Kate Motaung : CuratorKate Motaung is the Senior Writer, Editor, and Content Manager for a multi-state company. She is the author of several books including Letters to Grief, 101 Prayers for Comfort in Difficult Times, and A Place to Land: A Story of Longing and Belonging. Kate is also the host of Five Minute Friday, an online writing community that equips and encourages Christian writers, and the owner of Refine Services, a company that offers editing services. She and her South African husband have three young adult children and currently live in West Michigan. Find Kate’s books at katemotaung.com/books.
The bond that allows for a relationship to flourish is trust. Trust takes time to develop, as two people experience each other in different settings and gradually come to see that they are reliable in ways that matter. That trust enables the relationship to deepen because it allows people to be vulnerable with each other and be honest at the risk of rejection. Over time, the relationship deepens, and the bond shared gets stronger, which is one reason why [...]
A healthy relationship is a wonderful thing to experience. As social beings, we are wired for relationships, and when our relationships are functioning well, they can contribute to our well-being in several ways. Healthy relationships are linked to higher self-esteem, less anxiety and depression, a stronger immune system, faster recovery from illness, and possibly longer life. Many different issues can affect the health of a relationship, and a fear of abandonment is one of them. What is the fear of [...]
Our words hold the potential to release life or death in all the ways that we use them, whether in prayer, conversation, or self-talk. God gives us the best example to follow, as He created all that we see in the heavens above, the earth below, and the waters from words. God imparted the same authority, as Image bearers and those who carry His Name, to form reality with the words we speak. When we form our words in [...]
Our relationships with other people are the places where we are often at our most vulnerable. The people we’re in relationships with see us at our best and our worst; they support us in times of trouble, and they also share in our joys. We stand alongside them when they are in need, and we share the journey of life. When those relationships are or become unsafe, that can undermine one’s well-being, especially where emotional abuse is involved. Relationships [...]
How do you go about measuring and directing your spiritual growth and maturity? It may even seem as though trying to measure your spirituality is an exercise in either futility or vanity. Why would you want to measure your spiritual maturity, and wouldn’t that lead you to despair or toward pride? These are all valid questions and concerns. A fruitful Christian life requires that you know not only what your goal is but knowing how to get there and [...]
We all face different seasons and choices in life. Even in these, we have the opportunity to set aside in times of plenty to prepare for needs sure to come (Proverbs 6:6-8). Placing boundaries around how we prioritize and expend our resources has the potential to sustain us when life brings challenges or when we find ourselves victims of codependency. Our Faithful Father furnishes us with aptitudes, abilities, and unlimited access to His Presence and wisdom concerning how to [...]
As your child grows up, he or she faces many challenges. What starts as learning rules and social norms in the early years shifts into opportunities to implement those things during the teen years. From ages 13-19, your child will navigate a variety of situations while balancing his or her responsibilities, managing relationships, and handling hormones. It may be inevitable, but it is far from simple and supporting your teen becomes all the more important. You have a role [...]
We can all use extra help from time to time in our relationships. Here are a few pieces of relationship advice for men. If you need more help, don’t hesitate to speak with a Christian counselor about your unique relationship challenges. Relationship Advice for Men Communication is key. The first bit of relationship advice for men revolves around communication. Effective communication is an important aspect of any relationship. Here are a few tips for improving communication as a man. [...]
The people you call friends are those you’ve built rapport with; you get each other, and you’ve gone through enough things together to build trust. Implied in all this is that a solid friendship takes time to build, and it’s not always a smooth road getting there. Friends, like other people, have fights, and hopefully, they resolve those conflicts well. One positive outcome of well-resolved conflict is that you know one another as well as how to love each [...]
Scripture’s earliest images reveal the spectrum of challenges that all of humanity encounters. In family relationships, God set the blueprint at creation in a perfect environment. God created a world for His people to live in harmonious fellowship with Him and one another free from trauma. Despite this, a real enemy threatened what God had envisioned. He sought to destroy the Father’s Image by persuading Adam and Eve to not only doubt God, but themselves, and one another. Although [...]
Stress has often been labeled as a silent killer. Its effects don’t only undermine physical health, but also impact our emotional and mental wellness. When we place too much expectation or activity on ourselves, the results of an overload will show. Instead of savoring the gifts that life has to offer, we find ourselves in survival mode, trying to subsist on the fumes of leftover energy from one day to the next. We may not realize it, but the [...]
Everybody has bad days where they are worn out, agitated, and depressed. Although it’s common to experience grief in response to unpleasant life events, loss, or changes, these feelings can occasionally persist for a while if unresolved and make it challenging for you to get through each day. You can’t just will yourself to “snap out of it” when you’re depressed. What distinguishes sadness from being depressed? Many stressful and traumatic occurrences might bring you down, whether you’ve lost [...]
