No one thinks they will have an affair. We don’t get married with a date circled on the calendar when we will break our marriage vows.

You know how most inappropriate relationships start? They start in a non-inappropriate way. Texting. Facebook. Social Media.

Here is the problem…people are always ...

Have you ever had a dream die? Ever had something you put your heart and soul come into fruition, only to be lost in the end?

Maybe it was your marriage.

Maybe it was your career.

Maybe it was a new business.

Maybe it was a relationship.

When you lost it, you lost a part of yourself.

Maybe you...

Most of us only communicate what we expect from a relationship after we’ve been disappointed or let down. Many of us are unhappy in a marriage, discontent  in a dating relationship or dissatisfied with a friend, because the relationship isn’t what we thought it would be and isn’t what we expected it...

Trisha and I got married the summer before my second senior year of college. I squeezed four years into five. (Anyone else on that plan?) Four months after we got married, we found out Trish was pregnant with our first son, Micah. Now, almost 18 years later, we are preparing to send him off to colle...

Our words carry power. They have the power to usher in life or the power to bring about death.

There are days that I live in this and get this right. I breathe life into my kids. I build up my wife. I am life-giving to my friends.

Then there are times that I take this truth for granted. I run down...

What do you do when expectations aren’t met? How do you overcome unmet expectations? Whether it be a date night, a vacation, or a conversation, there are going to be times when expectations are high, and go unmet. How do you keep those unmet expectations in check?

1. Speak it out.

An unspoken expe...

What if I told you that many marriages are held back by one word? Would you believe that 3 letters actually prevent many marriages from being all God created them to be?

There is one word that has the power to paralyze your marriage and keep you from the life-giving, love-exchanging marriage God ha...

Fifty percent of all marriages in this country end in divorce. Christian marriages are no different than non-Christian marriage when it comes to this statistic. 65% of all divorces are due to infidelity. Sexual sin and brokenness bring hurt and devastation to many marriages.

Restoration is possible...

There was an internal dialogue that went on inside my head for the 10+ years I struggled with pornography. The conversation went something like this: “That was the last time I’m ever going to watch that. I’m never doing that again.” The conviction I felt was real. The guilt and remorse I had was aut...

There is a huge lie that infiltrates all marriages. For years, we bought this lie hook, line and sinker. We thought the things we struggled with, the arguments we had and the issues we faced, were unique to us.

My guess is you’ve experienced this same feeling. You feel like what you struggle with, ...

It feels weird saying out loud that God can’t do something. That kinda goes against what I was brought up to believe about God.

God creates things from nothing.

God parts Red Seas

God heals the sick.

God brings dead things back to life.

God can do anything…right?
Anything is possible with God.
Go...

We talk with couples all of the time that are struggling in their marriage. Their love is stale. Their relationship is stagnant. The grass looks greener with someone else.

Each of the couples are different but the phrase they use is pretty much the same, “I’m just not in love with him anymore.” “At...

In 1998, we moved from Saint Charles, Illinois to Kokomo, Indiana. This move, in my mind would be the move that made everything better. Our son Micah was two years old, Trisha was pregnant with Elijah, and our marriage of three years wasn’t going how either of us envisioned it would go.

This move w...

Not all relationships can be restored. Not all relationships should be restored.

What God has been teaching me (Justin) over the past few weeks is that you can have closure even if you can’t have restoration.

A little over four years ago, I found out my dad wasn’t my biological father. A little ov...

I’ve feared failure all of my life. I’ve feared failing as a student, as an athlete, as a husband, as a father and as a pastor.

What I’ve learned as I’ve lived with fear of failure for over 30 years…fearing failure doesn’t prevent me from failing.

I’ve failed…big time. I’ve failed the people I lov...

Another Christmas is upon us.

Presents stacked under the tree. Hopes and wishes shared with family and friends.

Anticipation of what could and should be in a coming new year.

Christmas is also a reminder of what could have been; what isn’t; what should have changed; what didn’t change. Christmas ...