Skill Theory and Reflection

Amy Brown is a relational skills trainer with THRIVEtoday, Journey Group Director with Deeper Walk, and Director of Development with Alive & Well. Amy co-wrote Relational Skills in the Bible with Chris Coursey, as well as the Journey Group curriculum. Her heart is to see people connect deeply with Jesus in a way that displays His beauty and love.  Trust God from the bottom of your heart;    don’t try to figure out everything on your own.Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you[...]

Amy Brown is a relational skills trainer with THRIVEtoday, Journey Group Director with Deeper Walk, and Director of Development with Alive & Well. Amy co-wrote Relational Skills in the Bible with Chris Coursey, as well as the Journey Group curriculum. Her heart is to see people connect deeply with Jesus in a way that displays His beauty and love. Here she shares some of her story with pointers on how to use the skill of Appreciation during the holidays this year. Blessings on your Thanksgiving! When I w[...]

Chris Coursey is founder and president of THRIVEtoday. See more of Chris' online features such as podcasts and guest blogs here. Movies with heroes who swoop in to save the day are increasingly popular. Just last year 7 of the 11 top-grossing films involved a superhero, and comic books focusing on heroes are some of the most consumed stories in human history. [1] Millions of people enjoy watching someone with some special power or ability show up on the scene to rescue others, often in the nick of time.What mak[...]

Chris Coursey is founder and president of THRIVEtoday. See more of Chris' online features such as podcasts and guest blogs here. The line of traffic was as long as the eye could see. Cars were slowly inching along, and impatient drivers were in a hurry to get nowhere fast. About the time I was regretting drinking that Venti iced coffee my son began sobbing from the backseat. He told us his head hurt. "Buddy, you are dehydrated," we said. "Drink more water." My wife turned toward the backseat to check on him. I[...]

Jen Coursey is the founder and author of the Thriving Mama's Blog and Executive Director of THRIVEtoday. I was standing at a recent conference, behind our resource table, selling books when an attendee began asking questions about our 30 Days of Joy for Busy Married Couples book. It came up in our conversation that Chris and my anniversary was the next day and the attendee’s eyes grew wide and asked, “So what are the authors of the joyful marriage books doing for their anniversary?” I chuckled and respond[...]

Chris Coursey is founder and president of THRIVEtoday. See more of Chris' online features such as podcasts and guest blogs here. I remember the time my wife Jen was holding our screaming son when he was a baby. His brother grabbed his favorite toy, and he was having none of that. He lost it. He was crying loudly. This was a magnificent tantrum! Jen quickly offered comfort by pointing out the toy he thought was gone was already returned and within reach. If only he would open his eyes to see what was happening![...]

Michel Hendricks is a co-author with Jim Wilder of The Other Half of Church. He helps churches and ministries bring the transformation of character back into the center of what they do. Our brains are designed to metabolize emotions. Shame is one of the six big emotions with dedicated neurological circuitry (that is, sadness, anger, fear, shame, hopeless despair, disgust). In the healthy case, shame gets digested through relational attachments—through hesed. For example, if you see me do something that does[...]