If you grew up in a broken home, you've probably heard that your marriage is far more likely to end in divorce. Well, that doesn't have to be the case. Christ came as a restorer, not a destroyer. So in Christ you can restore many of those things that were lost in the broken home you grew up in. And you can have a very successful marriage.
In the book, Breaking the Cycle of Divorce: How Your Marriage Can Succeed Even if Your Parents' Didn't, John Trent shares several ways to overcome the legacy of divorce. Here are a few of them:
(1) "Embrace the love that will never abandon you. Understand that, while people might let you down, God will always come through for you. Accept the love that He offers you -- unconditional love that you can count on, no matter what. If you haven't already, begin a relationship with God through Christ. Make it a top priority to build a closer relationship with God each day.
(2) "Know that you have a choice. Recognize that you aren't a powerless victim. Know that what happened to your parents doesn't have to happen to you, and that you aren't a slave to your past. Decide to choose to respond to your circumstances in ways that will lead to a positive future.
(3) "Face your fears. Take your fears out of the dark (lurking in your imagination) and bring them into the light by talking about them openly with your spouse. Pray about them specifically rather than just worrying about them. Seek and accept help from a close friend or a professional counselor to confront stubborn fears.
(4) "Focus on positives instead of negatives. Ask God to renew your mind and help you reprogram your thinking about your marriage and life in general so you're more positive than negative. Write several lists: one that lists ways you and your spouse are not like your parents, one that lists ways your marriage is not like your parents' marriage, and one that lists your spouse's strengths and positive attributes. Then post your lists in prominent places in your home or car where you can see them every day to remind you.
(5) "Rely on God's power rather than your own. Don't try to wrestle with your struggles on your own. Instead, invite God to work in and through you, empowering you to handle everything that comes your way. Trust that whenever you ask for His help, He will respond -- day by day, and moment-by-moment."
I would add one item to this list: learn to solve problems biblically. This is the primary reason Christian marriages fail. When you try to solve problems according to your opinion or emotion or those of your spouse, there's no standard to determine who is right or wrong. Both of you should learn to submit to God's Word and follow it in problem solving.
If you can't figure it out, then seek help from a biblical counselor. Trent says, "Schedule some strategic sessions so the counselor can coach you through the issues. Realize that just a few short meetings can benefit you."
Every fat person who wants to lose weight has a moment when they decide enough is enough and they go on a diet. If you are like me that moment happens fairly frequently, perhaps once every 2 or 3 months. The chain of events following that moment are as follows: life changing event - decide to diet, stock up on low calorie, low fat, tasteless foods, diet fails - heap the pounds on. This chain of events is one that most yo-yo dieters will recognise. Every time we diet we lose weight and then put more on. Why is this?
It is simple really. When us fatties go on a diet we assume it is only temporary. Therefore we change our eating habits but only for a while. We keep reassuring our subconscious that this change of diet is not forever and soon we can go back to eating the foods that we love as opposed to the foods that the diet book says we should love. When we have had enough of the foods that we dislike so much we go back to our usual diet but we eat more to make up for the weeks (or days) we weren’t able to eat normally.
It is for this reason that diets don’t work. If you follow naturally slim people you will see that they very rarely watch what they eat and they certainly don’t count calories. The trick really isn’t what you eat but how much of it. Fat people are doomed whichever way you look at it. Because we have over eaten in the past our stomachs hold more food and therefore our appetite is bigger. What suffices Kate Moss isn’t even going to touch the sides where I am concerned. If we reduce what we eat our metabolic rate decreases and our bodies prepare us for impending starvation.
Over the years I have tried many diets and other methods to lose weight. The result of all these methods is that I reached the heaviest weight I have ever been. A summary of some of the methods is below.
Atkins Diet – great weight loss initially. Bad breath a massive side effect. Repetitious meals meant interest was lost after a month.
Rosemary Conley – just a normal diet for lettuce lovers. Keep fit video got on my nerves because that cheesy grin doesn’t leave her face.
Weightwatchers – points system makes sense but is difficult to follow and takes time to record.
Appetite Suppressants – I don’t eat because I am hungry, I eat because I am happy, sad, content, depressed and stressed. No help whatsoever, but cost an awful lot of money to find out.
GI diet – too much green stuff for my liking.
Blood Type diet – whoever heard such rubbish?
And there have been many more.
I have recently discovered the way to lose weight and keep it off. Get ready for a ground-breaking revelation…EAT LESS AND EXERCISE MORE! Not what you wanted to hear? I didn’t either, but read on and hear me out.
There are many reasons why we over eat. My triggers were my emotions. I ate whenever an emotion kicked in, like sadness, happiness, depression, stress and many others. I was miserable because I over ate so I ate more. I was stressed that none of my clothes fitted so I ate more. We react this way because we have programmed our minds to think this way. The only way out of this cycle is to reprogramme our minds.
I have recently discovered Paul Mckenna the leading hypnotist. His dvd about slimming reprogrammes your mind to help you control your eating pattern. He advises you of some basic rules and reiterates them throughout the dvd, enforcing them into your subconscious. In a nutshell he advises you to; eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full, eat what you like, cook fresh produce where you can and exercise more. The ‘eat what you like’ bit was what did it for me. Through his programme I now recognise the signs that I am full, whereas before I just happily munched my way through the next bag of family size sweets and reached for the indigestion tablets. I now find myself walking to the local shops rather than driving and I try to find foods that are fresh rather than mass produced in a factory in China.
The results have been excellent. I still have a few stone to go but I really don’t feel that I am on a diet. I eat what I like, when I like and therefore boredom doesn’t kick in. As the weight drops off I have found that I have more energy and am able to do more exercise. This has to be the longest and most successful ‘diet’ I have ever been on.
Stop looking for the miracle weight loss diet or the next big diet pill breakthrough, you are just wasting time. Treat yourself, get into hypnosis and break the yo-yo diet habit.
My tracksuits are available on eBay if you want them.
Both Steve Kroening & Lisa Mills are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Steve Kroening has sinced written about articles on various topics from Investments, Asthma and Health. Steve Kroening writes for Success magazine and also publishes Wisdom's Edge. You can get Biblical tips on health, finance, relationships, parenting, and success, delivered to your email inbox every week. Simply visit. Steve Kroening's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.
Lisa Mills has sinced written about articles on various topics from Family Concerns, Divorce and Infidelity and Types of Cancer. Lisa Mills writes for various websites. This article has been written for which is a site specialising in gift boxes for babies.. Lisa Mills's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.