Jennifer Kooshian

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 Third Party in Infidelity

2024-10-23T12:42:58+00:00January 9th, 2024|Featured, Individual Counseling, Infidelity and Affairs, Relationship Issues|

When we talk about infidelity, we tend to focus on those who were cheated on and those who cheated. We look at the “couple” in the situation; the straying spouse and the one they hurt. But infidelity requires a third person, and we often overlook how an affair can affect them. It can be just as damaging and difficult to process being the “other person” involved in an affair. In TV and movies, the other person often doesn’t have any residual emotions. The plot revolves around the couple, and the other person is just there to create tension. But what about the person left behind when the person in a relationship goes home? There can be feelings of guilt or questioning if what we are doing is right. There can be anxiety over getting caught. There can be loss and hurt if the other person decides to stay with their spouse. If the third party did not know their lover was married, that can lead to emotions they never had to consider before finding out the truth. Infidelity is complicated and multifaceted. There are reasons people seek sex outside of their marriage. There are reasons why people willingly enter into a relationship with someone they know to be married. However carnal we pretend sex to be, there are emotions and attachments behind the act. An affair carries with it a certain amount of weight regardless of how cavalier people (and society) choose to be. The level of intimacy can affect a person in an affair. Casual hook-ups from online dating sites versus carrying on as if you were a couple bring with them different emotions and attachments. A counselor can help unpack what is going on. When the affair is over, or even when it’s going on, it is [...]

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How You Can Help Support Typical Teenage Problems

2024-10-23T12:43:12+00:00November 16th, 2023|Christian Counseling For Teens, Family Counseling, Featured, Individual Counseling|

This article is meant to communicate two things. Firstly, how to establish open communication with your teen. Secondly, how to maintain it. Both points may feel difficult or impossible, especially when we reflect on our relationship with our parents during our teenage years. But as parents, we must recognize that exploring boundaries is something our children have done since being toddlers and is perfectly normal, regardless of the teenage problems that arise. Now that our teens are older and faced with greater and more toxic pressures than we were exposed to at the same age and stage, we must learn new ways to balance the risks to health and well-being they may be exposed to. As parents one of our main jobs is to launch our children out of the nest and have them fly. As we give them more and more freedom in their teen years, and the curfews get later and allowances give them more disposable spending, we should make sure that we can check in with them in a manner that builds trust and honest communication. Teens need a platform to reveal their concerns, and a loving parent and family member is a good and safe space for this to happen. Here are some ways we can support our children as they face typical teenage problems. Make sure your communication is healthy to overcome teenage problems. Communication is a two-way street. Not only will you speak with your teen, but you also have to listen to them as well. If they are taught that their job is to shut up and listen, then why would they share what is on their heart? If we keep interrupting them with solutions and instructions on how to run their lives it shows that not only do we not trust [...]

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Why Respecting Boundaries in Relationships Matters

2024-10-23T12:45:11+00:00November 13th, 2023|Couples Counseling, Featured, Individual Counseling, Relationship Issues|

There may be many similarities across various relationships, but boundaries in relationships will look different in different relationships if they are to flourish. The kind of love that exists between a parent and child doesn’t look the same or work in the same way as that between a husband and wife. At the root of both is love, but that love acts differently in meeting the needs of that relationship. In the same way, each relationship requires boundaries, but what those boundaries are and how they are applied may differ depending on the relationship. However, the key thing is that boundaries are necessary for relationships and the people in them to flourish. What is a boundary? Surely, having boundaries in relationships means that you’re not close with the person? Often, people mistake boundaries for formality or even emotional remoteness. As such, it feels like boundaries are what you have with the people you either don’t like or with whom you’re trying to keep things professional, like your banker or real estate agent. However, boundaries are essential in any relationship, and they help it flourish. Let me explain. In the dictionary of the American Psychological Association (APA), a boundary is defined as a “psychological demarcation that protects the integrity of an individual or group or that helps the person or group set realistic limits on participation in a relationship or activity.” This boundary marks the line between individuals, telling them apart for the purpose of conducting a meaningful relationship. Without boundaries, you can’t tell who each party in the relationship is, and that’s a big deal, especially because of how our needs and capacities differ. What’s so important about boundaries in relationships? If you take an everyday example, say you have two cars in your household - it matters which [...]

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