BY: Carolyn Johnson, Former Director, Restored Marriage Each CK’s story is unique, but there are often similarities woven through each one when shared. While keeping covenant with our spouses, each of us has suffered loss, struggled with God’s timing as we’ve waited for our prayers to be answered, and dealt with thoughts of betrayal. We continually need to be reminded that Jesus sees our pain and ...  Read More

BY: Deana Bell, Director, Restored Marriage In the very early days of our marital separation, I was desperate. Like most people, everything felt hard and sad. The first time I went out to a Target store after our split and saw a cute family of three smiling and shopping, I lost it in the bread section. I almost walked back out of the store and went home, but I knew that I would eventually have to ...  Read More

BY: Deana Bell, Director, Restored Marriage Have you ever had a conversation with God that went something like this? God: "I'm asking you to do this one thing. Would you do it for Me?" You: "Really, God? This seems way too hard. I'm not sure I can do it. Won't you reconsider? Can you ask someone else instead?" God:.........(silence) You: "I think there must be someone here on earth that would be b...  Read More

BY: Deana Bell, Director, Restored Marriage "There is only one place in Scripture where God is said to speak in a 'still small voice,' and it was to Elijah after his dramatic victory over the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:20-40; 19:12). Told that Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, king of Israel, was seeking to kill him, Elijah ran into the wilderness and collapsed in exhaustion. God sent an angel with foo...  Read More

BY: Deana Bell, Director So often in life, we are asking for grace. Grace for unmet expectations. Grace for our failures. And grace for those things in life that we never knew were a problem until someone pointed them out. Less often, are we willing to pour out the grace to others that we naturally expect to receive ourselves. James 4:6 says, "And He gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, ...  Read More

BY: Deana Bell, Director, Restored Marriage Have you ever heard of "God's perfect timing?" What we see in the following verses is proof that not only does God "know best," but that we should be patient and wait for His best. "We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps." (Proverbs 16:9 NLT) "For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven." (Ecclesiastes 3:1...  Read More