriages and relationships are suffering right now due to the prolonged effects of this pandemic. Patience is wearing thin and ironically, even though we are spending considerably more time together than ever before, our loved ones can still experience surmounting loneliness.
It’s easy to spend so much time trying to find the right one, that you lose yourself in the process. Take the time to get to know yourself, so that you can get to know what kind of person will be a good fit for your life, and what kind of person won’t be.
Let’s talk about sex…specifically sex AFTER kids. Because we all know there are two kinds. If you are one who’s libido continued to climb after kids, if you are one who desires it regularly and if you continually feel sexy…
Porn, and sexuality in general, can be very sensitive and personal topics. Consider how people tend to get pretty defensive and have the most emotional response to personal topics. Bringing porn up in terms of how you are involved with the movement in your life could be a softer opening to the topic. Talk like you’re telling your own story, and they’ll ideally respond with theirs.
Once punishment is off the table, however, how do we move forward? First, we need to establish that both people in the relationship have the goal of restoration and are ready to do the challenging work of restoring connection and rebuilding trust. If the offending party is not repentant, or the injured party is not willing to forgive, they won’t be able to move toward each other.
When are the true Believers going to step out of the crowd of cowards and pioneer a path forward with divine wisdom, supernatural strategies, and offer the world transformative love that actually does conquer a multitude of sin?
Toxic relationships can bring you down in a way that not many other things can, because relationships are such an integral part of our life as human beings. It’s important to recognize the signs of a toxic relationship so you can begin distancing yourself from them long before you get attached.
During the pandemic, more kids than ever are staying in touch with friends with technology. We’ve received a significant number of parents asking us about what apps their younger kids should be using during these unusual times. We’ve been giving lots of advice and we finally documented it in this blog post where we’ve profiled three possible solutions: