Kate Motaung

Life is full of pressure. We face it at work, at school, at home, and even within our minds. There is pressure to get things done, to be where people expect us to be, to parent well, to help others, and to learn new things. Somehow, we are supposed to do all this and look good while doing it. Even as we face all these things, we keep going. We keep doing our jobs and taking care of people.

Pain is a universal experience that we all face at one point or another. It speaks a language that we all come to know and understand. Regardless of the places we’ve been or the people we’ve encountered, our experience of pain informs our lives by shaping our thoughts and behaviors. For some, it produces dysfunction to the extent that it disrupts what God intended for us to experience and distracts from God’s goodness. Yet, God in His faithfulness, has

Do you wake up in the morning feeling full of dread even before you get out of bed? Do you wonder why this is happening to you? If so, you may be experiencing something called morning anxiety. Morning anxiety refers to the experience of waking up feeling anxious, panicky, and on edge for no apparent reason. Though it is not a medical term or an official clinical diagnosis, it is something many people struggle with, especially those who are

If we ask the question, “What does the Bible say about anger?” we might first be thinking about anger as a negative thing, and in many cases, it is. It doesn’t take much to think of an example of sinful anger. But it might be helpful to think of anger as simply one of a range of human emotions. It can be healthy or unhealthy, righteous or sinful, but it can also be redeemed and used by God for good.

Sometimes it takes an outsider viewing your insides to help you be the best you can be. – Mike Holmes “Welcome, come on in, and get to know me better,” says the ghost of Christmas present, expressing a basic human need. I believe all humans need others to enter their lives and know and be known. The evidence seems to be everywhere – human beings have always lived in groups. We all need persistent relationship, a deep sense of

Anxiety is the body’s response to real or perceived stress. Unlike worry, however, which is typically centered on a specific issue, anxiety is more of a generalized feeling of dread about what may lie ahead. Nighttime anxiety is no different than daytime anxiety, but it can seem worse at night because you manage to avoid it during the day when your mind is busy with other matters. It appears to surface at the end of the day when things

Scripture describes God’s Word as alive and powerful. Sharper than a two-edged sword, it is dynamic to distinguish the nuances between soul and spirit. It is discerning enough to denote what emerges from our spirit that is made new when we confess Christ as Lord and Savior. For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of

The holidays are such a joyous occasion. For a day or two, you can feel the magic of Christmas as you honor Jesus’ birth with traditions. You spend time with your family, watch your favorite movies, and recreate family dinners. However, the holidays can feel like a trap for someone who struggles with stress eating. The weeks leading up to Christmas may have been spent with worry about making ends meet, gift-giving, menus, extracurricular events, working overtime, and keeping

Few things can damage a committed relationship more than infidelity. The closeness that a couple cultivates can be shattered through an affair, regardless of the length of that affair or whether it was an emotional or a physical one. One of the main areas that is affected in the relationship is the couple’s intimacy. Their emotional, spiritual, and physical intimacy can suffer damage, and it takes a lot of work to rebuild that broken trust. Why intimacy after infidelity is

The teenage years are a notoriously turbulent time, as young people seek independence and look to assert their unique identity, often without yet possessing the right emotional and life skills to effectively do this. One area parents can particularly struggle with is teen anger management, which can appear in many shapes and forms and usually hints at an underlying issue. While deep emotions are difficult enough to deal with, it sometimes seems impossible to break through the angry façade,

Grief is the emotional and psychological response people have after suffering significant loss. Different societies have norms, rituals, and attitudes toward grief that are considered normal. When grief does not align itself with these norms and attitudes it is termed disenfranchised grief. The term was coined by Dr. Kenneth Doka, a respected authority on understanding grief and bereavement. According to him, disenfranchised grief is grief that is not openly acknowledged, socially validated, or publicly mourned. Though a person’s grief

Most couples get married with the hope of a, “happily ever after” etched deeply in their hearts and minds. In the early days of marriage, husbands and wives proclaim undying love for each other, telling each other how they couldn’t imagine living a life without the other. Passion, romance, affection, and sharing of hopes and dreams are probably the most common and expected characteristics of the early stages of marriage. It is in these early stages that most people