10 Characteristics of Addiction
For the most part, my career has been dedicated to helping addicts get sober and become amazing emotional, spiritual, and moral adults. I see the miracle of recovery from addiction every week.
Recovery is a Miracle
I’m going to get a little theological for a moment to explain where your healing and freedom is and why. I want to share with you a revelation that helped me make sense of why I needed to confess to another person to be made free. This is why “just Jesus and I” wasn’t working, and why I couldn’t get free earlier in my life.
Sex and Authority
I have counseled with many men over the years who have doubled or more than doubled their income shortly after cleaning up the area of sexuality in their lives.
Break the Chain of Lust with This Simple Weapon
The phrase “not possible” is by far the most paralyzing lie lust has in its arsenal. The lie, “it’s not possible to be lust-free” is quite simple, but its impact can have decades of results.
Get a Grip on What is Controlling You
Everyone has their own journey down the river of growth and change. Many of us have rapids to overcome--otherwise known as behaviors we just can’t seem to get control over. For some of you the behavior may be rage, for others it’s complacency, apathy or even addictions to work, food or exercise.
Having a Sexually Healthy Brain
Maintaining sexual success while you build whatever kingdom you are trying to build is the cornerstone. A sexually healthy brain is critical.
Hormones and Your Mental Health
Since founded, Heart to Heart Counseling Center has always maintained a holistic approach of treating clients.Studies show that 80 percent of women suffer from hormonal imbalances. Some women live with these imbalances without even realizing it; in fact, 70 percent are unaware of conditions that may have manifested due to hormonal irregularities. For men, studies indicate that hormone levels fall nearly one percent each year after they reach 30 years old. The human body produces hundreds of hormones, but the following four of them have a direct influence on brain health/mental health:
5 Tips to Affair Proof Your Marriage
Reported affairs for ministry and local church leaders appear at almost epidemic levels. We all see the newspapers and other news media that seem to salivate at another allegation of an affair in the body of Christ. I, for one, would like us to do as much as possible to affair-proof the marriages of our Christian leaders as well as the members of our churches. I want you to take these ideas and put them into action (James 1:22) to inoculate your marriage from an affair and truly enjoy your marriage to the fullest.
First Steps for a Sex Addict
John is 40 years old and has been married for more than 12 years and has 2 children. He has been fortunate to have climbed a corporate ladder and is making more than $200K a year.
Ban Porn from Your Life
Pornography?
For Your Daughter's Sake
The biggest lie I have heard among Christian men about their sexual addiction is that “it’s not hurting anybody else.” Nothing could be further from the truth of God’s Word or His Heart.
Five Key Principles to Help You Avoid the Road to Trouble in Your Marriage
Adultery and fornication are real, and according to Scripture have many consequences for you and your family. Your future, in so many ways, can be destroyed in this specific area. As a psychologist who hears about these tough situations every day, I have seen families, careers, ministries, and fortunes destroyed by men who traveled this road to trouble, never believing there would be a toll to pay for being on it.
First Step For A Sex Addict
John is 40 years old and has been married for more than 12 years and has 2 children. He has been fortunate to have climbed a corporate ladder and is making more than 200K a year.
Encouraging your spouse to grow their gifts
I want to take a few minutes to talk to you about the gift of your spouse. If you have kids, as a good parent, you take the gifts of your children very seriously. You realize God gave you that child or children as gift(s), and that each child has several gifts inside his or her little being. That is the way I think it ought to be, at least.
Willingness plays an important role in the choices you make
Lust has so many different angles it uses to lie to you. One of the oldest lies told to men is, “Different is better.” It’s the same as the old adage, “The grass is always greener on the other side.”
The Miracle of Recovery
As an American or Western believer, culturally we are trained to appreciate the instantaneous in our lives, whether it be instant coffee, instant microwaveable food or popcorn, instant Internet access, instant cell phone access, and more. How many times a day do we push a button of some type and something occurs instantly?
Stop using God as a scapegoat for your out-of-control behavior
The human race has a fundamental flaw in its processing regarding “looking good.” We honestly believe we are to “look good” at all times. I have no idea how most of us believe in this but it is prevalent everywhere. From the student who forgot his homework but it was “his roommates' fault” or “the computer’s fault” to the parent who attempts to correct her child and inevitably the conversation is turned toward another sibling or some other child in the neighborhood that is really the one to blame for their behavior. This is nothing new; it goes on all the way back to Adam and Eve.
Ten Minute Fight
I know you’d be happier if the next fight in your marriage only lasted for ten minutes and then it was over. What I want to share with you here is a principle of resolving conflict in only ten short minutes. More information on this idea and many other ways you can improve your marriage in just ten minutes a day can be found in my new book, The Ten-Minute Marriage Principle.
Leaving a Legacy
A large part of being a Christian man who is sexually successful is leaving a positive and healthy legacy for your sons. Your sons look to you for modeling in every area of their life. Rarely do we take a moment and think about what kind of sexual role model I am being for my son. You have the responsibility of having the sex talk with your sons. What do you say? When? So I thought we would take a journey through this part together. I want every man to feel confident in passing sexual health down to your family. This may get challenging for some, but stay persistent as it can change the life of your son, his son, and so on.
Three Common Myths About Forgiveness
The first myth about forgiveness is that the person who has sinned against you has to be present to forgive them. Some people don’t believe they can forgive someone unless they are right in front of them. I know personally most of the many people I have forgiven in my life were not present when I forgave them, and yet I was able to forgive them anyway.
Two Tips to Help You Stay Lust Free
1. Talk about it
Truth: “You can’t handle it all by yourself”
There are some lies lust likes to use more than others. One of the top five is, “You can handle this by yourself.” Once you believe this lie, all hope of getting better is gone.
Tips to Choose an Accountability Partner
Let’s talk about the structure of your accountability first. Think about a behavior you want to get control of. Now tell this behavior to another person. Tell them exactly (not kind of) what has control over your life. Be brave, the embarrassing part is short-lived; the freedom can be lifelong.
There's No Such Thing as a Secret
A pastor friend of mine gave one of my favorite sermons. He entitled it, “There’s No Such Thing as a Secret.” Unfortunately, this friend was living a double life. The same week he gave that sermon, he got caught acting out sexually with others and ended up losing his church.