We are celebrating our twentieth anniversary and reflecting on how good God has been to us through all these years. Our journey has not been the easiest, however it has been and still is more vibrant and adventure-filled than what we could imagine or even plan. Together we experienced what it means to be truly committed to each other. Our marriage is far from perfect, but we both believe that we would not be what God wanted us to be without each other’s love and encouragement. Together we learned to practice grace toward one another when we faced judgment from the outside. We learned how to see the God-given potential in each other and not to be discouraged by life’s barriers. We have learned to be a shoulder to lean on and cry when we encounter devastating situations. We stand by each other's side and believe we have the ability to accomplish our objectives even while facing life's discouragement. Together we traveled the globe, lived in many countries, and have been exposed to people from a wide variety of cultures and backgrounds that enriched our way of thinking. Some of them have changed our perspective on what we used to consider normal or the expected thing to do. Through the last twenty years of our marriage, we have moved to so many houses to the point that we stopped counting them. For example, in one year we counted how many times we changed the place [...]

Counseling History Counseling meets all the standards for a profession and has done so for a significant period of time. It is unique from, as well as connected with, other mental health disciplines by both its emphases and at times its history. Counseling emphasizes growth as well as remediation over the course of a life span in various areas of life: childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and older adulthood. Counselors within the counseling profession specialize in helping individuals, couples, groups, families, and social systems that are experiencing situational, developmental, and long- or short-term problems. Counseling’s focus on development, prevention, wellness, and treatment makes it attractive to those seeking healthy life-stage transitions and productive lives. By understanding counseling’s past, you may better appreciate present and future trends of the profession. Throughout human history, individuals have been either receiving or giving counseling through informal means by listening to the problems and struggles of those around them and offering valuable advice. Through sharing struggles with other caring individuals, people have been better equipped to see solutions that they might not have seen otherwise. Through the years, the discipline of counseling has emerged as a legitimate field offered by trained professionals helping those struggling with issues of depression and other strains inherent in modern society. Counseling as a profession grew up during the Industrial Revolution, when the population began moving from the country to the city. Frank Parsons, a social activist, founded the vocational guidance movement in 1906 by identifying ways [...]