Book Review: The Great Sex Rescue: The Lies You’ve Been Taught and How to Recover What God Intended

Quick Summary "Wow." That was a word I wrote over and over again in the margins of this book. Once it was because I was blown away at a finding from their research. Other times I was struck by how they uncovered how many of our Christian teachings are inconsistent with regards to men and …

Book Review: Sheet Music by Kevin Leman

Quick Summary Sheet Music has bounced around Christian circles for years, so I was excited to finally see what it was all about. Unfortunately I was a little turned off by what I read. Imagine that your dad wrote a book about sexual intimacy in marriage. Seriously...just try. And while your dad is a psychologist …

Pressing Pause = Pressing Play

There's just not enough time in a day. Last November it's as if I was in a time warp. Between the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday, planning for Christmas, and staring at our upcoming, obligation-filled month of December, I was short on time. This was in addition to the normal day to day tasks of life such …

Book Review: The Love Prescription: Seven Days to More Intimacy, Connection, and Joy

Quick Summary The work of The Gottmans and their institute is well known at this point. Their research on couples and families is unmatched and from that wealth of material comes books such as The 7 Principles for Making Marriage Work - the gold standard of marriage books. One day I'll get around to giving …

All The Women I’ve Been In Love With

This may come as a shock to those of you who know me, but I've loved many women over the years. My first real love was an eighteen year old beauty right out of high school. I had just finished my first year of college and talking to this woman made me feel things I'd …

Mechanic or Gardener? How a Small Mental Shift Makes a Big Difference

He gave me a skeptical look as I told him to stop trying to fix all of his wife's problems. "Your wife is a person to be loved, not a problem to be fixed", I said. More doubtful, incredulous stares. This happens all the time in marriages. We attempt to fix the other person or …

Book Review: Love & Respect

Let me spoil the plot for you: I would NOT recommend this book Not for a couple needing help, looking to enhance their relationship, or for a single individual preparing for marriage. Love & Respect came onto my radar a few years ago and I’ve been looking forward to seeing what it was all about. …

Help! My Spouse Has Been Watching Porn!

"He lied to me for years...how can I trust him again?" "Was I not enough for them?" "How could he do this to our family?" "I feel like he cheated on me...I feel so violated." This topic has becoming increasingly common in my practice as a counselor. Pornography usage is so prevalent that I unfairly …

Getting Out of a Rut

It was the longest car ride ever. We went an hour and a half without speaking to one another on what was supposed to be a fun, once-in-a-while, day date between just the two of us. It was awkward and the tension was stifling, even though no one was saying a word. What was going …

Practicing What I Preach

Hello! If you've read this blog or followed along for any amount of time, you've probably noticed that lately, posts have become a little less frequent. Life has been a bit more involved for many reasons, and my energies have been directed where they're needed most: my personal and professional life. So I've been trying …