No matter how great your marriage is we all know and have experienced seasons in the wilderness so to speak. By “wilderness” I mean days, weeks, months, or possibly even years, where our marriage feels dry and barren. To some of us, this time feels fruitless and empty…you can’t seem to connect with each other (emotionally, let alone physically) and marriage feels more like a…
Dealing with Anger in Marriage (the Healthy Way)
Listen in as Ryan and Selena discuss how to deal with anger in marriage (i.e. conflict, frustration, bitterness) in productive, biblical ways. Couple’s Challenge After listening, set aside some time to talk and write down anger triggers. Try to trace them back to their root causes and identify why they make you feel this way? Dive into scripture and discover what it says and how…
3 Profound Purposes of Sex and How They Make it Much…Much Better
Sex is so much more than physical and its purposes extend far beyond our immediate pleasure. How exactly has God designed sex for his eternal purposes? How can we enjoy intimacy more deeply knowing that we’re profoundly reflecting certain aspects of God’s grace and goodness in the gospel? In this episode, Ryan and Selena explore three purposes of sex as found in Genesis 1 and…
Responding to Your Calling as a Wife
Growing up in the church and having attended youth camps and conferences my entire childhood, I often heard phrases like, “God has a huge calling on your life!” or “You are called to greatness!” Calling seemed like such a big, grandiose word and to be honest, I had a hard time connecting with it. It was something ambiguous and out there. I figured I’d know it eventually when…
Two Ways to Grow in Trust
The one thing Ryan wants from me is my trust. It’s been something that is hard for me to give to him for many reasons, one in particular is the fact that my parents divorced when I was eight years old. God has definitely been faithful in bringing healing and redemption in my life, and he’s worked all of the brokenness for my good. However,…
Staying Connected to your Spouse with Littles in the House
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…