Pre-marriage Counseling Testimony

Originally we learned about Kardia Biblical Counseling through some family members who had gone through it. We only heard good things about the experience and decided we both wanted to do it as well, but we never knew the lasting impact it would have on our lives.

When we were first sent the prework, it seemed like a lot. However, we were given plenty of time to finish the work and quickly learned that the workbook brought up several great conversations between us. While working throughout the workbook, we were able to talk to each other about our past pain, mistakes, and experiences that we had forgotten to talk about with each other.

Once the day came to start our counseling, both of us were a little nervous. It was scary to lay out our lives to someone we weren’t familiar with. However, Pastor Hubbard and our prayer partner did a great job of helping us feel safe and comfortable when sharing about our past.

Through premarital counseling, we learned how our past affected us, where each others’ pain came from, how to care for each others’ pain, and how we both tried to perform to live up to others’ or our own expectations. Pastor Hubbard helped us both find the conclusion that we do not need to put pressure on ourselves to live up to others expectations. Nothing we do can make Jesus love us any more than He already does. We can live in the joy and freedom that Christ gives us through this truth.

Caring for each other's hearts was another major point of focus throughout the counseling. We both felt that we were doing this already, but Pastor Hubbard showed us how to properly care for each others’ hearts on a deeper level.

By the end of our week of counseling, we felt more prepared to deal with issues, arguments, and marriage. We were given a binder with a copy of all the charts, diagrams, and cards that we had used during that week. These have served as a super helpful reminder of what we learned. Counseling with Pastor Hubbard was an amazing relationship-strengthening experience. Both of us are incredibly thankful for the way God used Pastor Hubbard to help us begin a Godly marriage.

Thank you pastor for the time you set aside to meet and work with us!

Cedric and Vanessa

 

 

 

Pre-Marriage Counseling Testimony

At first we were skeptical about traveling halfway across the country to complete a premarital counseling session with someone we had never met before. My fiancé and I had previously been to secular counseling for some relationship issues, but it didn't help.

At the time we started our premarital counseling with Pastor Greg we had been engaged for about 2 years and had been living together for over 6 years. We were also skeptical because we did not understand the purpose of the questionnaires and why the homework prior to arriving was necessary.

In the end it turned out to be very telling about ourselves. We didn't necessarily think our issues were a big deal but we knew something was missing from our relationship. We were missing Jesus. We didn't realize how badly we needed Him in our relationship and in our lives in general.

Pastor Greg helped us realize our individual emotional pain and lead us to Jesus who healed our pain. When we let go of our own emotional pain, we were able to focus on each other. We never realized how important it was to establish an emotional connection before a physical one. Which was what we were doing backwards, along with a lot of other things.

We realized that when we live for Jesus and strive to have a relationship with Him, many of our issues became resolved. We learned that a relationship requires work. Having a relationship with Him helps our ability to have positive relationships with others.

The more we learned about God's desire for us as a married couple, the more aware we became that the enemy constantly tries to work against us and what God wants for us. The battle is ever-present and we are aware of it everyday.

These counseling sessions taught us how to love each other the way God intended and to care for each other's hearts in a way we never thought of doing. My fiancé and I couldn't imagine ever getting married not having done this counseling.

It was truly a life changing experience for the both of us. If we keep God at the forefront of our relationship we can never fail.

Thank you for everything you've done for us Pastor Greg!

-Rex & Ashley

 

 

 

 

Marriage Counseling Testimonies

My wife and I reached out to Pastor Hubbard because we were interested in offering Christian counseling. We had counseled a few couples through our local church and longed to grow in our ability to serve and care. Pastor Greg came highly recommended to us from people we deeply trusted.

Lindsey and I thought we had a good marriage. We were both growing spiritually and leading in our local church. However, during our counseling sessions Pastor Greg lovingly pointed out that we were very disconnected at a heart level.

The week of our counseling God did some amazing things in our individual souls and marriage. The Lord used our time with Pastor Greg to help us understand our life stories in a deep way. We eventually recognized our tendency to protect our hearts from current pain often linked to past wounds. We saw with fresh eyes how our coping mechanisms of dealing with pain hit deeper wounds in each other’s stories such as isolating each other or performing to earn love. The Lord used Pastor Greg to help take our pain to Jesus. He helped us get our eyes off ourselves and learn how to care for one another.

Jesus was able to meet me in some of my deepest pain. For the first time I was able to get my eyes off myself and see my wife and understand her story. I began to care for her in a new way. Our marriage was taken to a deeper level than we had ever experienced before and is continuing to grow. I hope the Lord does the same for you as you take the time to meet with Pastor Greg!

-Ed and Lindsey

 

The counseling sessions were all helpful. I’ve been in counseling before with a few different counselors and this was beyond wonderful. We are very thankful for our five days. We are very thankful that we had a terrible fourth day so we would work through it on day five. If it wasn’t for that—I don’t think there would have been a heart change for Paul and I. We would have quickly resorted back to previous thoughts/patterns that were not healthy.

At home, it has been significant to hear Paul pray for us. God is faithful and so good. I look forward to spending the rest of my life with this new mindset and this “new” husband. Thanks Greg and Emily.

-Paul & Anna

 

 

We originally approached Pastor Greg for help with our children. When Pastor told us we needed to have our hearts healed before we could help our children we were shocked! We felt our marriage was great, but we were in for a great awakening. We thought we were going in for a minor oil change, but instead it was going to be a complete overhaul! Little did we know how much we suffered during the course of our lives because of the damage and pain in our hearts.

Pastor Greg, Emily, and Brooke were all very reassuring and loving while we dealt with some very difficult issues in our lives. The healing and freedom we received from the counseling process has been life changing. We now have an emotional and spiritual connection that is hard to put into words. We now are able to connect and care for people in a way that we have never been able to in the past. Our only wish is that we would have gone through this much earlier in our lives.

It is life changing!

-Mike & Cally

Our counseling with Pastor Greg was profitable for us as individuals and as a couple. The mood was light and it was a relaxed, safe, and comfortable environment. We felt like he knew us better than we knew ourselves and was able to show us why we were responding to each other like we were.

Pastor Greg led us in prayer over each issue and we experienced Jesus' forgiveness, love, and His healing of our hearts. We definitely recommend this counseling to anyone seeking spiritual and emotional healing.

-Josh & Alecia ​