As a Christian counselor I have listened
to many married couples express feelings of frustration and hurt because of
their inability to effectively communicate with one another. Studies prove that
communication breakdown is a major source of conflict, one that can eventually
lead to other problems in the marriage, such as a lack of intimacy and divorce.
Statistics prove the truth of what the Bible says in Proverbs 18:21: "The tongue
has the power of life and death" (NIV).
However, there is a remedy. Many of the
struggles married couples face, in fact, can be avoided with the use of some
simple communication tools. Learning to use these tools to express ourselves in
more effective ways fosters better understanding, which results in greater
emotional intimacy.






As a young believer, whenever circumstances that I viewed as roadblocks to an otherwise smoothly sailed life appeared, I took them as something to remove. They had no business causing a detour in my well-organized, over-controlled lifestyle. I had determined that anything negative must be the devil's playground, and I needed many hours of standing on the Word to void that which I perceived as his sinister activity. However, this seemed to have no effect. Situations remained.
I love O'Reilly, my Jack Russell Terror—I mean Terrier. Her boundless energy and spunk keep me on my toes, and her mischievous antics make me laugh—even when I'm trying to discipline her. She is full of personality, possessing the spirit of a preschool toddler. I love that about her. That is until recently when something happened to temporarily change my appreciation of her joie de vivre!
Perhaps God spoke to you
at a particular time or was present on a particular occasion. At the time, it
didn’t seem as if it was God who was doing the speaking or even if God was
present at all. You underestimated, if not rejected, what He did or what He
said. Only years later did it become clear to you that you had failed to
recognize His presence.

