Families are in need everywhere. Broken relationships, hurting individuals and families, painful pasts, irreconcilable difference, breakdown in communication, absence of intimacy, and marital conflicts and violence are destroying families all around us. Families are in crisis! There has been a sharp surge of family breakdown in our community in recent years. Divorce is growing at an alarming rate in our community and marital disharmony is common across cities and faith backgrounds. The lack of moral and spiritual values, changing gender roles, absence of adequate support systems in the adopted land, cultural differences, and poorer relational skills may be some of the causes of the fundamental breakdown of families in the Indian community.

With nearly half of all new marriages in the West ending in divorce, more couples are careful before entering into it. They want to make sure it is the right decision, and they want to do everything they can within their capacity hoping to increase their chances of marital success. Before the Wedding Bells is a resource intended for singles who are pursuing a relationship or for engaged couples counting down to the big day in their life. This is designed to assist individuals and couples to develop a deeper understanding of marriage and in developing skills to navigate their way through marriage successfully.

A friend recently asked me, “Is monogamy realistic in 21st century?” That made me thinking. In an age of divorce, hookup culture and widespread infidelity, “till death do us part’ seems nearly impossible. Celebrities are openly flaunting their extra-marital exploits! With people constantly moving from place to place and changing jobs like they do with clothes, the ‘use and throw’ attitude is creeping into our thinking of how we view relationships like that of marriage.

With the Internet, pornography is only a click-away and more kids are falling prey to sexual addiction than ever before. Parents are finding it increasingly difficult to shield their children from pornography. The problems of teenage pornography and sexual addictions are real, devastating, and increasing. According to some studies, nine in ten teens have been exposed to pornography. Some of those casual exposures result in deviant sexual behaviors or sexual violence for some, while others are susceptible to sexual addiction or perverted behaviors in the future.

Over the last few weeks, popular media has been covering the story of the conversion of Sri Lankan second generation Muslim girl, Fathima Rifqa Bary. Youtube and Facebook has been at the heart of this controversy. Fathima Rifqa Bary even has an URL after her name – www.rifqabary.com

Listen to Fathima Rifqa Bary testimony on Youtube.



Fathima Rifqa Bary of Columbus, Ohio was raised in a Muslim home, studied the Quran, and practiced the ways of Mohamed. Several years ago, she converted from Islam to Christianity when she found that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Fathima Rifqa Bary continued living in Columbus with her family, sneaking out at night after her parents had gone to sleep to attend prayer meetings and to read her Bible. After her father threatened to kill her for apostasy, a crime under Islamic Sharia law, Rifqa hitchhiked to the bus station and fled to Florida.