Did you know that each of us has a primitive brain that would rather be right than happy? Enjoy this week's new video on "The Primitive Brain" -- a short but fascinating discussion about how to work with your primitive monkey brain. In this week's podcast, "Would You Rather Be Right or Happy?" we dive […]

As we celebrate independence here in America, we invite you to consider emotional independence and how to go about declaring that independence against whatever is depriving you of it. The inability to make a decision on your own can be its own form of tyranny. Fear that you lack the ability to support yourself financially […]

We've heard so many single adults say "I hate dating." Why is that? Perhaps there are as many answers as there are people. But I think they all come down to something deep in our nature that dislikes being judged. And dating gives you more opportunities to be judged than almost anything else. When we […]

Jesus said His disciples would know the truth, and "the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). Jesus said that the truth would liberate them from being servants of sin (John 8:34). Whether we are in bondage to our own sins or stuck in trauma resulting from the sins of others, the remedy is redemption […]

The law of unintended consequences is a frequently observed phenomenon in which any action has results that are not part of the actor's purpose. The superfluous consequences may or may not be foreseeable or even immediately observable and they may be beneficial, harmful, or neutral in their impact. For example, our government printed $4 trillion […]

​​With very personal and poignant experience, I (Jeff) have learned that it is far better to approach adversity with strength rather than weakness. When my brother died in 1993, I gained weight, my academic performance dropped, and I looked depressed — because I was. When I got divorced in 2010, I was so distraught I […]

In July 2015, the Arbinger Institute published, "The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict. The fundamental premise of the book is that our hearts are either at war with each other or at peace, and that peace in our hearts creates peace in the home, the community, and the world. A heart at […]

Cathy and I often advise those who have been through a traumatic relationship loss to take some time to heal before venturing back out into the dating world. Sometimes, I think we might have overdone this. We recently attended weddings for two middle aged couples, both of whom had done a lot of intentional healing […]

We started ministering to mid-singles because they were underserved. Mid-singles are unique. Their needs are fundamentally different from those of most married and settled people. One of the biggest ways mid-singles are different comes down to trauma. Mid-singles and and even former mid-singles who have remarried have almost all experienced major losses, disappointments, and pain […]