If most of your relationships form by accident instead of with intention, this series is for you. Do you swipe right and date whoever the algorithm sets up, or do you become friends with the person in the cubicle next to you, or do you parent based on Instagram influencers? These relationships are great initially, but what happens when they get complicated? We get through tough seasons in our relationships by setting them up with a better foundation.
Join us starting April 4 & 7 as we get practical and learn how to have relationships on purpose.
Reading Plans
The Marriage Course (7 Days) Marriage is designed to be the closest possible relationship of increasing intimacy and growing interdependence. But this is not automatic; we have to keep working at our marriage to stay connected. Adapted from The Marriage Course by Nicky and Sila Lee, this 7-day plan aims to introduce you to tools to build a healthy marriage and strengthen your connection—or to restore your connection if you feel you’ve lost it.
Strengthen Your Marriage (5 Days) From the day you said “I do,” God has been cheering you on in your marriage. Whether you realized it or not, He knew marriage was not something you would arrive at but journey through, and He has been your biggest advocate since. Join Natalie Grant & Charlotte Gambill as they share tools to strengthening your marriage for what God has joined together, let no one separate.
Parenting: Getting It Right (6 Days) This six-day reading plan is based on Andy & Sandra Stanley's Parenting: Getting It Right Bible Study with clips of Andy's teaching from the video series. Find out what the IT is that you want to get right in your parenting.
Parenting (7 Days) "This is not what I signed on for!" Being a parent can be a lot harder than we thought it would be. What does the Bible say about raising our children the way God desires?
Thrive: A 14-Day Devotional for Singles
Singleness is not Plan B. Singleness is God’s gift to every single Christian.
Podcasts
Advice That's Helped Our Marriage | Interview with Darcy & Cody
How to Help Common Relationship Challenges | Interview with Tyler Volkers
What Your Kids Wish You Knew | Interview with Shelby Bierwagen
How Can I Start Having More Meaningful Conversations with My Friends | Interview with Nate Bjorge
Expectations in Marriage & Other Relationships | Interview with John & Gaylene Davis
Should I Let My Kids Watch That? | Interview with Amanda Zins & Victor Vilar
How To Help Your Kids Read the Bible | Interview with Victor Vilar
How to Help Your Kids' & Students' Mental Health | Interview with Will Hutcherson
Making Unpopular Parenting Decisions | Interview with Amanda & Victor
Parenting Through Tragedy | Interview With Tyler Volkers
How Can I Help My Kid Become Generous & Compassionate? | Interview With Victor Vilar
Setting Healthy Boundaries with Your Kids (Part 1 of 2)
Books
Vertical Marriage: The ONE Secret That Will Change Your Marriage For anyone who is married, preparing for marriage, or desperate to save a relationship teetering on the brink of divorce, marriage coaches Dave and Ann Wilson offer hope and strategies gleaned from personal experience and Scripture that really work. Vertical Marriage will give you the insight, applications, and inspiration to transform your marriage into everything you hoped it would be.
The Four Seasons of Marriage: Secrets to a Lasting Marriage Spring, summer, winter, fall. Marriages are perpetually in a state of transition, continually moving from one season to another—perhaps not annually, as in nature, but just as certainly and consistently. Sometimes we find ourselves in winter—discouraged, detached, and dissatisfied; other times, we experience springtime with its openness, hope, and anticipation. On other occasions, we bask in the warmth of summer—comfortable, relaxed, enjoying life. And then comes fall with its uncertainty, negligence, and apprehension. The cycle repeats itself many times throughout the life of a marriage, just as the seasons repeat themselves in nature.
Parenting: Getting It Right (By Andy and Sandra Stanley) Am I getting parenting right? Most parents, at any and every stage, find themselves asking this question.
Whether you're sleep deprived with a colicky newborn or navigating the emotional roller coaster of a teenager, parenting has its ups and downs, its confusion and clarity, its big blowups, and small victories. And no matter our family makeup or our children's personalities, many of us experience anxiety over our children's futures and often fear making a mistake.
Safe People: How to Find Relationships that are Good for You and Avoid Those That Aren't
By Henry Cloud and John Townsend
Too many of us have invested ourselves into relationships where things have gone wrong. You may have experienced being judged, manipulated controlled, or worse. The impact of being with an unsafe person can be damaging to your confidence, your trust in others, and even your health. And what's more, we either repeat the same mistakes of judgment over and over, or else simply give up on trying to have great, authentic relationships again.
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life
By Marshall Rosenberg
Nonviolent Communication is a communication and conflict-resolution process developed by the psychologist Marshall Rosenberg. The book focuses on how to express ourselves in a way that inspires empathy in others, and how to listen to them empathically in turn.
Articles
Eight Prayers for the Online Dating Journey
When single folks—who on many days would prefer to be partnered—talk to God, our prayer life can sometimes sound a bit demanding. When we’re feeling frustrated that dating apps are drying up or that the pandemic isn’t helping our marital prospects, we can get a little bossy with the Almighty.
Reconnect Through Meaningful Conversation
It takes intentionality to overcome the tendency for talk with your spouse to morph from meaningful to administrative. Deep, meaningful conversation is a must for couples hoping to stay connected.
Four Types of Communication to Strengthen Your Marriage
The key to a great marriage is communication. What kind of communication? Dr. Greg Smalley recommends couples have four key marriage conversations.
How to Have a Healthy Disagreement with Your Child
As your children grow out of infancy and further into childhood, disagreements will become a normal part of life. When you’re a parent, of course, this can grow quite exhausting! You may find that the older they get, the more things there are to disagree about.
Helping Your Child Through Their First Broken Heart
Breakups are painful at any age, but there is something about the first breakup in the teenage years that is just extra-excruciating—and it isn’t just painful for the teenager! As an adult, sitting with a teenager who is feeling the sting of a recent breakup can feel so helpless. What should you say? What should you not say?
Coping with Critical Workers
If you’re feeling a bit like Rodney Dangerfield (“I don’t get no respect”), you are not alone. From time to time we all have to deal with overly-critical co-workers, clients, supervisors and other “nay-sayers” in the workplace.