Power & Compassion Christian Marriage Retreat is the work of Dale Lee [Ed.S. LCPC] & Adi Lee [M.A.], a husband and wife counseling team w/a love for Christ and a passion for helping people.

Strengthen Your Marriage By Developing Your Own Mental and Emotional Health

Saturday, February 11th, 2012

A large part of having and maintaining a healthy marriage relationship is having and maintaining a good level of mental and emotional health in yourself.  One of the key areas that we focus on during our private, personalized christian marriage retreats is teaching you how to develop a healthy mental attitude in yourself so that you are better equipped to interact in a positive way with your spouse and family.

For some reason, being physically healthy in today’s society is the only thing looked at for being healthy. To be perfectly healthy, for the majority of people, means eating the right foods, and doing the right exercise program. While this is true of our physiques, it is not true for the rest of us. Emotions play a really big part in your health, and so does your mind, so you should be equally concerned with them as you are your physical health. Maybe not in every instance can you change how you feel, you can at least control your feelings. There are things that you can do to improve your mental and emotional health. There are many things to do, and these are a few of them.

Help improve yourself with personal willpower. Sometimes people indulge in behaviors they never thought that they would, simply because they slack off due to feeling down or depressed. You might think that you deserve to wallow, but all it does is make it tougher to climb out of the pit you are in. When inhibitions are lowered, we do things we normally wouldn’t do, because they seem okay because of our present circumstances. When you are depressed, if you wallow too long, it is going to be hard to ever get your life back, unless you can make yourself do what has to be done. The best thing you can do for your mental and emotional health is to take care of your responsibilities even if you need to force yourself to keep going. Don’t ever give up, no matter how bad you feel, and do this by finding a reason to tell your heart and head that your life is still going on. Start off everyday with something you like. You can lower your blood pressure and increase serotonin levels in the brain, by walking through a garden or a park, according to studies. You will feel better emotionally by doing something physical that allows you to relax. So, allow yourself to spend some time admiring beauty-whether it is through actual art and architecture or in the beauty of living things around you. Your mood can be elevated by the inspiration of beauty. You need to find the beauty in all situations. Everyone is an individual, so there is no reason to expect everyone to have the same reaction to all things. It is okay to like something different from others.

Enjoy yourself in your spare time. Life will be nothing but drudgery and depression, unless you raise your levels of happiness by finding something you can enjoy during your leisure time, even though indulging in laziness is not a good thing. You can easily run your emotions into the ground, when you are only working, even doing housework, because the work needs to get done. Doing something just because you think it is fun helps you feel happy. When you have things you must do because they are your responsibility, times of happiness can make them easier to manage. Your emotional and mental health will be much better, as long as you can get your life to be less tedious. Any mental health problems that become too severe to handle will require a mental health expert to be consulted. Your mental health, as well as your emotional health can be made better, as long as you are willing to work for improvement. Sometimes our emotions might seem uncontrollable, but they can be managed. Just because something happens that make us sad, we don’t have to become depressed, and we can find ways to be happy. The tips in this article are just the tip of the iceberg. Anything that has to do with your life, unless you are being manipulated by someone else, is completely up to you and your choices, whether they are good or bad.

To learn more about how Power and Compassion christian marriage counseling retreats can help you to improve your marriage relationship through developing and strengthening your mental and emotional health, visit http://www.ChristianMarriageRetreats.net

How Christian Marriage Retreats May Save Your Marriage

Saturday, January 7th, 2012

Are you having problems in your marriage or relationship?  Are you flirting with the idea of a divorce or separation because you think that it is the only solution?  Well you are not alone.  Many couples suffer through rough patches in their relationships from time to time.  Fortunately there is hope, and love can be restored to any relationship through Power and Compassion’s Christian Marriage Retreats.

One thing that sometimes prevents couples from attending these types of marriage retreats is the embarrassment of thinking that they are somehow abnormal individuals because they are having problems  in their marriage and their relationship. Often times people don’t want to admit that they are just as human as everyone else.  If you feel this way you are not alone.  Many marriages could have been saved if only couples were able and willing to set their own pride and self-centerdness aside and seek help through some sort of intensive counseling .

If you’ve have ever met a couple in love, you may have noticed that even if their marriage seems perfect, they themselves are not perfect.  However, they probably are ‘perfect’ in each other’s eyes.  Why is that so?  More importantly, why do most couples lose this state of marital bliss?  Is it because people in love only look at the positive side of each other and only put forth their positive side?  That may be so, at least in the early stages of a relationship.  However, maintaining that state of bliss throughout a marriage is not realistic.  So what is it that keeps couples together even when times are rough?

The key to a happy marriage is realizing that you do not always have everything under control.  Sometimes you are not going to ‘feel’ in love with your spouse.  Love is finding pleasure in the good times, and having patience in the bad times.  It is submitting your way, and your will to a higher authority and allowing God to shine his love through you towards your spouse and your family.  Maintaining a happy marriage is much more easily accomplished when you recognize that you are not in control, God is in control and you are dependent upon him for everything in your life.

The Benefits of a Christian Marriage Retreat

Marriage is also a whole lot easier to maintain when you are equipped with the right tools and knowledge to relate to and communicate with your spouse on a deep and intimate level.  Christian marriage retreats are designed to remind you of why you fell in love, analyze what happened, and help you improve your current marital situation.  All you have to do is agree to come to an intensive weekend marriage retreat, even if you feel that your relationship is beyond the point of repair, you might be amazed at how powerful an impact one of our Christian marriage retreats can be in your marriage and in the way that you relate to your spouse.

The retreats are held at our private log cabin retreat in beautiful northwest Montana, just down the road from Glacier National Park.  This private and serene location provides the opportunity to temporarily escape from the normal duties of everyday life.  Both couple and individual counseling is available through our weekend intensives.  Power and Compassion Christian Counseling provides a safe environment to open up and be sure that everything you share is confidential.

For those of you who are not yet at the breaking point, but find yourself in a place where you feel your marriage could use a little rekindling, it is still definitely a worthwhile decision to attend a Christian marriage retreat at least once in your lifetime.  You may discover that your marriage could be far more rewarding and incredible than you ever imagined possible.  Who wants to be just ok in their relationship, when you could be head over heels in love again?  Attending a marriage retreat may even be just what is needed to ward off potential disasters in your relationship such as a dreaded affair, or some other sort of hurtful unfaithfulness.

Don’t let fate rule your relationship.  If you made a decision at the altar to make it work “till death do us part”, then make a decision now to keep your marriage strong and vibrant.  One great place to start asking questions is at a Christian Marriage Retreat.  Visit www.christianmarriageretreats.net today to find out more.

Why Intensive Marriage Counseling Works

Thursday, September 22nd, 2011

Marriage is a life long journey that comes along with plenty of bumps in the road along the way. Sometimes it does not matter how much you and your spouse love each other, when there are conflicts within the marriage things may look like they are starting to fall apart and this is why intensive marriage counseling can be so important. Getting the help you need can keep your marriage together for good. Some of the things you can expect from intensive marriage counseling include but are not limited to:

Communication and Interpersonal Skills

Being able to open up the conversation in marriage counseling sessions gives you and your spouse the opportunity to express things in a safe and non-judgmental environment. The right Christian marriage counselors can help you to work through break downs in your communication and build the relationship back to a healthy and strong one again.

Anger and Stress Management

When we are able to manage our stress and our anger on a regular basis, we are better able to deal with situations and problems as they arise. This is also true in a marriage and with marriage intensive therapy you and your spouse can learn how to handle the stress and anger in a positive way and as a team to help build the relationship up.

Affair Prevention and Repair

Whether an affair has happened in the past or one of you are seriously considering having an affair, intensive marriage counseling can nip it in the bud. With treatments that were designed to heal the situation instead of simply cover it up, you and your spouse can find a way to overcome differences and come together as a loving, emotional, and romantic couple again.

Blended Family Concerns

When two people marry with children from previous marriages, things can get pretty tricky when it comes to creating peace and harmony at home. Being able to come to terms with the new family life is something that is easier done with the guidance of professional Christian marriage counselors. Getting the right help can make all of the difference in the world.