Core Strength: Practical tools for Life’s Challenges

RESOURCES:

• Leslie's Free Webinar: www.leslievernick.com/o
• Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE
• Leslie Vernick’s book: The Emotionally Destructive Marriage

In this episode of Relationship Truth: Unfiltered, Julie Sedenko and Leslie Vernick delve into the concept of "core strength" and its critical importance for women navigating destructive relationships. This episode is designed for any woman who feels she may be in a harmful relationship, offering practical insights on how to build and use core strength in everyday life, whether she chooses to stay or leave.

1. Understanding Core Strength:

   • Leslie shares her personal journey of realizing the importance of core strength, not just physically but emotionally and spiritually. She introduces the concept with a metaphor of physical fitness, explaining how just as a strong core prevents physical collapse, emotional core strength prevents women from collapsing under the weight of a destructive relationship.

2. Core Strength Components:

   • Courageously Committed to Truth: Living in reality, not denial, and embracing the truth even when it's difficult.
   • Open to the Holy Spirit and Wise Others: The importance of being teachable and surrounding oneself with wisdom rather than just strong opinions.
   • Taking Responsibility: Understanding personal responsibility for one’s safety, well-being, and character development without shifting blame.
   • Empathy with Boundaries: Balancing compassion with the necessity of setting boundaries that protect against enabling destructive behavior.

3. Practical Applications:

   • Leslie and Julie explore practical scenarios where core strength is applied, including handling disagreements about finances, asserting one's needs, and setting boundaries with a controlling or abusive partner.
   • They discuss the importance of detachment and how women can maintain their emotional and spiritual well-being despite external pressures from a difficult partner.

4. Facing Reality and Fear:

   • The episode addresses the fear of confronting harsh realities, like leaving an abusive situation or facing the consequences of setting boundaries. Leslie emphasizes the need to acknowledge fear but not let it dictate actions.

5. Building a Safety Plan:

   • The importance of having a safety plan is discussed for women who find themselves in physically dangerous situations. Resources and steps to create a safety plan are provided.

6. Wise Counsel and Discernment:

   • How to discern between wise advice and manipulative counsel, especially in a church setting. The importance of aligning advice with the true character of God, as revealed through Jesus, is highlighted.