Entries by Mary Lambrecht

Coping with Change at Christmas

July 8, 2017 in , /by

Coping with Change at Christmas Mary Lambrecht, M.S. LMFT Dennis the Menace is a cute little boy whose behavior annoys his parents and especially his neighbor, Mr. Wilson. But there is one thing you can count on in the cartoon-world of Dennis the Menace; his age never changes! Today, as well as five, ten or even forty years ago, he was still mischievous…and he was still 5 years old. However, unlike the consistent age of Dennis the Menace, change is commonplace in family dynamics. Many people agree that changes in family matters are difficult in general, but oftentimes the Christmas […]

Sacredness in Sexuality by Mary Lambrecht

April 1, 2017 in , /by

Sacredness in Sexuality by Mary Lambrecht, M.S. LMFT As a young girl, I was obsessed with farms, animals, and particularly horses. On my fourth birthday I became the proud owner of a horse named “Gallop.” Gallop’s head was blue vinyl and his body a wooden stick. I had picture books of horses and riders racing through fields, so Gallop and I ran circles around our house, his mane made of string flopping happily. Then at age ten, I rode my first real horse. We cantered through big, real fields and I grasped real, coarse, mane-hair. Thereafter, when I rode Gallop […]

Faith of Our Children: A Model for Home Devotions

October 9, 2015 in , /by

Mary Lambrecht, M.S. LMFT “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. And if I die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” This was the childhood prayer that I dutifully recited each night before bed. It brought mixed emotions to me. How could I fall asleep, trusting God to “keep” my soul (which had connotations of safety) but then also worry if I might die in my sleep? And yet this prayer, along with others that my mother taught me, helped to form a habit of including God […]

Throwing Off Cloaks Of Unforgiveness

June 24, 2015 in , /by

The writer of Hebrews, in chapter 12 vs. 1, exhorts us to “throw off anything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” He then tells us that we are not alone in this race set before us– that Jesus went ahead of us enduring the pain and shame of the cross, and opposition from sinful men. What might God be asking us to “throw off”? On Palm Sunday, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, the people “threw off” their cloaks on the ground. What might be our old, worn, sin-infested garments, that could […]

Women, Grief and Jesus

April 23, 2015 in , /by

Mary Lambrecht, M.S. LMFT In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 7: 11-17, a widow is grieving the death of her only son. Research shows that a parent outliving a child is one of the most difficult sorrows to bear. This particular woman had also lost her husband. In ancient history, a widow relied on her sons to provide for her, so not only was this woman grieving, but she most likely was also filled with anxiety about her financial future. This is complex grief. However, while her dead son was being carried out in the midst of a large crowd, […]

Ten Lessons For Healthy Relationships

February 25, 2015 in , /by

By: Mary Lambrecht, M.S. LMFT Combining God’s Truth with sound relational principles can help us build healthy relationships. The following principles have been gleaned from various contexts that God has graciously allowed me to serve. These contexts include in my marriage, as a mother, a teacher, and as a marriage and family therapist. May they bring encouragement and hope to you as well. Loving touch, practical help, validating feelings, and simply being present with a suffering loved one are appreciated first before attempting to problem solve. When God’s prophet Elijah was very discouraged, God sent an angel to first touch […]

PROGRAMS, SEMINARS AND RETREATS

January 24, 2015 in , /by

Mary Lambrecht, M.S. LMFT, is a Texas and Wisconsin State-licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, currently with Gracepoint Marriage and Family Center in The Woodlands, Texas. Her counseling focus is with couples experiencing crisis or conflict, and individuals and families challenged with grief and loss, depression, and stressful life transitions. Mary and her husband, Rev. Tom Lambrecht, were in pastoral ministry together for almost 30 years, and Tom now serves with Good News in The Woodlands, Texas. They have three grown daughters. With Christ as her cornerstone (Isaiah 28:16), Mary counts it a great privilege to be used by God through […]

Drunk With Hope: God’s Help for Addiction and Emotional Wounds

January 14, 2015 in , /by

“Tony” became increasingly involved in his job, to the sacrifice of time with his spouse, children and self-care. In childhood he was primarily rewarded and noticed for accomplishments, rather than loved for just being him. Addictive work habits were familiar to him and offered reassurance for his sense of self worth. However, his compulsiveness with work eventually fell short of filling empty emotional places within him.   Emotional distancing (from both self and family) and habitual overwork even took their toll on the very goal he yearned for; a dream job never materialized. This husband and father was left with finally […]

Depression In the Soul: Six Steps to Freedom

January 14, 2015 in , /by

“Wake up, you sleepyhead city! Wake up, you sleepyhead people! King-Glory is ready to enter.” (Psalm 24, The Message). In these words from The Message Bible translation, Eugene Peterson illustrates a hibernating city and a hibernating people. Inactivity, listlessness and unawareness prompt a needed pronouncement for a time of release. Depression in the human soul can be a type of hibernation. Our responses to outside stimuli are slowed and even shut down. Feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness and low self-esteem beset us. Focusing inward, body, soul, and mind sleeps. The book of Revelation, chapter five, speaks of Jesus taking the scroll […]

Morning Star: All Through the Night

December 21, 2014 in , /by

By Mary Lambrecht, M.S. LMFT “Look up.  See the designs of God’s hands.  The Bear, Orion, the Pleiades.  Trace the constellations with your finger… See how the tall cottonwoods wear stars in their bare branches, Fancy in the dancing black night.” Take a deep breath and look and look and look. Are you dizzy with the looking?” These lines from the poem “All Through the Night” by Nancy White Carlstrom cast a reminder to us of just how big, how powerful, how creative, God is.  Reverand Rob Renfroe states; “And that God—the God who is big enough to speak all […]