PLAYING IN THE SNOW IS STILL FUN Texas has been experiencing an extremely cold snowy time for the last several days. It has been very challenging with power outages, severe temperatures, and water difficulties. Today the temperature is finally inching up a little bit. Venturing outside for a brief time to play in the snow was fun, uplifting and invigorating. It reminded me again of how these little moments of investing in a marriage can bring big returns. No matter how long you have…..
“TALKING THROUGH THE PANE” By Ellen Dean M.S., LPC-S, LMFT-S Recently on Mothers’ Day, as my husband, Bob, was taking the lawn chairs from the trunk of the car, across the yard, I could see his Mom moving the drapes back in her window. We were going to visit his mom, Mary Morriss, where she lives at The Arabella Assisted Living in Longview, TX. We are not able to go in to see her because of the COVID-19 season, so…..
PEACE AND HOPE DURING THE PANDEMIC Today is Palm Sunday. This was the special Sunday before Resurrection Sunday, Easter Sunday. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey colt. Everyone greeted Him with palm branches as they shouted “Hosanna” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord”. Then later that week Jesus suffered indescribably and was crucified to pay for the sins of the world. Three days later Jesus rose from the dead and He lives today as the…..
WHERE’S THE JUSTICE? In our world, people individually and collectively may be asking, “Where is the justice?’’ The truth is that some circumstances are very much out of our control, but they are never out of God’s control. God is completely trustworthy, faithful and just. He is sovereign and He is the ruler of this world. I heard a great sermon today from Luke 18:1-8. Jesus told a parable so that we will always pray and not give…..
WEAK OR BROKEN TRUST IN MARRIAGE: Recently, I read a blog article by Thom Rainer, the former President of Lifeway Christian Resources. The article was called “The Ten Most Challenging Counseling Issues Pastors Face.” The number one issue was “Marital Infidelity.” Number two was “Divorce”, in which he said, “obviously the numbers one and two are related.” Thom Rainer is right. Some of the most difficult struggles any marriage can face are infidelity and any broken trust. It is also one…..
Recently, I was talking with a young couple who had come to me for pre-marital counseling. They had beautiful rings, were planning an exorbitant wedding and a luxurious honeymoon. However, something important was missing. Yes, the wedding and honeymoon planning is important. However, they are not the most important. The problem with the couple was that something was blatantly neglected. They had not given adequate consideration and preparations for the marriage after the wedding. This is the case so often. The…..
A happy and trustworthy marriage cannot be bought on Amazon. It is priceless. Jeff Bezos who is the founder of Amazon and the wealthiest man in the world is worth 137 billion dollars at 54 years old. On January 9th, 2019 it was reported in the news that he and his wife, Mackenzie, are getting a divorce because of his affair. He and his wife have been married for 25 years and have four children. Though Jeff is saying the…..
Recently, I saw a Broadway production of the musical “Hamilton”. In the story, Hamilton committed adultery while his wife was out of town. His wife was broken hearted and emotionally devastated when she found out. Hamilton was grief stricken as well, and remorseful about his indiscretion and sinful acts against his marriage. He confessed, acknowledged his wrongdoing and became repentant. Though his wife was willing to reunite, their marriage was never the same. They did not have anyone to…..
Welcome to my website blog. You are here because marriage and trust are important to you. You are wise to realize that. I want to encourage you to continue to understand how to strengthen both. Trust takes a long time to build and only a moment to break. The hope is in realizing that God helps you to strengthen and restore trust when it has been weak or broken. It is worth the commitment and effort to take…..
Welcome. My name is Ellen Dean, author of Marriage Trust Builders and Communication Connection. I’m so happy to have you as a visitor to my blog about my books. This project is very special to me, and I hope to share some of that excitement with you here. I’ll be using this blog to interact with you about Marriage Trust Builders and Communication Connection, expanding on some of the topics in it and blogging on some of the ideas…..