Relational Skills in Real Life
Chris Coursey brings you the THRIVEtoday podcast, full of real-life stories of encouragement and transformation from people using relational skills every day!
What are "Relational skills"? They are brain-based skills that give us the ability and capacity to build meaningful connections with the people in our lives. With practice, relational skills are what we use to maintain our relationships during strain, conflicts and difficulties so we endure hardship well as we stay connected.
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Episodes
149 episodes
E149 Is It Unspiritual to Deal with Emotions?
Chris explores how people have understood and dealt with human emotions throughout history, highlighting how different philosophies have shaped both hearts and lives. Turning to the Bible, he examines healthy ways to respond to strong emotions ...
E148 Discerning Enemy Mode in Offense
Chris and Jen explore moments when they—or the people they’re engaging with—slip into “enemy mode” during conflict. They discuss what it feels like, how it shapes our thinking, how to recognize it in others, and practical ways to shift back int...
E147 Spreading Skills All Over the World
How can practicing relational skills enhance your everyday interactions? What impact might they have on evangelism and representing Jesus to others?In this episode, Chris and one of our Thrive missionary friends share personal stories hi...
E146 Online vs In-Person Learning
Can you learn relational skills online? In this episode, Chris explores research on how intentional choices can shape unconscious habits—habits that help us live each day more in line with who God created us to be. Tune in to discover which asp...
E145 Why is Offense so Hard to Recover From?
If you have experienced offense, you know how difficult it can be to recover—especially when the hurt comes from someone you trust. As imperfect people, even those we respect and look up to can cause deep pain.In this episode, we explore...
E144 Spiritual vs Unprocessed Pain
How do we know if something is spiritual/demonic vs just unprocessed pain? When encountering difficulty while helping someone, it can be hard to discern whether the challenge stems from trauma and underdeveloped relational skills or from spirit...
E143 Why the Basics Never Grow Old
There are foundational skills we will continue practicing and developing throughout our lives. Chris shares research on how practice shapes our brains and strengthens our abilities, and explains how beginning with growth in peace and joy lays t...
E142 Learning from Others Who Have Relational Skills
When we notice we’re lacking a relational skill, we can intentionally look for someone in our lives who demonstrates that strength. Rather than comparing ourselves and feeling shame about what we don’t yet have, we can choose to learn from one ...
E141 Reconciliation - Part 3
How can relational skills help us heal from church hurt—and remain relational in the process? Many of us know this kind of pain firsthand, and we also know how difficult it can be to stay connected when we’ve been wounded.Pastor and Thri...
E140 Using Skills To Bring Reconciliation Between The Old And New Testament - Part 2
Many people experience a sense of dissonance between the God portrayed in the Old Testament and the God revealed in the New Testament. This can create deep attachment pain as they try to hold these images together. Certain Old Testament stories...
E139 Using Skills To Bring Reconciliation - Part 1
This is the first episode in a series on using relational skills to bring reconciliation to painful situations within the church. When people are wounded by those who represent God, that pain often becomes associated with God Himself.In ...
E138 Marriage Series Part 3: Healing Your Marriage with Relational Skills
Nikki and Clinton tell the story of what led to difficulty in their marriage and how, as they gained relational skills and pursued healing together, they learned to keep their relationship bigger than the problem.🔗 Nikki and Clinton's bo...
E137 Marriage Series Part 2: Marriage and Maturity
No matter where you are in life, growing in relational skills and emotional maturity can be transformational. In this episode, Lori shares her personal journey of developing maturity in the middle of real life and ministry. Along the way, she c...
E136 Marriage Series Part 1: Relational Skills and Marriage
The relationships closest to our hearts, like marriage, often carry both the greatest meaning and the greatest challenges. In Part 1 of our marriage podcast series, Chris reflects on why marriage can be so hard and offers insights on how we can...
E135 Value of Practice - Part 2
Our friend and Thrive teammate, Kami, shares how practicing relational skills has strengthened her ability to use them in everyday life. She’s also discovered that the more she practices these skills in her interactions with others, the more sh...
E134 Value of Practice - Part 1
Why is it important to practice relational skills? At THRIVEtoday, we value helping people build healthy habits by embedding these skills into our character so we can reflect Jesus in the best version of ourselves. Chris and Kristy compare prac...
E133 Reflecting a Profoundly Loving God
At THRIVEtoday, we’ve been focusing on experiencing our profoundly loving God. As we enter the new year, we’re invited to reflect that love in our relationships. Practicing relational skills helps us grow in our capacity to reflect God’s presen...
E132 Wrapping Up 2025
As this year comes to a close, we turn our hearts toward the year ahead. We reflect on what God has taught us over the past year and look forward with anticipation to what is to come. When we seek God’s perspective, He helps us cult...
E131 Immanuel During the Holidays: Seeing Family and Friends Through the Eyes of Heaven
Immanuel means ‘God with us,’ and what a gift that is during the busy, stressful, or grief-filled moments of the holidays.The relational skill of Godsight—Seeing What God Sees—helps us view life through God’s loving perspective and remem...
E130 Quieting During the Holidays: Challenging Family Situations
The holidays can bring joy for some and stress or grief for others. Relational skills—especially the skill of quieting—help us stay grounded whether we’re navigating big joy or big emotions. Our friend Shannon shares how she planned intentional...
E129 Joy During the Holidays: Building Joy and Capturing Memories
During the holidays, we talk about joy, look forward to joy, and surround ourselves with decorations that highlight joy. But how can we use the brain skill of "sharing joy" (aka Skill 1) to genuinely increase joy in our own lives and in the liv...
E128 Experiencing a Profoundly Loving God
In this episode, Lynn shares how she uses the skill of appreciation to experience the presence and love of God. Chris also explains how relational skills can help you overcome barriers to sensing God’s peace, and he offers guidance on discoveri...
E127 Appreciation Fun!
Appreciation is all about remembering the good things, feeling the good things, and sharing the good things! Chris shares some fun activities he did with a group of friends in person to help them build joy and remember meaningful moments in the...
E126 Staying Ourselves During Big Emotions
We all want to live as the best versions of ourselves—the way God designed us to be—even when we’re experiencing big emotions. But that takes practice!Our friend Rivers shares stories about times when he felt overwhelmed and stressed, ho...
E125 Strengthening Satisfaction In Ourselves And Our Kids
One of the skills that is learned in the child level of maturity is to discover what satisfies us, so that we can become adults who know how to fulfill our needs and desires in a life-giving way and live a life of contentment. Do we, as a...