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Parents & Families, The Relatable Report

The Poverty We Don’t Talk About Enough

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The Relatable Report

What is Generational Trauma, Exactly?

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Friendships, General, The Relatable Report

Why Gen Z is Saying “No” to Romance and What it Means for Us All

https://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/pexels-cottonbro-6214938-scaled.jpg 1365 2048 Lauren Hall https://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ftf-logo-300x186.png Lauren Hall2025-04-03 11:58:402025-04-03 11:58:44Why Gen Z is Saying “No” to Romance and What it Means for Us All
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Married Couples, Parents & Families

Spring Cleaning Your Relationships: Clearing Out Resentment, Guilt and Unspoken Expectations

https://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/WP-Banner-scaled.jpg 896 2048 Lauren Hall https://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ftf-logo-300x186.png Lauren Hall2025-02-24 13:43:202025-02-24 13:43:23Spring Cleaning Your Relationships: Clearing Out Resentment, Guilt and Unspoken Expectations
Married Couples, The Relatable Report

Marriage: How to Move Past the Mundane to Magical

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Dating & Engaged, Married Couples, The Relatable Report

The Real Meaning of Valentine’s Day and How to Celebrate

https://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Untitled-design-5.jpg 700 1600 Lauren Hall https://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ftf-logo-300x186.png Lauren Hall2025-02-02 09:08:082025-02-19 12:16:25The Real Meaning of Valentine’s Day and How to Celebrate
The Relatable Report

Do Different Parenting Styles Collide or Combine?

https://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Untitled-design.jpg 700 1600 Lauren Hall https://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ftf-logo-300x186.png Lauren Hall2025-01-19 08:00:002025-02-17 14:36:35Do Different Parenting Styles Collide or Combine?
Friendships, General, Married Couples, Parents & Families

How Shame Harms Everything in Our Relationships 

https://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Untitled-design.jpg 700 1600 Lauren Hall https://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ftf-logo-300x186.png Lauren Hall2024-12-22 10:21:402025-02-17 14:41:39How Shame Harms Everything in Our Relationships 
Married Couples

How to Keep the Poison of Resentment Out of Your Marriage

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Parents & Families, The Relatable Report

The Surprising Subject That’s Missing from Our Kids’ Lives

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Parents & Families

Bridging the Gap: When Mental Health Culture Meets Family History

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Parents & Families

The Unsung Superpower of Fathers: What Dads Really Bring to the Table

https://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/pexels-josh-willink-11499-1157395-scaled.jpg 1365 2048 Lauren Hall https://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ftf-logo-300x186.png Lauren Hall2025-06-15 10:00:002025-06-09 12:46:52The Unsung Superpower of Fathers: What Dads Really Bring to the Table
Parents & Families, The Relatable Report

The Poverty We Don’t Talk About Enough

https://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/pexels-pixabay-160994-scaled.jpg 1365 2048 Lauren Hall https://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ftf-logo-300x186.png Lauren Hall2025-06-08 10:00:002025-06-05 14:28:56The Poverty We Don’t Talk About Enough
Parents & Families

Should You Care for Family Members Who Never Cared for You?

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Parents & Families

From School Bells to Summer Breezes: 9 Ways to Make the Most of Summer

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Parents & Families

How Artificial Intelligence is Shaping Families

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General, Parents & Families

The Invisible Load: Why Moms Are Mentally Maxed Out (and What We Can Do About It)

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Parents & Families

The Rise of Gentle Parenting- Helpful or Harmful?

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Friendships, General, The Relatable Report

Why Gen Z is Saying “No” to Romance and What it Means for Us All

My son had his sixth birthday recently. He came home from school with a dozen notes and cards in his backpack, all of which were covered in hearts, glitter and the endearing best wishes of his closest female classmates.   While…
April 3, 2025
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Friendships, Self-Care

Lifelong Friendships Improve Mental Health

Two years ago, the U.S. Surgeon General raised concern about the epidemic of loneliness in our country. Nearly half of all adults reported feeling lonely. Of course, there’s been speculation about why loneliness has become such a burden in…
January 5, 2025
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0 Comments
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Friendships, General, Married Couples, Parents & Families

How Shame Harms Everything in Our Relationships 

Shame. It’s a small word, but it carries the weight of a wrecking ball. Unlike guilt, which says, I did something bad, shame whispers something far more sinister: I am bad. Left unchecked, shame can quietly sabotage our most precious relationships…
December 22, 2024
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0 Comments
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Two women who are friends
Friendships

Friendships: Quality Over Quantity

I introduced my 4-year-old son to the Broadway musical “Wicked” last week. Shameless plug, it’s one of my all-time favorite soundtracks. As the cheeky but pointed song “Popular” blared through the speakers, he asked, “Mom, what…
April 2, 2024
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0 Comments
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grandmother and granddaughter
Friendships

Effective Grandparents Practice Quality Over Quantity

My grandmother passed away last week. She was 85, and her health had been slowly declining for a few years. But it didn’t make the news any easier to hear when she passed. When I was growing up, my grandmother and I spent a lot of time…
March 22, 2024
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0 Comments
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Anxious girl
Friendships

3 Reasons You’re Not Crazy for Caring About Your Mental Health

One of my friends just ended a long-term relationship with a woman he really cared about because they weren’t on the same page about mental health.  My friend carries wounds from an emotionally abusive parent and PTSD from years of…
March 15, 2024
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0 Comments
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Sad woman looking out a window
Friendships, General

The Cure for Loneliness

I gave a presentation to a local community group last week. At the end, someone in the audience raised their hand and asked, “I keep hearing all this stuff about how lonely we are. Is it really true? And what do we do about it?” A few…
March 13, 2024
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0 Comments
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Friendships

Guide for Guys: Supporting A Friend Facing Infertility

You’re hanging out with one of your friends, and he confides, We’ve been trying to get pregnant for over a year, and it just isn’t happening. It’s been hard on our marriage. What can you say to help, encourage, and support your…
April 19, 2022
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0 Comments
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Friendships, Married Couples

What to Do When Friends Are Hurting Your Marriage

So, your wife has that one friend you think she always wants to talk about your problems with? Or your husband has a buddy that you think he wants to spend more time with than you? Have you ever felt that friends get in the way of your marriage?…
October 4, 2021
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4 Comments
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Dating & Engaged

Do Similarities Attract in Romantic Relationships?

Some say opposites attract. Others argue that similarity is the glue. So which is it? Turns out, science is siding with the “birds of a feather” crowd. A massive meta-analysis of 313 studies found that both actual and perceived similarity…
June 29, 2025
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Dating & Engaged, Married Couples, The Relatable Report

The Real Meaning of Valentine’s Day and How to Celebrate

Valentine’s Day, the annual celebration of love, is a day steeped in both history and tradition. Yet, like the best love stories, its origins are a little mysterious, a bit quirky, and undeniably charming. So, before we dive into how you…
February 2, 2025
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0 Comments
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Dating & Engaged, Married Couples

How to Turn Conflict into Connection

Conflict is necessary and unavoidable in relationships. In fact, many couples argue over not only topics and scenarios but the different ways in which they handle conflict. There are four major ways in which we respond to threats. These…
June 27, 2024
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2 Comments
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Dating & Engaged, General

Are Soulmates Real?

Lots of people believe in the idea of soulmates. You might have seen it in movies or read about it in fairy tales. But is it true? Recent surveys asked around 15,000 adults in the United States about this. Surprisingly, 60% of them said yes,…
March 4, 2024
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0 Comments
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Dating & Engaged, Self-Care

How and Why Intimate Relationships Affect Mental Health: What the Research Says

“I think my spouse is depressed. How do I support them?” “I’m single and depressed. Will I ever find love?” “My relationship is unhealthy and it’s taking a toll. What should I do?” These are just a few of the questions…
October 4, 2023
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0 Comments
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Dating & Engaged, Married Couples

Technoference In Relationships

Our world is filled with technological devices and relationships. With technology always (or nearly always) with us, we can be more productive and fill in the gaps in our day. Isn't that a good thing? Maybe. Let's look at how technology…
July 20, 2023
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1 Comment
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Dating & Engaged

When to Leave and When to Save a Relationship

You’re constantly fighting with your significant other and just can’t take it anymore. Your spouse continually ignores you, and you feel so alone in your marriage. There’s a piece of you that wants to make it work, but you’re also exhausted…
June 27, 2023
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0 Comments
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before getting married
Dating & Engaged

6 Things To Know Before You Get Married

More than 2 million marriages take place annually in America.“Almost all couples anticipate ‘living happily ever after,’” according to Dr. Gary Chapman in his book, Things I Wish I’d Known Before We Got Married. “No one gets married hoping to be miserable or to make their spouse miserable, yet the highest percentage of divorce occurs within the first seven years of marriage.”When you consider the fact that most people spend more time planning and training for their vocation than they do for thei...

March 17, 2022
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porn addiction
Dating & Engaged, Married Couples

9 Warning Signs of Porn Addiction

How Porn Impacts the Brain warns about some of the dangers of porn addiction.There is no question that pornography impacts the brain. Research says it’s more addictive than cocaine and it's a habit harder to break than heroin.The U.S. Justice Department believes that 9 out of 10 children see online porn between the ages of 8 and 16.

March 11, 2022
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8 Comments
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Please note: First Things First, Inc. and the materials and information contained herein are not intended to, and do not constitute, medical, psychological, or mental health advice or diagnosis and may not be used for such purposes. You should always consult with a qualified physician or mental health professional about your specific circumstances. First Things First, Inc. and its affiliates disclaim any and all liability from the use of any information or advice from anything contained in our website, social media, or other services. - powered by Enfold WordPress Theme
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