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…
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.…