Jennifer Kooshian, Author at Christian Counseling Pasadena

About Jennifer Kooshian

Jennifer Kooshian lives in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with her husband of 32 years on a small homestead near Lake Superior. They have five adult children and one grandson. She also has an ever-changing number of chickens, a mellow old cat, and an aspiring farm dog. The passions that God has pressed on her heart are hospitality, giving college students a home away from home, and helping people learn to grow and preserve their own food. Jennifer spends her spring and summer months growing vegetable plants and flowers to sell to her community and for her own gardens. Her fall and winter months are spent having local college students over for dinner and board games, participating in her church’s college ministry, crocheting, and dreaming of her summer gardens. She also loves living where 15 feet of snow is a light winter. She documents her homestead adventures on Instagram and Facebook as Cooper Island Homestead and runs an Etsy shop under the same name.

The Benefits of Effective Listening for Relationships

The Benefits of Effective Listening for Relationships

By Jennifer Kooshian|2024-09-30T12:59:20+00:00March 18th, 2024|Coaching, Featured, Individual Counseling, Personal Development, Relationship Issuse|

One of the many gifts that comes from being in a relationship with others is being known, understood, and loved. Our world is a big wide place, and it’s easy to feel like just another statistic, a faceless part of the crowd, another worker in the organization, or just another neighbor or citizen. In our closest relationships, our individuality is seen and appreciated, and that makes all the difference in the world. As our closest relationships are precious, it matters that they become spaces where we truly do hear others and are heard. That is why being a good listener is one of the best gifts you can ever give someone. Who doesn’t appreciate the fact that someone has truly heard them and understands their concerns? However, being a good listener is easier said than done, as we have many unhelpful habits that get in the way of effective listening. Understanding effective listening What exactly is effective listening? At its core, effective listening leaves the other person feeling like they’ve been heard, that their concerns and questions were understood, and that they’ve had an opportunity to express themselves as they intended. That’s a lot to accomplish through listening, but it is possible. When we engage in communication, whether in expressing ourselves to others or in receiving their words toward us, a lot is going on in that interaction. When you speak, you do so through your communication style, which is a combination of the words you tend to use, your tone of voice, how much eye contact you give, and the gestures you tend to employ. That communication style can be aggressive, assertive, passive, passive-aggressive, or manipulative. When it comes to listening, a lot is going on there, too. Your body posture, whether you are maintaining eye contact, whether [...]

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Dealing with Death Anxiety

Dealing with Death Anxiety

By Jennifer Kooshian|2024-09-30T12:59:11+00:00February 28th, 2024|Anxiety, Featured, Grief Counseling, Individual Counseling|

Death anxiety is a common fear experienced by up to 10% of people, according to research. It is also known as “thanatophobia” and refers to intense concerns regarding one’s own death, the process of dying, someone else dying, or what happens after death. For Christians, who believe in eternal life, there can be an element of shame in admitting death anxiety. After all, if we are so convinced that our life here is temporary, and that what awaits once Jesus returns is infinitely better than this life, then why would we suffer death anxiety? Christian counseling can help individuals process their fear, getting to an understanding of what exact part of death is causing worry. It is also an opportunity to meditate on Scripture and walk a journey of growing faith together with someone who can provide perspective and pray through the problem together. Symptoms of death anxiety A certain degree of fear about death or dying is normal. It can be a frightening prospect filled with uncertainty, and the possibility of pain, along with trauma and grief for those left behind. Ecclesiastes 3:11 states that “God has set eternity in the human heart”, which means that, in every human soul there is a God-given awareness that there is something more than this transient life and that we know intrinsically that this world is not our forever home. Death anxiety, however, goes beyond this to the point where it prevents a person from enjoying life. While it is not a psychiatric diagnosis, someone with the phobia will feel extremely distressed about death and dying. The symptoms that might show up beyond an expression of this fear include going to great lengths to minimize the risk of dying (not leaving the house, refusing mechanical modes of transport, etc.), avoiding places [...]

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Light for Your Path: Bible Verses About Hope

Light for Your Path: Bible Verses About Hope

By Jennifer Kooshian|2024-09-30T12:59:04+00:00December 21st, 2023|Coaching, Featured, Individual Counseling, Spiritual Development|

Some say that the past is the best predictor of future behavior. While that can be true in some instances, those of us who are in Christ have a new nature. It is out of this true identity, knowing who we are and to Whom we belong, that we can experience enduring transformation and hope (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 12:1-2). Consider the following Bible verses about hope to find some encouragement. Bible verses about hope The changes we encounter in our relationship with Jesus are informed by the Word, the ultimate Authority, which has the power to shift what is seen and unseen, in this present world and the one to come (John 1:1). That can be a source of encouragement and hope to light an otherwise obscure path, comforted in that we do not have to remain the same, locked into old behaviors, beliefs, and ways of being (Psalm 119:89, 105). We can find hope and continue growing into who God desires us to be. With Scripture, we can draw inspiration and encouragement for navigating challenging times with Bible verses about hope. The words of the prophet Jeremiah urge us to delight in God’s steadfastness with each sunset and sunrise (Lamentations 3:21-26). Our Father is faithful, providing us with new mercies to envelop us amid every threat. Between the poles of each day, the Psalmist reminds us that the praise of the Lord will sustain us in and through all we endure (Psalm 113:3). These verses are the beacons that point to hope so that we can emerge from our past, abide in our present, and advance into our future with God. While we all endure troublesome circumstances just as Jesus forewarned, the hope the Bible comforts with is not limited to the change of temporal conditions (John [...]

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Tips for Dealing With a Breakup

Tips for Dealing With a Breakup

By Jennifer Kooshian|2024-09-30T12:58:56+00:00November 24th, 2023|Featured, Individual Counseling, Men’s Issues, Relationship Issuse, Women’s Issues|

Life isn’t always neat, and things don’t always go as we’d hoped. Sometimes you get closure; a clean break that allows you to heal and move on with your life. But at other times the ending is so abrupt or unexpected that it leaves you blindsided and bewildered. Dealing with a breakup is one of those times. When a breakup happens, you may or may not have been prepared for it. Even if you’re the one who initiated it, you may find yourself questioning your decision or being tempted to send a conciliatory message. Relationships are like wild things, not quite in our control. Our emotions are deeply implicated in the connections we make with other people, and it’s hard to rein those in and sometimes to even make sense of them. What a breakup means. It can be difficult to sift through what a breakup means and what it does not. It’s important to know the difference and to stand firm on what is true while rejecting what is false. Our hearts don’t always accept what is objectively true; they often yield to what feels true, even if it’s patently untrue. When you go through a breakup, reminding yourself of what is true of you and even of the other person can help you maintain perspective as you process what’s happened. What follows may apply to both parties in a breakup, but in some instances, it may apply more to the person who initiated it, or to the person who feels they’ve been broken up with. In either case, one has to do the work of debriefing and grieving the relationship. The breakdown of a relationship should cause you to reflect and consider what happened and how you got where you are. Painful experiences can spur us onto [...]

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Jennifer Kooshian

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