The Lifeworks Group, Inc.

By Chris Hammond Sadly being a Christian is no guarantee that your marriage will survive.   The statistics for Christians getting divorced are exactly the same as non-Christians with the same reasons for getting a divorce: adultery, addiction, abuse, pornography, financial problems, sexual problems, parenting problems, and many more.   Just because a person is a Christian does not mean that they are free from the same struggles that plague everyone else.   The Christian too is born with a sinful nature that must be actively worked against on a daily basis.   So while a Christian can obtain freedom in Christ Jesus, the road to repentance and restoration is the road less traveled because it requires humility, honesty, and a heart change.   There is no doubt at this point that your marriage will end in divorce usually for more than one reason.   But just because your marriage is ending, this does not give you permission to become un-Christ-like in...

By Chris Hammond, MS, IMH Physical wounds are easy to spot as they usually leave physical evidence of an injury such as a broken bone or blood.   They also leave emotional evidence such as anxiety or pain.   Emotional wounds, like physical, can leave physical evidence such as loss of appetite or sudden sickness.   They also leave emotional evidence such as depression or anger.   However they do not always leave evidence.   These wounds are much harder to spot because they have been hidden or denied for so long but far more devastating in the end if not properly addressed. To heal from a physical wound such as a large cut, you must begin by realizing that you have a wound.   Then you need to asses if it is a wound you can manage or if it is a wound that you need help managing.   Your next step is to clean out the wound, stitch the wound up if needed, and finally bandage the wound.   Failure to clean out the wound effectively can lead ...

By Christine Hammond, MS, IMH You have believed, you have prayed, you have gotten wise counsel, you have checked that your prayer is consistent with Scripture and you have peace about the final outcome, yet nothing is happening. There are no small or large changes, everything seems to be still (almost to a stop) and then you wonder is this really the right thing? Is this thing that you have been praying for really going to happen or is it just another prayer on the long list of prayers that did not get answered or worse got answered in a manner opposite from how you prayed. So to distract yourself from the agonizing question, you become immersed in a project, in work, in church, or in a relationship. While the distraction works for a while, the underlying question looms and pops up in weird places like while driving, taking a shower, or sleeping. So you pray again but still no answer. You remind yourself of all of the blessings God has given you and give thanks but still no an...

By Chris Hammond, MS, IMH Have you ever had a fight with your computer? Everything is going fine one minute and the next thing you know the computer begins to act up. It starts with one program and then leads to another. You fight back by shutting down the dysfunctional program and trying to control or anticipate the next problem. It retaliates back by doing something new and unexpected and before you realize what is happening you are doing battle with an inanimate object and sadly it is winning. If fighting with an inanimate object is frustrating, try fighting with a human. You begin on one topic and before you know it you are on another topic that has nothing to do with the original topic and you can’t even remember why you were fighting in the first place. Talk about unpredictable and frustrating. However, it does not have to be this way. There is a better way to fight if you think of it in terms of how you handle your computer properly. Pay attention to the problem at hand...

By Chris Hammond, MS, IMH Have you ever begun a project knowing that it was the right thing to do but everything seems to be working against you? Without even realizing it, discouragement overtakes you and what appears to be a good idea has now been put on the back burner. Maybe the discouragement came in the form of criticism by a loved one or in the form of diminished enthusiasm from co-workers or in the form of last minute emergencies that consume excessive amounts of time. Regardless of the source of discouragement, it is there and the once great project is no longer getting any of your attention. There is a story in the Old Testament about a group of people who tried to rebuild the Temple after it was destroyed but got discouraged (book of Haggai). Several governmental officials went out of their way to prevent the rebuilding from happening and slow the efforts of the workers. The workers in turn got distracted with building their own houses, planting crops and tending to the...

By: Chris Hammond My husband and I just drove from our home in Orlando to the mountains of North Carolina and back in one weekend to drop off our three kids at summer camp. The kids were overly anxious to spend 2 weeks away from home, responsibilities, chores, each other, random work, and the list of books we gave them to read for the summer, so the number one question asked on the trip is…you guessed it…”Are we there yet?” Sadly, as our kids are often a reflection of both the good and bad in ourselves, I even caught myself secretly asking the same question by looking at the GPS estimated time of arrival more times than I can count and trying to beat the estimated arrival time. And as annoying as the question gets from our kids, it is even more annoying when we badger ourselves with the same question. The origin of the question stems from a lack of systematic discipline in our lives to patiently wait and work hard for our goals. Instead we have a tendency to want whatever we want ...