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More By: Renee Ettline

Where is God? Did He Leave Me Because of Divorce?

Posted on By: Renee Ettline
Where is God? Did He Leave Me Because of Divorce?

No.  God doesn’t leave us.  God is there. God is with you, right now.

But, I understand the feeling because there were times when my marriage was ending that I too found it hard to feel God’s presence.

But, God was there. 

I think we know divorce isn’t in God’s plan and that knowledge hangs in our heads and muddles our spirits. We assume God is mad at us or we feel guilty for divorce even when it isn’t what we would choose. If you’ve made mistakes, ask God for forgiveness. Know that he is full of mercy and grace. He wants […]

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Tips on How to Tell Your Children You Will Divorce

Posted on By: Renee Ettline
Tips on How to Tell Your Children You Will Divorce

How do you tell the children you are divorcing?  How will they react? How do you help them adjust?

Children are always on the receiving end of divorce.  Rarely is it what they would choose.   Ideally, parents will work together for the good of their children even in divorce.  But, if you’re dealing with an ex that declines a cooperative approach, you can still make choices that ease the transition for your children.

To guide you in this process I’ve put together a handy checklist of things for you to consider. I hope it helps you with this difficult task.

Tips for […]

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How Do I Learn to Trust Anyone Again after Divorce or Betrayal?

Posted on By: Renee Ettline
How Do I Learn to Trust Anyone Again after Divorce or Betrayal?

What a great question. The ability to trust is so often a casualty of divorce, at least for a while. I mean, after you’ve been betrayed in one way or another, it’s normal to become afraid to take chances with your heart. The deeper the betrayal, the harder it is to learn to trust. And, that fear of being hurt again can make you not trust anyone.

Start with Yourself

I think the first challenge is beginning to trust yourself again. You may start to wonder if you can make good judgement calls about who to trust. After all, you trusted someone […]

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Separation and Divorce: Surviving the Loneliness of Your Nights

Posted on By: Renee Ettline
Separation and Divorce: Surviving the Loneliness of Your Nights

Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him….” Lamentations 2:19

The nights can be the worse. Loneliness settles in as darkness falls. The losses and uncertainties of divorce become magnified as our bodies tire and our minds grow weary from the day.

It’s only human.

It’s the perfect time to pour out our hearts to God. When our hearts are brimming with grief and fear we can unload those daunting emotions on our Heavenly Father. We can lift our hands […]

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Divorce Doesn’t Make You a Failure!

Posted on By: Renee Ettline
Divorce Doesn’t Make You a Failure!

For me one of the worse things about separation and divorce was feeling like I failed. Marriage means so much to me.  Yet, I felt like I failed my marriage, failed my vows, failed myself, failed my family, and failed God.  I felt lower than I had ever felt in my life.  Do you find yourself feeling that way?

For Christians marriage is more than a legal arrangement, it is a covenant. Feelings of failure when a marriage ends can be overwhelming.

But here’s the kicker…If you allow yourself to go through life seeing yourself as […]

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Is Your Ex or Soon-to-be-Ex Treating You Poorly?

Posted on By: Renee Ettline
Is Your Ex or Soon-to-be-Ex Treating You Poorly?

Do not be fooled. You cannot fool God. A man will get back whatever he plants! If a man does things to please his sinful old self, his soul will be lost.  If a man does things to please the Holy Spirit, he will have life that lasts forever.

Galatians 6:7-8 (NLV)

If you’re being mistreated by your ex or soon-to-be ex you may read this scripture and think, well at least he (or she) will get what he deserves in the end. But, this really isn’t a scripture about revenge.

Consider this…

Galatians […]

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Finding Power to Heal from Divorce

Posted on By: Renee Ettline
Finding Power to Heal from Divorce

Yesterday we had a bad storm and lost power.  As the sun settled in the sky and the room darkened I realized just how very dependent on electricity I am.  The pizza I had just prepared was quickly placed in the oven in the hopes that the oven would stay hot enough to cook it.  I had work to do but my laptop battery was fading quickly. There was no Internet anyway.  I shut down my phone so its battery would still have some life if I really needed it.  Without power, I was left in the dark trying to […]

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What’s Easter Got to Do with Divorce Recovery?

Posted on By: Renee Ettline
What’s Easter Got to Do with Divorce Recovery?

This Sunday is Easter. It’s an amazing time to focus on the power of God. Not only that, it’s a wonderful time to be reminded of just how very special you are to the Creator of all the universe.

Yes, you!

God loves you enough to send his only son to die for your sins. That means He loves you enough to take your place. To wash you clean with his own blood. Think about that.

Wow.

Jesus proved that there is life after death. And, he tells you that he will give life after death to you too. Now that’s some serious power […]

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Seeking God’s Direction for How to Deal with Divorce?

Posted on By: Renee Ettline

Divorce floods our lives with the need to cope with many changes.  It can be overwhelming.  Even if you’re not a praying person normally you may find yourself driven to seek God’s guidance on things that you just don’t know how to handle yourself.  Prayer is a powerful thing.

God, do I do this or that?

I know that some times when I get hung up in looking for an answer I realize that in my prayer of “do I do this, or do I do that” I end up giving God limited options.  Do you?

God’s possibilities are much bigger than that.

Divorce […]

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Can Divorced Christians Get Married?

Posted on By: Renee Ettline
Can Divorced Christians Get Married?

I’ve had a lot of questions recently about whether or not Christians are allowed to get married once they have been divorced.  If you’re a believer this can be a serious concern even if divorce wasn’t your idea.  If you want to know what your church teaches you’ll have to talk with your pastor because different churches do teach different things.  Actually, that’s even more reason for me to write this post.

If Christian churches can vary in what they teach on this topic, maybe our best answer lies in our conversations with God.  Whether you should remarry and whether remarrying […]

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