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How to Quit the Victim Game Marti Wibbels, MS, LMHC One of the most popular emotional games played today is known as the Victim Game, but the players usually aren’t even aware this so-called “game” exists. It begins when someone has been victimized—somehow hurt by a person, circumstances, or past or present events. Participants in…

From a Lamb to the Lion Marti Wibbels, MS, LMHC Our home is decorated with lambs for Easter because our Savior is the Lamb of God. Jesus said the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11). For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold…

Beyond Shame Marti Wibbels, MS, LMHC Kindled by real or imagined failure, the painful emotion known as shame can be rooted in blame or self-condemnation. Conscious or unconscious, shame can be activated in childhood or adulthood and often includes an intense fear of rejection and an uncomfortable, sometimes imperceptible, sense of being unable to meet…

How Curiosity Can Strengthen Your Relationship Marti Wibbels, MS, LMHC and Alan Wibbels, MA Throughout our 54 years of marriage, we’ve discovered it’s vital to keep being curious—about God, each other, and life. “Curious,” according to Merriam-Webster, “connotes an active desire to learn or to know.” Curiosity results in ongoing exploration and learning, which can…

Quintessential Faith Marti Wibbels, MS, LMHC “Quintessential” describes an example or important part of something. Merriam-Webster said “philosophers and scientists of the ancient world and the Middle Ages believed that the world we inhabit was entirely made up of four elements: earth, air, fire, and water. Aristotle added a fifth element, the ether [or] material…

My Hope Box Marti Wibbels, MS, LMHC A Hope Box is a place to symbolically leave your specific concerns with God, providing limitless opportunities to release every aspect of Christmas to the One Whose birthday we’re celebrating. Your Hope Box can be a box wrapped in colorful Christmas paper, a plain, unwrapped box—or even a…

Being Thankful Marti Wibbels, MS, LMHC G.K. Chesterton said, “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” The psalmist also chose gratitude: We give thanks and praise to You, O God, we give thanks, for your [wonderful works declare that Your] name is near,…

How to Avoid Toxic Thoughts Marti Wibbels, MS, LMHC Children are taught to avoid toxins—whether in plants or household chemicals. We’ve learned to steer clear of poison ivy and venomous snakes and avoid plunging our hands into boiling water or our forks into electric outlets. But we miss the deadliest toxins of all each time…

When It’s Your Turn to Ask for Forgiveness Marti Wibbels, MS, LMHC Therefore become imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father]; and walk continually in love [that is, value one another—practice empathy and compassion, unselfishly seeking the best for others], just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up…

How Forgiveness Helps Us Enjoy Life Marti Wibbels, MS, LMHC All of us experience situations, people, or events that fuel emotional pain. Forgiveness helps us release that pain to move forward into new opportunities. Traumatic memories—from hurts and rejection to relationship wounds—are stored in the brain’s amygdalae and can be repeatedly reactivated by any of…