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 Tool: Ecclesiastes 3:11-13 I think we take the word "phase" for granted. Phases are inevitable.  Phases are simply a pattern of time or events that happen in a consistent sequence. The phase is guaranteed. The moon has phases and so do relationships. Lately, my husband and I have been revisiting the honeymoon phase of our marriage. It wasn't intentional, but it's a recent observation. We are always working to make our marriage better. A lot of the tips we share here (and across our social media) we practice daily. Lately, we've had a good streak I'd said since April of this year. The highlight I would definitely say was last Monday (June 25th). Terry already had the day scheduled to be off. It wasn't an anniversary. As a matter of fact, we were being moral support for my mother who's going through some serious legal matters. Her situation alone could have cast a cloud over the entire day...

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...

By: Terrence Eskridge, Marriage Mentor Bible Tools: Love and Marriage  / Becoming The Husband She Needs My wife asked me to define romance. Well, I always pictured romance as flowers, candy and the like. Honestly, I don't have a clue besides the basics. So to me, romance is to make someone else happy by showing them you love them. For Shawnee, I try to focus on ensuring her security concerns because making her feel secure seems to be the most important thing for her. Somehow, romance makes her feel secure. It has been my experience that a lack of romance means an unhappy wife. Shawnee needs to feel loved, wanted and have constant affirmation. I don’t always feel romance brimming through me. I often get worn down by work or other happenings in life. Because of that I don’t always give her the romance she requires just to operate on a daily basis. Lack of romance has caused stagnation and resentment. We had a lot going on in the first years of our marriage. Shawnee at on...

By: Shawnee Eskridge, Faith Based Clinical Therapist Bible Tool: Love, Romance and Marriage Off the top I had a problem for this post. It was an issue I came across trying to address the topic of romance in my marriage. "Romance" is not listed any where in the bible. However, before I wrote this post God revealed to me that the concepts of romance   are  clearly outlined in the bible. For starters " with love and kindness I draw them to me " and/or " I draw neigh unto you. ". This is my very definition of romance; the things done to bring about and nurture a deep, intimate closeness. I don't subscribe to the given definition of romance. It's specifically the " mystery " and the " remoteness from everyday life " that I take strong issue against. This is not the definition of romance I envision for my marriage. Something so bleak. Romance should fill my love tank in these areas: spiritual, emotional, mental and physical. Be...