GR8 Relationships

After her third divorce, Deborah was mad at life and men for at least 4 years. But, she did not realize how failure can lead to success. Utlimately, she decided to listen to God, who led her to the Hope for the Family seminar. Created by Dr. Marlin Howe, that seminar changed her life and blossomed into GR8 Relationships. So, God used her failure to lead her to His success for her.

Holidays are expected to bring joy and peace, but they often don't and you end up with "turkey and stressing"! Those times end up hurting relationships and not knowing what to do. Well, here are some guidelines to consider on how to have a difficult conversation which can lead to getting the relationship back on track. Unfortunately, most people will just let the tension remain rather than try to...

By the time Deborah was 28, she went through 3 divorces. But, being divorced 3 times is only part of the story. Deborah's complete story is a great example of God's healing and restoration. In fact, she is open and vulnerable about her former life. Now she ministers to others praising God for what He allowed into her life.

God does not like the proverb about sour grapes. "As I live," says the Lord GOD, "you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel." (Ezekiel 18:3) What is it about that proverb that God does not like?

Which is more important - self-governance or self-esteem? The emphasis of our education system and society is primarily on self-esteem. Subsequently, the population continues to increase its Narcissistic mindset. And, the investment is creating huge societal problems. It is time to reconsider the investment and look for something better like self-governance or self-control.

When families get together, all of the family history arrives. That can be good or bad. It is almost always difficult for those families when problems have not been resolved.

Self-control is critical for all of us. But consider this, those with the most self-control use it far less in emergencies. What makes them so different from the rest of us?

Multitudes of self-help gurus, psychologists, and educators promote loving yourself - loving "ME". Unfortunately, what's worse is Satan loves this teaching! So, what about you? Do you think loving yourself supports something that Satan absolutely loves and practices? Well, go look at Dr. Carle Zimmerman's research. He says that the self-love that self-help gurus promote is actually the key element...

When will you start living the BEST life? You have the ability, but will you start? Starting is 50 percent of any action. The 8 steps of 2 Peter 1:5-7 are your responsibility, no one else. God provides everything for you and it is now your choice to start your transformation. What is your decision - live the BEST life or not?

The ABUNDANT LIFE that Jesus talks about (John 10:10) is the same as the Apostle Peter talks about in 2 Peter 1. It is the motive for us to pursue transformation into the image of Christ. When Peter says "For this very reason..." (2 Peter 1:5), he refers back to the previous 4 verses. He tells us what we have been given; a precious faith like the apostles, all things for life and godliness, exceed...

If you are a child of God and you are trying to find the abundant life you have heard people talk about - STOP LOOKING! You ALREADY have it!! "His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness..." (2 Peter 1:3). That is just like our PERFECT God - He does everything for us, yet we act and live as if He hasn't done anything for us.

So, slow yourself down and picture a life better than you have now. Make the picture as detailed as possible. Be honest with yourself about what you think is better. What do you see? What are you doing? What do you have? What are you thinking? How are you acting? Take your time to look at a vivid mental picture or video of your better life.

Leadership may not be that interesting to you right now, but remember, everyone leads in some area of their life. Since that is true, consider how to apply these promises to those leadership situations.

There is a POWERFUL (Separate) element, but the power is not from us, it is from God. He is the authority and He uses leaders as a channel of His authority. Just like God's power, leaders are to use power to free others, not control them. The power is used to serve others not be served. The RELATIONAL (Belonging) element of leadership is utilized when leaders rely on God's power, because that allo...

Leadership is not what you might think it is. Most people have the stereo-type of leaders needing to be "large and in charge". While some good leaders are that way, that is not what makes them good or even great (GR8!).

Yep, that's what I said. Your mind is geared for pictures more than words and, if you want to understand someone, really listen to them - turn their words into pictures. Yes, I understand that you still need to hear them, but the phrase "turn off the sound" gets you to focus more on what pictures you are seeing rather than trying to hear individual words.

Think about it, humility is the most underrated attribute, so it makes sense that humility would be tied to the most underrated skill. The formula for listening starts with a simple question, "Will I make this about them, and not about me?"

Good definitions make a big difference. When you read the definition of humility in a dictionary, it may help, but most likely not. So, let's use this simple 3 word definition - strength under control. That's often used to define "meek" and it's appropriate for "humble" also.

God allows us to participate in His divine nature (2 Peter 1:3) and He is not only good, He is PERFECT! Everything that He does has no spot or blemish - even those times where we are struggling with pain and wondering how this can be best for us.

I remember back in the 1960's and '70's how a number of Christian writers and thinkers were pushing Jesus' command of "love your neighbor as yourself". You might be thinking, "That's great", but actually it wasn't. They were promoting the incorrect thinking that you needed to love yourself before you could love others.

Ever wondered what marriage was like when Paul wrote the classic letter to the Ephesian believers? How did "wives, submit to your own husband" and "husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church" sound to the women and men in Ephesus?

You might say, “God does not provide details on every thought or action of my life in His Word, so how can I know if a thought or action is self-absorbed or not?”

It's one or the other! If you are sensitive at all to the Holy Spirit, you will know which. AND, my speculation is 95% or more of the time, thoughts about "ME" are self-absorbed. (That's based on personal experience and I admit that I am probably more self-absorbed and self-sufficient than you.)

What we DO NOT DO has a profound impact on what happens. Consider what each of the four primary characters DID and DIDN'T DO at the time of the original sin in Genesis 3:1-14.