The Marriage Mirror Challenge

By: Shawnee Eskridge , CFBCT Bible Tools: Romans 12:1 , 1 Timothy 3:1-13 Video Reference: Marriage Minutes I thought about this fact: when some people choose their profession or decide to answer their calling they are often thought to be very confident and passionate. I am very passionate about being a marriage counselor and very excited to branch out in the quest to help and heal families. However, in my walk I've also experienced self-consciousness, fear, hesitation, stagnation, procrastination and almost complete self-sabotage. My marriage is by no means perfect. That scared me the most. I tell myself all the time no marriage is perfect, but I know that the more consistent I am with my career and calling a couple’s first expectation of me will be to have it all together. Even in 1 Timothy it says that a minister is to have his house in order before working with the people of God. I try to hold myself to that line so hard. I don't tell people about the appointme...

By: Shawnee Eskridge , Faith Based Clinical Therapist Bible Tools: Don't Look Back , In Security , and Soul Detox Additional Resources: Soul Ties by Del Lawrence I don't know if it's that we don't realize it or that we don't like to to talk about it, but sometimes there is a very present third wheel during marital disagreements. The third wheel is Satan. His agenda to steal, kill and destroy is very real. Number one on his list is your marriage to your spouse. Second on his list is your marriage to God. If he can get you to destroy the former, getting you to doubt the latter is a child's play to him. The key is to not give him that opportunity. Help Satan destroy my marriage . . . who would willing do that, Shawnee? You, me, anyone when we're so caught up in our feelings. We forget to forgive or pray for God's guidance through a difficult time. Even forgetting to ask God for his guidance to continue good habits in marriage can be costly. Com...

The most common question I have received since I began to promote this book has been, "Would you say this book is a guide to divorce proof your marriage?" The answer is "No." This is because people choose divorce on their own and for various reasons. No amount of advice is going to stop someone who doesn't want to be in a relationship from leaving. Plus, usually those people are not seeking God's input about leaving. (Of course there are some exceptions.) This book is a guide to doing marriage according to God's model. This book is also my testimony about how I am actively avoiding divorce. For me this book is the brain child of countless disagreements and wondering how my husband and I have overcome so much. It wasn't just the fact that we have known each other for over 20 years. It was the things we did within those years. The good habits we will repeat and the negative habits we have ceased. It was hard work. Still, there were days when I wasn...

Good Morning Lovers! As we approach Valentine's Day in another year I am thinking about post Valentine's Day. I'm not a believer in expressing my love one day out of the year. Currently, I am working on the first ever H.A.W.I.S.M. seminar and book release. I have been finding my way as a marriage counselor. The one thing I have noticed is we are not doing marriage according to God's model. I think trying to articulate this sentiment is the reason I started this blog - The Marriage Mirror Challenge. However, since I began the blog is seems my greatest lessons on the subject have come from the things I have gone through with my husband. I love him dearly. Still we have gone through so much, most of which I attribute to having known him since elementary school. From age a 11 until now we have about 2 decades between us. So, call it growing pains. Spiritually, it's exactly what they were. Our endurance has been tested and given a chance to grow. By the God's gra...