• : Author

    With over two decades of professional and pastoral counseling experience, I consider it a great privilege to partner with individuals and couples as they navigate life’s trials and sufferings. In our work together we’ll discern, craft, and pursue your counseling goals, and we’ll lean on God’s Word, the influence of the Holy Spirit, and other proven therapeutic approaches as we go. In my experience, pursuits like these also bring about ample opportunities for real-life change and real growth in understanding, hope, healing, and wholeness.

  • : 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.

  • Premarital Counseling: Planning For Marriage Beyond Your Wedding Day

    Are you making plans to get married and wondering whether premarital counseling is something you should include in your plans? Do you question in what way it can benefit your relationship, or whether or not it’s worth the cost and effort? If so, read on. Hopefully, this article will provide the answers you are looking for. What exactly is premarital counseling? Premarital counseling is more than just a pre-wedding formality. It is a unique program designed to prepare you

  • The Do’s and Don’ts of Growing in Empathy

    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

  • Why Premarital Counseling is for Every Engaged Couple

    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

  • Recipe for Recovery: Practical Strategies to Reset After an Emotional Affair

    When we make our marital vows and declare that we will forsake all others, we tend to view it as a nod to the threats that infidelity poses. What we assume is that an affair is physical. However, Jesus revealed that what happens in the body first occurs in the mind (Matthew 5:27-28). It's the same with an emotional affair. It may seem intense, but we commit adultery, stepping outside of our marriage, when we share a part of

  • Toxic Traits in a Relationship to Look Out For

    Relationships of all kinds bring together people who may have various similarities and differences that make their dynamic interesting. These differences may be in temperament, personality, life experiences, culture, or outlook. Unlikely friendships and connections can happen, and it’s such a joy when you find someone that you have a kinship with. Not all kinds of dynamics in relationships are happy ones, though. It could be a romantic relationship, a friendship, a parent-child situation, or a relationship between colleagues.