The Importance of Listening

Last updated on: October 11, 2018 at 6:37 am By Jimmy Evans

Every family deals with conflict—between husbands and wives, or parents and children. Dysfunctional families tend to suffer from increased conflict because they don’t deal with problems as they arise, or they deal with them ineffectively. Unresolved problems can fester into major family issues, and I’ve counseled many couples who divorced because they were unable to recover from these buried tensions and suppressed anger. Don’t make that mistake. Deal with conflicts when they develop! One of the best ways to handle... Read more

Releasing Your Spouse’s Potential

Last updated on: December 20, 2024 at 9:36 am By Jimmy Evans

When Karen and I first married, I loved the way she looked at me. Her face radiated love and admiration. It didn’t last. Within a few years of our wedding, the happy countenance of my beautiful bride had turned into a hostile scowl. “Stop looking at me,” I would find myself saying. Her face had become so bitter. It never occurred to me that the look on her face was a reflection of my character and arrogant disposition. The fault... Read more

Three Steps to Renewal (Part 3)

Last updated on: October 3, 2018 at 8:52 am By Jimmy Evans

Over the last two weeks, we’ve been discussing how struggling marriages can be healed when husbands and wives return to their “first love,” based on Christ’s words to the Ephesian believers who had forsaken Him. Revelation 2:5 says “Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first…” Today we’re considering the third step in this plan for restoring relationships. After remembering “from where you have fallen” and repenting (changing directions), the final... Read more

Set Resolutions…for Yourself and for Your Marriage

Last updated on: October 3, 2018 at 2:06 pm By Jimmy Evans

I know a couple who always ask two great questions of their friends this time of year: What were the highlights of your past year? And what are your goals for the coming year? The end of a year is an ideal time to reflect on the past…and a great time to look forward. That’s why our culture has a tradition of making New Year’s resolutions. I want to lose weight. I want to exercise more. I... Read more

A Legacy of Blessing

Last updated on: October 3, 2018 at 12:50 pm By Jimmy Evans

(Adapted from Jimmy’s newest book, When Life Hurts) In Deuteronomy, God warned the people of Israel that he would punish the children for the sin of their parents to the third and fourth generations (Deut. 5:9). It’s a sobering thought: today’s disobedience can still have dire consequences decades from now. But that’s not the entirety of God’s message to Israel. He follows His message of warning and wrath with words of hope and restoration: “…but showing love to a... Read more

Deal With Conflicts on a Daily Basis

Last updated on: October 3, 2018 at 12:39 pm By Jimmy Evans

A healthy marriage doesn’t mean the absence of conflicts. Every family will disagree or experience tension. What makes a family successful is how they deal with those problems when they arise. Have you ever noticed that dysfunctional families tend to experience problem after problem? They have more conflict because they don’t deal with their problems—or they deal with them in the wrong way. Because of this, the problems remain. They grow. They constantly impact the family’s relationship. On the flip... Read more

What Submission in Marriage Really Means

Last updated on: October 3, 2018 at 9:27 am By Jimmy Evans

Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. (Ephesians 5:22) In Paul’s model of marriage, women are told to submit to their husbands as the church submits to Christ. This passage makes today’s women uncomfortable. When I teach it, many wives recoil at the thought of submission. Why? Because we’ve misconstrued what it means to submit. As Christians, we submit ourselves to Jesus because we don’t fear being dominated, controlled, or abused by Him.... Read more

Don’t Miss Christmas!

Last updated on: October 3, 2018 at 8:52 am By Jimmy Evans

The frazzled innkeeper in Bethlehem wasn’t prepared for the family that knocked on his door. He saw a young pregnant woman and a worried husband, but he told them he didn’t have room. He was too busy. He missed the opportunity. What potential blessing and joy stood at his threshold! Christmas came to him that night but he wasn’t prepared for it. I’ve missed Christmas a time or two myself because I was too busy, or too stressed, or too... Read more

Walls and Windows: Restore Intimacy through Forgiveness

Last updated on: October 4, 2018 at 4:39 am By Jimmy Evans

Nothing destroys a marriage like adultery, but rarely does adultery just come out of nowhere. There’s usually some kind of groundwork that has been laid in advance. This happens when we take the intimate parts of marriage—feelings about our spouses, private details about our marriage, even small complaints or problems—and share them with someone who is not our spouse. When we talk about things like that with a member of the opposite sex, we are opening a window with them... Read more

Making Peace with Your Parents

Last updated on: October 3, 2018 at 12:47 pm By Jimmy Evans

My parents weren’t perfect. They loved us deeply and were doing the best they could, but they didn’t always make the best decisions—and there have been times in my life when I found myself repeating the mistakes they made. I needed to make peace with their faults and shortcomings, and I had to use that knowledge to keep myself from failing in the same way they failed. That’s a significant challenge because people have a hard time admitting their parents... Read more