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Monica Anderson : Author
I provide Christian counseling for children, teenagers, young adults and their families, and adult individuals. With guidance and compassion, I offer professional counseling skills and experience grounded in the firm foundation of the Christian understanding of the human person. If you feel stuck, scared, or overwhelmed, I would be honored to walk alongside you as you work through it. My clinical understanding of psychology combined with my theological understanding of our minds, souls, and bodies will offer an opportunity for you to move toward the freedom that we are promised in Christ.
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Kate Motaung : Curator
Kate Motaung is the Senior Writer, Editor, and Content Manager for a multi-state company. She is the author of several books including Letters to Grief, 101 Prayers for Comfort in Difficult Times, and A Place to Land: A Story of Longing and Belonging. Kate is also the host of Five Minute Friday, an online writing community that equips and encourages Christian writers, and the owner of Refine Services, a company that offers editing services. She and her South African husband have three young adult children and currently live in West Michigan. Find Kate’s books at katemotaung.com/books.
In the thirteenth century, there lived a Christian philosopher and theologian named Thomas Aquinas. Due to his meekness and physical size, his fellow students called him “the dumb ox.” Unbeknownst to them, Thomas was compiling brilliant writings on faith and reason that continue to impact the Christian Church today. Thomas is revered as one of, if not the greatest, philosophical and theological contributors to Christianity as a whole. His ability to use reason to clarify complicated theological and philosophical problems
Empathy, the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings, is often described as “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes.” While this saying may be used lightly in conversation or as a teaching tool, truly embodying empathy can profoundly impact our lives and relationships. Like any muscle, empathy requires regular exercise and strengthening. By actively engaging in practices that foster understanding and connection, you can develop your empathetic capacity and reap its numerous benefits. Understanding Empathy Empathy goes
Treating our Bodies like a Temple Our mental health is serious, and we should be actively taking care of it. It can be easy to split our lives into three separate areas: physical wellness, spiritual wellness, and mental wellness, but I am here to argue that they are all connected. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not
Does this sound like you? Your mind is plagued with a never-ending cycle of anxious thoughts. Do these thoughts look or sound like fear or self-doubt? Sometimes they can be accompanied by sweaty palms, a queasy stomach, and the feeling that you are going to vomit. There are days when you have life figured out, but then, you are blindsided by anxiety. You wonder if you will ever be free. Lies Spoken by Anxiety Anxiety tries to convince you
Regardless of how much work we have put into dealing with past trauma, there will come a time when we suddenly feel overwhelmed by emotions and memories connected to that experience. Our reaction might have resulted from a physical stimulus, like a song or a smell, or it might have stemmed from an emotional situation, such as being in an argument with a loved one. This is known as a trigger, and almost everyone who has been through trauma
There are many different challenges that a person can take up in life, but one of the most rewarding journeys a person can undertake is to be a parent. Being a single dad has its challenges, but it certainly has its joys, too. When you’re in the thick of it, it can be hard to pause long enough to appreciate what you have, and it can also be easy to get overwhelmed. Taking stock of the challenges and blessings
What do you do to defend yourself when the person you need to defend yourself against is you? This is one of the hardest questions to face, and it’s raised when you find yourself struggling with emotions like anger. When you’re angry, that anger can take you to many places, some of which you don’t want to go. Uncontrolled anger can seriously harm you and damage your relationships. This is why anger management is so important. The thing to
Mental health has become a term used for many different purposes in our culture. We often hear the term “mental health issues” on the news as the reason behind people committing crimes. Social-emotional learning has become a part of most academic curriculums in the school system and through which students are taught about mental health. Many workplaces now offer paid time off for mental health days. Tune into any radio program or turn on any given podcast and the
Premarital counseling is for every engaged couple. That is a simple, but all-encompassing statement. There are many reasons why couples don’t sign up for premarital counseling. Some couples say that they don’t need counseling because they have been together for years, have lived together, or have already talked about all their issues. However, a therapist who has counseled many engaged and married couples, would tell you from experience that premarital counseling, even for those who have been in a
Just like the terrible twos, most parents dread the time their child becomes a teenager. This fear stems from all we know that teens go through during this time of transition. As a child enters their teen years, they go through many changes, including hormonal changes, as they navigate puberty. These changes are to be expected. However, teens also often experience depression and as parents and guides, we must watch for the signs of depression in young people. Depression
In the Lord of the Rings movies, the actor Bernard Hill delivered one of the more poignant lines in the film. When he was in Glasgow, Scotland, a woman had come up to him, telling him how one of her children had died recently, and then she said to him that parents shouldn’t have to bury their children. Hill, who plays a character named Theoden, was so moved by that conversation that he asked for that line to be
Gaslighting is a form of manipulation that messes with your mind and emotions, making you second guess your reality. It can make you question your memories, beliefs, and even your sanity. A skilled gaslighter has an interesting and sophisticated set of techniques to draw from. The gas lighter might deny facts, even though the victim is confident of the truth. They might twist the truth just enough that it retains its form but also paints themselves in a more