Search Results for: blog the critical spirit

Seeking and Following the Spirit-Part III

For part one in this series, go here. For part two, go here. Once we seek the spirit, is it enough to move about our lives and only feel it when necessary? What if instead of thinking of the Holy Ghost as a companionship that we want, and would be beneficial, we thought of it in more critical terms. What if we had to rely on the spirit for survival? Missionaries definitely feel that. But, do we? We should feel like we cannot survive this mortal experience unless we have the Holy Ghost in our lives daily. When I was … Continue reading →

The Critical Spirit

Nothing is worse than the spirit of criticism. When criticism is all you hear, eventually you will get to the point where you won’t even try anymore. I recall the earlier years of our marriage when my husband would attempt to “help” around the house or cook dinner. Or even when our children were younger and he would get them ready. All I would end up seeing is the spot he missed, the overcooked noodles and the mismatched clothes my children were wearing. Yes, I had a very critical spirit. That’s because my expectations were more important than my husband’s … Continue reading →

Spiritual Fitness

As a salute to some of my fellow bloggers who are doing the Muslim , Jewish Families , LDS & Mormon Families and Christian Families blogs, I wanted to talk about spiritual fitness. If you have not read any of these blogs, I would encourage you to visit them. The wonderful writers there are sharing great information and beautiful tales of their faith, their celebrations and their traditions. Spiritual fitness means different things to different people. For the majority, it means developing a set of beliefs, principals or values that will guide and give meaning as well as purpose to … Continue reading →

Negativity Toward Self

Have you ever considered that the way you see yourself could be a hindrance to a fitter, healthier you?  So often we look at roadblocks as outside sources…lack of time, money, or even our own motivation. Yet if we don’t see ourselves in a positive light, this can also stand in the way of success.  There are a couple of reasons why.  One is that we unconsciously believe that we don’t deserve better. We may look in the mirror, hating what we see and think that this is it…this is the best we can do.  We aren’t worth the time … Continue reading →

Bad Habits to Break

We all have habits; some are good and some not so much.  Many of these habits are ones we’ve developed in our marriage, which means that some need to be broken and others need to be developed. Let’s consider some bad habits that can creep up in a marriage.  The first is criticizing.  Isn’t it funny how the things you once found endearing have suddenly become an annoyance?  Or ever notice how after being married for an extended length of time, you only notice the negative qualities in your spouse? Both of these can cause a critical spirit to rise … Continue reading →

Hand Your Anxiety to a Higher Power

All of the work we do at The Center for Counseling and Health Resources is based on a whole-person approach to treatment and recovery from anxiety and depression. This includes attention paid to the physical, mental, emotional and relational aspects of self, as well as the spiritual side, as referenced in the following excerpt from my book Overcoming Anxiety, Worry and Fear: Practical Ways to Find Peace. Anxieties have a way of lying to us about what is valuable and what is not. If you find you’re confused and need some guidance breaking out of anxiety’s black-and-white-world, if you find … Continue reading →

The Power of Persuasion

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How much better we would get along in our marriage relationship if we became more adept at choosing our words carefully and watching the way we phrase things. Telling your marriage partner what they should, or should not, do rarely achieves what we desire. It rarely makes for a harmonious relationship. The reality is people often resent being told what to do. So how can we deal with this? A far better way is to use praise, encouragement and suggestion. Instead do saying ‘You should do this.’ It would be better to ask, ’What do you think about doing this?’’ … Continue reading →

The Chin Hair Story

I have been richly blessed in my heritage. I am descended from wonderful people, and I have received talents and attributes from them that I appreciate. But I inherited one thing I wish I could give back … chin hair. I didn’t know I had this particular problem until one day that will live forever in my memory. I had been married for about three weeks. We lived in a cute little apartment and the bathroom faced north, and so it had really good light. One morning, I was in there putting on my makeup. I tilted my head back … Continue reading →

For the Strength of Youth Series: Language

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Have you ever noticed that you can tell a LOT about a person by how they speak and what they say? I’m an observer by nature, and I’ve spent a lot of time listening to people and I’ve noticed over and over again that language is a key indicator of the type of person I’m listening to. The For the Strength of Youth pamphlet points out several things about language that I personally appreciate including the statement that “how you speak says much about who you are.” The pamphlet gives some good direction on things you should do regarding language. … Continue reading →

Words from Within

A friend recently started me thinking about this as she was praying a talk about the church being destroyed from within. It’s a scary thought and yet I can see exactly where she’s coming from. Words are dangerous tools. They can do so much good and also so much harm. Ephesians 4:29-32 has some interesting things to say about unhelpful, unwholesome talk. I find it interesting that it comes straight after a passage about not giving the devil a foothold. He can so easily get a foothold on conversations with gossip, sarcasm, criticism, off color jokes – all things to … Continue reading →