Posted on

For When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong

"...a thorn was given me in the flesh...Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." - 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 How can we be strong when we are weak? It doesn't seem to make sense, does it? Without a biblical perspective, it would be hard to understand this. However, in God's kingdom, Christ has come to make things right, to turn things upside down, so it does make perfect sense when we understand God's grace toward us and what it means to live humbly before our Creator God.

Posted on

Dealing with An Anxious Heart

Let us be honest, everybody is anxious about something one day or another (or even one moment or another), the difference is what makes us anxious, how anxious we are, and how we deal with our anxiety. We can become anxious when we think of the difficult or challenging situations that we face now or that we will or might face in the future. We keep thinking, “What if this happens? What if that happens? What if....What if....What if...?” The list does not end. We become worried that it will cost us too high a price to deal with the current or future/potential difficulties, that it might be too much for us to handle, that it will overwhelm us, like the ocean waves swallowing us up, making us no more, all alone and helpless in the depth of darkness.

Posted on

Signs of A Nervous/Mental Breakdown

A “nervous breakdown” (or “mental breakdown”) is a term used to describe a period of intense mental distress that occurs progressively or suddenly. During this period, you’re temporarily unable to function in your everyday life. “Nervous breakdown” is not a medical term or a mental health diagnosis, since it does not describe a specific condition. It doesn’t have one agreed-upon definition but is instead used by many people to describe intense symptoms of stress and an inability to cope with life’s challenges. The signs of a nervous breakdown vary from person to person. The underlying cause can also affect the types of symptoms you experience. Here are some common signs of a nervous breakdown that can help you evaluate what you or a loved one is experiencing:

Posted on

Why Shouldn’t A Couple Seek Marriage Counseling First If There Is Domestic Violence/Abuse?

Many couples would seek marriage counseling when they struggle in their marriage, that’s a good thing. However, there are a few circumstances under which it is not in the couple’s best interest to seek marriage counseling first. This includes a marriage with domestic violence/abuse because domestic violence/abuse is different from normal marriage conflicts. Domestic Violence/Abuse is a pattern of coercive, controlling, or abusive behavior in an intimate relationship, where one person uses such behaviors to gain or maintain manipulation, control and domination over another person. It is a type of oppression, including physical, sexual, emotional, spiritual, psychological, financial abuse/oppression.

Posted on

Where Can We Find Hope?

When life feels very hard and pressures are high, when we feel let down and pressed down, when days feel dark and life pale, when joy feels far gone with no trace to hold on to, how do we find hope and remain hopeful in God?  The Apostle Paul gives us a great reminder in Romans 15:4, where he says, "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

Posted on

Who Are You? – Which Voice Do You Listen To?

This world is full of different voices that keep telling us who are are, trying very hard to feed us with their worldview/value systems and ultimately to win our heart and loyalty. Every counselor/therapist has his/her own worldview and provides counseling based on that particular worldview. Here are two typical voices (worldviews) that we hear. Which one do you listen to? And how does that impact your own life and how you see the world?

Posted on

What is Biblical Counseling?

There are many different terms concerning the word “counseling”, for example, Biblical Counseling, Christian Counseling, Secular Counseling, Psychotherapy, Christian Psychotherapy, Therapy, etc. These terms could cause much confusion, so I will try to briefly explain what Biblical Counseling is about and hope that will help bring a clearer understanding of this term. I will also share some differences between Biblical Counseling and Secular Counseling, as well as some differences between Biblical Counseling and Christian Counseling.

Posted on

What Forgiveness Truly Means

We talk about or we hear people talk about forgiveness so much, and we often hear people tell us that we must forgive as a Christian, but we might feel confused sometimes - What is forgiveness really? Can I really forgive when the pain is so deep?

Posted on

从焦虑到平安 From Anxiety to Peace

When we are overwhelmed with anxiety, even experiencing panic attacks, no one and nothing releases it from the root, except the peace of Jesus Christ. 当我们被焦虑所淹没，甚至经历恐慌时，除了耶稣基督所赐的平安之外，没有任何人或事能将它从根源解除。

Posted on

Are You Suffering from Domestic Abuse? – Identify Domestic Abuse through the Cycle of Abuse

First, let’s review the definition of domestic abuse. Domestic abuse is a pattern of coercive, controlling, or abusive behavior in an intimate relationship, where one person uses such behaviors to gain or maintain manipulation, control and domination over another person. It is a type of oppression, including physical, sexual, emotional, mental, spiritual, psychological, financial abuse/oppression.

Posted on

Anger toward God

It’s not surprising that there are many sufferings in life, but sometimes we would meet Christians who are full of anger toward God when they are going through sufferings or unpleasant things in life. Sometimes, we ourselves might complain about God or be angry toward him, accusing him of being unjust, unrighteous, and unloving towards us.