Restoring Rapport

There once was a man who carried in tow a burden of pitiable nature. The burden was not of great weight or size, but disturbing beyond compare, for it had once been alive. This man’s burden, which dragged behind him like a shadow, was the body of his beloved. She died—not in an accident—as many would suppose, but by her own choice, made in a moment of weighty despair. Following her death, the bereaved man went about his life, and the body of his beloved did too. When the bereaved took a meal, her body lay behind his chair. When he lay down, the body was there. When he rose up, the body rose too; not in life of its own, but in obedience to cords which stretched between the bereaved and his beloved. The cords were not of a physical nature, but were the kind of ties which connect two hearts and that are woven by four hands over the course of many sleepless nights. Years passed. The body which ever dragged behind the bereaved man became mangled and distorted from its rough contact with the...

In today's culture, getting married is often not perceived as a positive course of action. Young people today are frequently advised by collective culture to postpone getting married for as long as possible. In fact, marriage at any age is becoming less of a conventional practice. Overall, it's becoming less encouraged by old and less desired by young. In this article, I'm going to address why marriage as a standard choice should be reprioritized and give several reasons that it should be the standard choice for humanity. In the first section, I will debunk several religious arguments which have been used to justify the decline of marriage. In the second section, I will detail the plethora of scientific, medical, physical, emotional, and statistical benefits marriage entails.  The Correct Conventional Choice As a member of Generation Z, the independent, self-sufficiency freaks, I will likely be in treacherous territory by suggesting that marriage should be the standard choi...

In part I of this article, I discussed cultural ideologies and issues that undermine the family in today's culture. In this post, part II, I will discuss several steps that can be taken with intentionality in order to reprioritize and defend the family unit. People might wonder how to prioritize and improve the Family Model when we live in a culture where work and vocation demand so much of our time. While it may be difficult, I would argue that it is absolutely possible.  It just might require more intentionality in today's culture than it once did.  There are many things families, marriages, and communities can do in order to prioritize their connection and sharpen their relationship. 1. Consider alternatives and changes: Make every effort to create space for every opportunity that could build your family. Be open to drastic change. If possible for you, consider homeschooling, working from home, dropping extracurricular activities, pursuing careers which provide an...

Created by Community for Community: “And so the beautiful truth is that since we were created by a community, we were created for community. If we are made in God’s image and God is a community, then that means we are rejecting our humanness when we live isolated and alone. That’s fundamental to what it means to be human. That is intimacy.” (It's Not What You Think: Why Christianity Is So Much More Than Going to Heaven When You Die, Bethke). We were created by Community for Community. It's what William Paul Young would refer to as "the Truth of our Being." When it comes right down to it, we, as humans, are innately designed with an inescapable need for community and relationship because we are made in the image of a God who is a Relationship. God is a great dance of relational exchange occurring between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit ( http://wmpaulyoung.com/god-is-a-dance/ ). The concept of the Triune God is widely enough adopted that few Christians would a...