Topic > Relationships
When We Love Too Much: Escaping The Control Of Codependency
Years ago, the term codependency was associated with family members of chemically addicted people. Today, it is applied to a much broader group—those who struggle with controlling others or being controlled by others. In this booklet, counselor Jeff Olson helps you discover how you can be free from the stresses and anxieties of codependency and how to get on the path to a better way of living with God and others.
Overcoming Bad News
There are many who say, ‘Who will show us any good?’” (Ps. 4:6). These words of David seem to describe the pessimistic outlook we so easily develop in our world today. The front page of newspapers and the top stories on the Internet or television seem to focus on crime, accidents, politics, the economy, and prominent people behaving badly. Our conversations at work and home begin to dwell on difficulties, and it’s enough to discourage anyone. Where can we turn for better news?
How an understanding of our debt to God teaches us biblical forgiveness
Extending grace and forgiveness when you’ve been wounded deeply isn’t easy! Discover how to have a compassionate view of those who are indebted to us.
Jesus’ guidelines for restoring relationships with grace
There are situations when forgiveness needs to go beyond a hug and a handshake, moments when confrontation is necessary.
Discover how with God’s help, it’s possible to extend forgiveness over and over again
When someone has wounded you deeply it’s difficult to offer forgiveness even once. But according to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18, followers of God are called to extend unlimited grace to those we encounter. Find help for your relationships.
Discover the power of grace
Some of us explode in anger when we’re hurt. Others quietly seethe and turn a cold shoulder to those who’ve wounded them. Let's explain how embracing a spirit of forgiveness helps us deal with, and overcome, those destructive feelings.
Discover the meaning of forgiveness and the impact it has on our relationships
Many think forgiveness is all about saying “I’m sorry” or avoiding consequences. But according to Jesus’ teaching in Scripture, true forgiveness is centered around restoring relationships.
The role our emotions play as we strive to be people of grace
Forgiveness isn’t easy. In fact, there’s often a lot of emotional baggage that comes when forgiving someone or asking them to forgive you. An honest appraisal of forgiveness.
How the original ending of the Lord’s Prayer reinforces an important biblical principle
Most of us learned to end the Lord’s Prayer with the phrase, “Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever, Amen.” Yet if you look at Jesus’ teaching of the prayer in Scripture you’ll find a very different ending!
Friendship
Friendship is one of life’s greatest gifts. True friends seek a special kind of good for their friends: the highest good, which is that they might know God and love Him with all of their heart, soul, and mind. German pastor and martyr Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “The aim of friendship is exclusively determined by what God’s will is for the other person.”
Too Heavy
As I started up my car in the dark hours of early morning, I noticed a seatbelt light on the dashboard. I checked my door, opening and pulling it shut again. I tugged on my seatbelt to test it. But the sensor light still beamed. Then, in slow realization, I reached over and lifted my purse a few inches above the passenger seat. The light clicked off.
Let It Go
Many years ago, when a young friend asked if he could borrow our car, my wife and I were hesitant at first. It was our car. We owned it, and we depended on it. But we soon felt convicted to share it with him because we knew that God wanted us to care for others.
Praying Friends
I met my friend Angie for lunch after having not seen her for several months. At the end of our time together, she pulled out a piece of paper with notes from our previous get-together. It was a list of my prayer requests she had been praying for since then.
A meaningful conversation on what to do when you’ve forgiven but can’t forget
We can honestly try to forgive an offense. But some pain, some memories continue to haunt us for years to come. Join the group for another study on the Lord’s Prayer.
Bumper Cars
Life is a lot like “bumper cars” at an amusement park. You get in your car, knowing that you will get hit . . . you just don’t know how hard. And when you get hit, you step on the gas pedal, chase the one who has hit you, and hope to bump that person harder than they have bumped you.
