The statistics are staggering: 1 in 6 couples face infertility. 1 in 4 couples over the age of 35 face infertility. Maybe you are struggling to conceive. Maybe you know someone else who is struggling. In either case, this JBC article can help you.
Pornography is pervasive and the number of families and churches damaged by it grows every day. Its prevalence makes you wonder if it is a problem that can truly be helped, and, if so, how? In an article published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Biblical Counseling, Alasdair Groves asserts that “with God’s help, it is possible for men to experience lasting victory in their battle with this entrenched and powerful foe.”
“The counselor says: Homework. The response from the counselee is: slumped shoulders, glazed eyes, slack jaw. It feels like one more burden. It does not feel like “help.” Why is that? Why is something that is supposed to be helpful viewed so negatively?”
A woman in her forties dies from cancer and leaves behind her husband and two daughters. Any one of us would struggle to make sense of this tragedy. Is there any comfort, any consolation, any hope to be found when there is a loss such as this?
In a sermon delivered at the memorial service for this beloved woman, Dr. William Edgar anticipates five questions that are often asked in the face of such a heartbreak, and relays God’s answers to these good and honest questions.
“Do not be afraid.” Would you believe that this is the most frequent command in the Bible? More than three hundred times God commands his people to not be afraid.
Not all counseling sessions end on a positive note. I was recently reminded of this as I struggled to conclude a challenging appointment with a married couple. By the end of it, they were more discouraged than when they came in. But we had to go, and there was no way to wrap up in such a way that we could all leave with smiling faces and joyful hearts. We were ending at a hard place.
Last year we interviewed CCEF counselor Julie Lowe to ask her questions about counseling children. We learned that ministry to children can and must look different than it does with adults. We asked Julie how transformation and growth in a child’s life looks different than it does in the lives of adults. Here is what she told us:
A scene in a movie caught my attention recently. A man had been permanently maimed in a senseless act of violence. With his wife, he had come to sit down, face-to-face, with his attacker. A psychologist working with him had initiated this meeting to work toward reconciliation and healing for both the victim and the attacker. Both were haunted by what had happened for their own reasons, so both had agreed to participate.
