We are in the season of having young children in our house: two sweet daughters, Adelaide (age 3) and Clementine (6 months). This, sometimes chaotic, new reality we find ourselves in is one we have waited and prayed for (yes, we prayed for chaos, somewhat unknowingly LOL). And as beautiful and wonderful as having little ones is, it has without a doubt affected and challenged our marriage…
Irritating Car Rides & My Subtle Holiday Pride
Around the holidays my pride flares up in nuanced ways. It’s subtle, and you could even say it’s harmless but I assure you it’s not. As I’ve thought about it more, I’ve realized that I’m trying to be better than others — and it’s exhausting. Yep, I’m talking about the ugly kind of pride.
Me, My Anger, & My Marriage
On our drive home from a pretty fun evening out with the kiddos, Ryan and I got into it. After sifting through my feelings of him being a jerk to me in front of our friends while he was thinking he was “helping” me he asked me, “Over the past few years, it seems like your default response to things, (situations, relationships, etc.) that you don’t like or…
Devotion: 4 Ways to “Design Your Time”
True quality time is becoming a lost art. There are more opportunities for wasting time than at any other period in history: smart phones, social media, streaming entertainment, 100s of cable channels, you name it. Paul urges us to use our time wisely: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days…
Reflections On Hardship in Marriage
Over the years (particularly on social media) I’ve seen arguments back and forth about a wealth and prosperity “gospel” and how it aligns (or doesn’t align) with the message of Christ. As I read through some of the articles, I started thinking about how these conflicting messages affect marriage. In John 10:10, Jesus talks about “life to the full” or “abundant life.” What exactly does that mean for…
Video: The Pressure of Perfection
It’s funny how we get married with sort of this unspoken “vow” to be the perfect spouse and to have the perfect marriage. This pressure of perfection can come from many different places. In my opinion, social media probably takes the cake in terms of defining what the world sees as the perfect marriage. Which, if you looked outside the frame of that seemingly effortless, thumb-stopper image…
3 Big Fears Most Couples Face and the Only Way to Shut ’em Down
How many times have we allowed fear to dictate our decisions in marriage? Ryan and I are somewhat opposites in the fact that he is more of a daredevil; ready to summit that next mountain; ride that next wave or simply try a new (somewhat risky) experience without much hesitation. This is one reason why I fell in love with him! On the other hand, I’m…
How Christ’s Suffering Speaks to Suffering In Our Marriage
With Easter quickly approaching, I’ve been spending time in the book of Matthew reading about Jesus’ crucifixion and the Lord has been opening my eyes and mind to the suffering he experienced this Holy Week. All too often I feel I gloss over the deep anxiety, despair, abandonment and betrayal that our blameless Savior walked through in order to give us the opportunity for eternal hope and life with him.…
Eliminating “Should” from Your Marriage
I don’t really like the word “should,” especially when it comes to marriage. That’s probably because I use it regularly… And whenever I get a case of the “shoulds”, I always feel like I’m not measuring up in one way or another. I’m left feeling insecure, frustrated…. overwhelmed. It feels like swimming up a raging waterfall. It’s hopeless, exhausting, and fruitless.
The Truth About the Lies We Believe
The other day, Dela brought her little children’s Bible over for me to read to her. She loves looking at the colorful pictures. Her and I started reading about original sin in Genesis and about Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. As I was reading it to her, and we came to the part where God was confronting Eve about her sin (eating the fruit from the…