It’s the holiday season and guess who’s coming to the family dinner? It may be one of your least favorite family members because of previous conflicts. It may be that family member you were avoiding because of personal reasons. What if the conflicted person everyone else is avoiding is you? In this blog, I will share my top tips for reducing family conflicts during the holiday season so you can experience more peace, love, joy and happiness.

Tip #1- Reach out before you meet up. It can be beneficial to have a conversation with the person in conflict with before the family meet up. Romans 12:18 states, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (NIV). If someone has offended you, be the one to reach out by using this simple script. You can say, “I care for you and our relationship. When this ____ was done/said, it really hurt/offended me. I wanted us to use this opportunity to talk about it even though I have chosen to forgive you for hurting/offen...

A husband once told his wife, “Honey, you are my #1 priority!” She smiled and responded, “That’s what you say, but that’s not how I feel.” “Ouch!” Sadly, the reverse is also true when a wife may say that her husband is top priority, but he doesn’t feel like he is.

If you can identify, you may have every intention to make your spouse feel like top priority but to no avail. I’m here to help. If you are currently not feeling like top priority or not sure, keep reading.

This blog is going to show you why making your spouse feel like top priority is important, the signs you may not be top priority in your relationship and a simple way to start prioritizing your spouse so you can confidently say, “Honey, you are indeed my #1” and the response will be, "Honey, I do feel like your #1."

So why is making your spouse TOP priority important? It is important because it minimizes selfishness and maximizes humility. You are able to give more of yourself, physically and emotionally. In hum...

If it is your desire to grow in your relationship with God and with your spouse, then these godly qualities must be desired according to 2 Peter 1:5-9. Once these qualities are applied to your marriage you can expect growth and success in your relationship. As we examine this portion of scripture, we will extract “7 Godly Qualities Every Couple Should Desire.”

2 Peter 1:5-9 (NIV) states,

 ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶ and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷ and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. ⁸ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

A husband and wife’s faith in God should be ...

Are you a thankful person? Are you a thankful spouse? Are you a thankful parent? Did you know that you can be intentional about being thankful? What does the bible say about being thankful and how is this connected to hopefulness? Let’s get started with a few well known verses.

“In everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1Thess 5:18).

“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful” (Col 3:15). 

“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Col 3:17).

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful” (Col. 4:2).

Just by reading these verses, you will quickly agree that thankfulness is important to God. However, what many do not always understand is how thankfulness is connected to hopefulness. Hence, a thankful heart is a hopeful heart. 

Hope is a critical component in everyone’...

Here’s some truth, before I share with you the shocking truth. You would be amazed at how many married couples are lying to themselves about the current state of marriage. It doesn’t matter whether you are in a bad season, or a good season, or a great season in your marriage. The truth is, marriages are under attack. The reason is because marriage is of God and the Devil's plan is to kill, to steal and to destroy marriages.  

Now, here’s the shocking truth, husbands and wives are “selfish.” Your selfishness is hindering your growth and success in your marriage.

AND

Here’s some more shocking news, your selfishness is hindering you from truly loving your spouse. Take a moment, right now, to reflect on any area in your marriage that needs improvement. Write it down if necessary. Is this issue as a result of selfishness? I can guarantee that selfishness is hindering your improvement. 

The solution is learning how to overcome selfishness. The only proven way to do this is to...

Did you know that racism is a learned behavior in the home? Are you married? What conversations are you having with your spouse? Are you prejudice towards other races? Do you have children? Did you know that you can inadvertently pass those negative and ignorant behaviors on to your children? Research shows that children are products of their environment and they tend to perpetuate those nasty behaviors, which includes treating other ethnic groups unfairly.

The conversation about race, racism, and police brutality has come to the forefront once again. The United States and the rest of world are in uproar, and rightfully so. People are protesting, cites are now under curfew to maintain peace. Why, because of what happened to George Floyd. The video of that one police officer’s knee pressing against his neck as he laid dying. Floyd can be heard saying, “I can’t breathe,” while calling for his mother. Three other officers just stood there, as if George Floyd was not another human bein...

With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting so many marriages and families, how can you enjoy your spouse and family in this difficult season?

The best way to do this is to first examine the relationships around you and then intentionally look for ways to improve those relationships.

Here are five things you can do right now to bring more peace and joy within your home. These five principles are taken from Philippians 4:8. Take some time to think on the following 5 questions about your spouse and your children.

Whatever is true about your spouse/children? Think of your spouse/children the way God thinks of them. For example, think of your spouse as a child of God. Repent if your thinking is not in keeping with the word of God. Then restore and improve.

Whatever is honorable and worthy of respect? Think of your spouse/children as treasures and start treating them as treasures. The idea is for you to have a treasuring attitude towards your spouse and children. Be a need meter to others. Ask...

Let’s not kid ourselves, everyone needs LOVE but not everyone understands how to give LOVE. The month of February is known to many as the LOVE month and with valentine’s day in this month, LOVE is usually in the air. Everyone wants to get it right. Everyone wants to LOVE right. However, the only way to LOVE right is to to LEARN how to Love God’s way. It's possible when you learn the secret that I will share with you in this blog. Keep reading.....

Jesus said in Mark 12:30-31 (NKJV) that the two greatest commandments are these, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ .... And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Love, love, love. You shall learn to love your spouse as you love yourself. When you have mastered this, you will have mastered LOVING right. It is as simple and as hard as this and I want to help you ...

I know what you are thinking, “How could this be?” But this is the reality for many couples around the holiday season.

For this reason, I understand that sometimes it’s hard being married.

And the difficulties of marriage can easily make you feel tired… discouraged… and even despairing… 

AND it is usually around the holidays, it seems …

That the anger and bitterness can throb so badly…

… that you just start to believe that your spouse is your least favorite person…

 Yes, I said it, "You Least Favorite Person."

If that describes you, or you have been in this season from time to time, keep reading as I would like to help.

The question on the table is this, “What can you do if your spouse happens to be your least favorite person right now?”

Now, if you are a believer of Jesus Christ, and it is your desire to please Him, and you want God’s best for your marriage, then what I am going to share with you is going to make you uncomfortable at first, but hear...

Can you truly experience peace in the midst of a storm, such as a hurricane? Many are in the midst of a category 5 hurricane. Prayers goes out but survival, instead of peace, seem to be on the minds of many. What if, there is a way to experience peace? What if the storm is your marriage? Peace is still possible.

Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Hurricane speaks of trouble and the severity of the damages increases as the category # increases. As a result, homes are destroyed, families are displaced, children are misplaced and in extreme cases, death can occur. Once the storm is over, the damages can be assessed, then rebuilding can occur.

Just as with the case with natural storms, such as hurricanes, marriages go through different storms. Are you and your spouse currently in a storm? Or, is there as storm brewing in your marriage? Is it a category-1 storm like communication issues, or a category-5 storm like chr...