Dr Carol Ministries

7 Sure Ways to Stay Young(er)

Senior WomenShe was crying in my office. She had just been told the results of her hormonal evaluation, and it wasn’t what she wanted to hear. It was unlikely she would ever get pregnant again, at least not in the natural way. In human terms, her ovaries were just too old.

Yes, you are only as old as you feel! But none of us enjoys having to face grey hair, skin wrinkles, loss of strength, or “senior moments.” People have been searching for the fountain of youth for centuries.

While Ponce de Leon may have failed to find the fountain of youth in his Florida journeys, your own fountain of youth may be much closer to home. There are many things you can do that either speed up or slow down the aging process. No, none of them will make you live forever. But they will make a big difference in how your body, mind, and soul look and feel.

Here are seven ways to stay young:

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5 Steps to a Fair Fight in Marriage

Couple Facing ConflictTwo people grow up in different homes, with different family traditions. They have different life experiences, different personalities, different hopes for the future, and different expectations for what a marriage and family should be.

And then those two people get married and plan to “do life together” for the rest of their lives. Is it any wonder there are differences, even conflicts? It doesn’t matter how carefully they planned, how long they knew each other, how carefully they talked things through, or how much they thought they knew about each other prior to saying, “I Do.” Two people cannot join their hearts and lives without there being friction.

The more important thing is what you do when those differences arise. Ignoring them only allows a wall to grow between the two of you. Angrily fighting over differences drives you apart, and can lead to serious wounds. Fighting fair is a skill married couples need to practice, and one that some find difficult to learn.

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What It Means To Be A Man

Father and Son on PierI’m doing something very risky right now. I’m a woman, and I’m talking to men about men. Sure, that’s a little dangerous, but here’s my perspective.

When I have the privilege of delivering a baby, I love the moment when I get to say, “It’s a boy!” Even though many parents already know the sex of their baby, there’s still that small lingering question until their precious baby is actually here. And then that little boy begins to grow up – and as the nursery rhyme says, “snips of snails and puppy dog tails, That’s what little boys are made of.”

Men have challenges to face that our modern society perhaps makes even harder.

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Your God May Damage Your Mental Health

Child PrayingOr to put it more academically correctly, your view of God as either benevolent or vindictive is correlated with your risk of psychiatric symptoms. At least that’s what recent research published in the Journal of Religion and Health seems to indicate.

How mental health and religion affect each other has been a matter of debate for many years. Some have argued that strong religious beliefs increase one’s risk for anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders, or even delusions and hallucinations. Some great Christian leaders including Martin Luther, John Wesley, and Charles Spurgeon struggled with severe anxiety or depression. And then there are the caricatures of Christian believers in popular media who claim religious reasons for illegal or violent acts, or clearly display signs of mental illness.

On the other hand many believe their faith in God has helped them weather times of extreme stress, and provides an emotional/mental stability they would not have otherwise.

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When Broken Vows Break the Heart

When Broken Vows Break the Heart

InfidelityForsaking all others, keep yourself only for him (or her).” You said that, or something similar, in your marriage vows, didn’t you?  Now perhaps that dream has become a nightmare. If you are facing infidelity in your marriage, you know how devastating that nightmare can be.

Adultery almost never begins with a physical act. It begins in the heart. It begins with a lingering glance, a flirtatious comment, a fantasy of connection. It grows with a search to fulfill something one feels is missing – perhaps adventure, emotional intimacy, or sexual contact. The heart finds a way to rationalize, and you cross that line. Sooner or later the pain, loss, and trauma of broken vows catch up with you – and those you love or loved.

If you are married and NOT facing infidelity right now, let me encourage you to do these things:

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