Personal Growth

Is it really possible to come clean once pornography has gained control of your life? In CCEF's Coming Clean: Breaking Pornography's Hold on You, biblical counseling expert David Powlison invites you to learn from a man called Bob, who experienced...

Have you traded in your peace for a life full of stress, worry, and anxiety? David Powlison points all who are stressed out to Psalm 131, a quiet little psalm with revolutionary potential. The psalmist's composure in the midst of his difficult...

Why did I do that? Behind every choice is a motive–like pleasure, comfort, or control. Motives can be hard to identify and even harder to change. In CCEF's Choices: Why Do I Do What I Do?, biblical counseling expert Edward T. Welch shows all who...

Money, health, relationships. We have plenty of reasons to worry, right? In this minibook, David Powlison explains that, although circumstances bring difficult challenges, worry comes from our hearts. So to help our worried hearts, he highlights seven...

Anger. We all experience it, some more than others. When is it righteous and when is it not? How can we control our anger and not get caught in a maze of rage when things don't go our way? David Powlison takes a close look at anger to help us understand...

Every victim has a voice with which to cry out against God or cry out to him. In Innocence Lost: Rebuilding After Victimization, biblical counseling expert David Powlison encourages all who have been victimized to find their voice in Scripture, guiding...

When life falls apart, we feel deep confusion. Our emotions may shatter no matter how strong we have been. Our minds fill with unanswered and painful questions like the following: "Why me?" "What did I do to deserve this?" "Is there any hope for my...

Where is God in all this? Does he really love me? Perhaps you are asking questions like these in the midst of tough situations that come your way. You want to trust God's plan for your life, but when hardship intrudes, it is often difficult to believe...

We are used to having our parents help us, but how do we handle it when the tables are turned and our parents are the ones who need help? Declining health, financial needs, divorce, relational issues—what's an adult child's role when their parents...

What makes you angry? Sometimes it's small things: traffic jams, a waiter's mistake, or a friend's inattention. And sometimes it's big things: betrayal, injustice, meanness, violence, oppression, selfishness, and lying. How do you deal with your anger?...

Where is your marriage? Newly married, in a rut, coming off a major transition, or coming out of a period of crisis or conflict? Regardless of your situation, it's never too early—or too late, for that matter—to build habits that will...

God's love is unconditional, right? Actually, God cares too much about us to be unconditional in his love for us. In Real Love: Better Than Unconditional? biblical counseling expert David Powlison explains that God's love is both different from and...

Another conversation ends in frustration or even anger. You want to communicate well and to grow deeper in your relationships, but either you can't seem to find the words or always seem to come up with the wrong ones. How can you develop greater...

Everyone has their own style of dealing with conflict. Some people try to win at all costs and will do or say anything to get their own way. Others hate conflict and will do or say anything to avoid or end it. Sadly, neither fighting nor avoidance leads...

No matter what the circumstances, death shakes us to the core. It seems so wrong, and it is! We long for comfort, but we don't know where to look. Can God really help when we are overwhelmed with grief? With compassion and biblical wisdom, Paul David...

Prickly, defensive, nasty, volatile, withdrawn, miserable...aren't there days when you feel surrounded by difficult people? How do you cope? You can try avoiding them, gossiping about them, or giving them a piece of your mind. But wait! Don't your...

Forgiving someone who has hurt you is one of the most difficult tasks anyone ever faces. In fact, it is so hard that most people avoid it at all costs. But when we don't forgive, we pay the price of bitterness that affects all of our relationships. Is...

Arguments. Betrayal. Inattention. Some of the reasons that relationships shatter. Anger. Confusion. Hurt. Frustration. Some of what we feel when a relationship falls apart. We all have experienced how hard relationships can be in this broken world...

Are you facing a great loss? Perhaps a loved one or close friend has died. Great love brings great sorrow, and healthy sorrow recognizes the immensity of loss. But when death and loss come close, the temptation toward despair and hopelessness is often...

Everyone experiences hurt in relationships, but most of the time we are able to forgive and forget. But sometimes we experience a major hurt that lingers in our minds and leads to bitterness. We feel trapped by the resulting hostility, ongoing broken...