This is my favorite time of year: the time between Christmas and New Year’s day. It’s a perfect blend of the rest of and reassurance of Advent and the anticipation of a new start. We can reflect on the past year and be refreshed as we prepare for the next. It’s a time to feel ambitious. Some start new diets or exercise regimes, others make career and financial goals. In all…
5 Phrases I Tell My Wife, and I Hope She Believes Me
Words can be so unbelievable. They’re cheap, right? All you have to do is utter a few syllables in a semi-coherent manner and voila! – speech. We hear and read words all the time. You’re reading words now, and you followed words to arrive here. Just spend a few minutes acutely aware of words and you’ll quickly see what I mean. We’ve even learned how to subconsciously filter out untruths…
The Polar Vortex, Generous Love, and Biblical Manhood
We, like most of the country, have been freezing our tails off lately. Apparently there’s a polar vortex (among other things) blasting across North America. We’re getting a taste of the arctic, and it tastes like chattering teeth. Though I’ve not particularly enjoyed the cold, it did teach me something about marriage and biblical manhood. The Thermostat Conundrum This is an extremely serious issue all married couples…
3 Timeless Truths About Love, Family, and Marriage
Nouns without verbs lose their meaning. Love without action is just a word. How can we best act out love in our marriages and lives? A recent unexpected conversation taught me three timeless truths about love, family, and marriage. They’ve dramatically helped me, and I hope they do the same for you.
A Red Cup Lesson in Grace
Ever got into an argument with your spouse about a good decision? Post said decision, both of you come to the realization that you were both right in your motivation and approach, but you ended up butting heads anyways.
No Quick Fix to Marital Issues
I recently re-injured my back/neck while carelessly picking Dela up this past week. If you’ve ever experienced not being able to turn your head, stand up straight or move without writhing in pain, it stinks! Especially when you have a (very) busy 10.5 month old (walker, I might add).
A Prayer That Left Me Gloriously Ruined
Few ideas have affected our marriage more than this one: marriage is more about holiness than happiness. This isn’t to say marriage isn’t happy at all, just that holiness is the higher priority. How has this focus changed us? Well, if and when happiness conflicts with holiness, holiness must win. When we’ve gone through rough patches together, there were times when both Selena and I thought we’d…
Love Never Fails, or Does It?
“Love never fails” is such a tidy phrase; but is it true? We post often about how love never gives up, how marriage has “no plan B”, and as long as you stick together you can make it through anything. We’re strong proponents of fighting hard for your spouse, and loving especially when times get hard.
Movie Review: The Song
Ryan and I had the privilege of viewing The Song this past week and overall, I think we would give it 4 out of 5 stars (Ryan said 4.5, I say 4 – just keepin’ it real). I was a little leery, as I am with all movies that are dubbed “Christian” but this was one of the best I’ve seen in awhile and would…
Hope in the Midst of Hopelessness
Recently I’ve been burdened with the word “hope”. Many of us face those tough and sometimes scary moments of feeling hopeless in our marriage. It begs the question, where does our hope come from? Can our hope be sustained in the midst of continual hurt and feelings of hopelessness? Absolutely.