10 Things You Can Do for Your Relationship Right Now!

  Growing your relationship is more about giving than getting. In that spirit, here are 10 things that you can do for your relationship right now 1. Give your Partner a Three-Sentence Appreciation Go beyond “Thanks, honey,” to let your partner know how much what they do or who they are really impacts you.  The […]

Religion/Spirituality & Self-Compassion for Optimal Well-Being

Religion and spirituality play an important role in addressing your mental health and well-being. Yet, how you practice may determine if it helps or hinders your efforts. A recent Dutch study in the Journal Psychology of Religion and Spirituality found a critical link between self-compassion and one’s relationship with God. Those who have more positive feelings […]

A Game Plan for Sound Sleep

“Why can’t I just get a good night of sleep?”    I hear this question quite frequently in my practice, and I know I’m not alone.   A survey by the National Sleep Foundation found that 60% of Americans reported having sleep problems almost every night, and 25% take a prescription medication to help them sleep.  In […]

Vision 2023

Vision 2023… Millions of Americans will make New Year’s resolutions this year. By the time summer rolls around, only 4% of them will be keeping up with them. We are now midway through January. Time to separate the pretenders from the contenders.The idea of making a resolution at the beginning of the year is not […]

Resilience

I had the opportunity to present on the topic of “Resilience” at a retreat hosted by the St. Monica Catholic Community Health Ministry. A few highlights of my presentation: Resilience is our strength in adapting to the demands of life. The Christian perspective adds to that definition: We accept and embrace these demands as crosses, […]

How’s your relationship’s Emotional Bank Account?

We all know how important it is to maintain good financial health. Keep your bank account in the black and make good investments. Preeminent marriage researcher, John Gottman, applies this same concept to marriage, encouraging couples to maintain a strong Emotional Bank Account.  The Emotional Bank Account represents the positive and negative balance in your […]

A Model of Compassion

compassion (n.) – feeling of sorrow or deep tenderness for one who is suffering or experiencing misfortune. From Latin, “com” + “pati,” “to suffer with.”       Virtually every spiritual tradition espouses the value of compassion. For Christians, Christ exemplifies the perfect model of compassion. We strive to follow this model when we see […]

Vision 2021 – The Six Steps to Success

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”– Proverbs 29:18  2020 was an amazing year… just not in the way we expected. Did those goals you set at the beginning of 2020 get derailed? Or were you able to still carry through on some of them? Or did you not set any at all?  If […]

A Season of Hope

As 2020 comes to a close, we are in a season of hope. Believe it or not. Too often, we confuse hope and expectation. “Expectations are resentments under construction,” says author Ann Lamont.  When we are upset that what we hoped for didn’t happen, that is expectation, not hope.  The virtue of hope is different. […]

Breathe… We can get through this election (Part II)

 Last week, I invited you to breathe to help you get through these final days before the election. I gave you a book, a class, and a retreat to learn how to breathe more effectively.  I hope you’ve taken advantage.  In case you missed it, click here to see last week’s post.          This week, I […]