5 Ways Advent Can Transform Your Marriage

I can’t believe Christmas is almost here…again. I have this habit: every year, the day after Christmas I say to myself, “before you know it, it will be Christmas again”. Sure enough, here we are. I have to be honest, I find parts of this holiday wearing. The biggest frustration I have (and you may share it) is the consumerism of it all. Somehow we…

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…

The 4 Clear Priorities for Love in Marriage

Priorities are and will continue to be one of the biggest issues in every marriage. When your priorities are out of whack, it hurts. And when they’re properly ordered, everything just feels right. We posted this simple reminder on our Facebook page recently. It seemed to resonate well: This list and its order are nothing new. But why do reminders like these continue to resonate…

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…

Video: 4 Important Things to Remember When Talking To Your Spouse

Communication is perhaps one of the most important aspects of your marriage. Many (like us) don’t realize that communication is a true skill: it must be practiced with mindfulness and diligence; otherwise you won’t grow. This all sounds painfully obvious, so I do apologize, but it’s still a huge problem area for most couples! Selena and I have definitely had our share of communication issues! However,…

Reclaiming Real Romance: 3 Reminders for Valentine’s Day This Year

This year we’re trying to do something different. We’re not too different from most folks in that we’ve exchanged thoughtful cards, I’ve given Selena roses, and on a few occasions, jewelry. But this year, our entire focus has changed to treasuring each other. My tendency is to wait until the last minute, buy something to make up for lost time, and hope Selena feels loved. As…

Our 7 Most Read Posts of 2015

This past year has been incredible. For us, it’s been a year of change, a year of momentum building, and a year of immense growth. Though God is present and working in every moment, in the past year His work has been especially evident to us. There have been hard times for sure (the loss of friends and family, sickness, and stress), but God was always…

Trust Your Gages: Navigating Storms in Marriage (part 2)

In my last post I explained how I was flying home late one night and the foggy weather coupled with darkness made it impossible to see where the plane was landing. I got a little nervous but had to remember that the pilots have a whole suite of instruments (gages) that tell them everything they need to know for a safe landing. Many times in…

3 Marriage ‘Mines’ and How to Avoid Them

No idea has impacted our marriage quite like the concept of biblical stewardship. When you hear that word you may have preconceptions about what it means, like how it probably has to do with your finances. That’s part of it, but stewardship is so much more! The biggest game changer for us was the notion that we are stewards, not owners, of everything we have.…

3 Proverbs That Are Rocking Our Marriage (Part 2)

So… I’ve been plowing through the book of proverbs recently and as the title indicates, it’s been rocking our faces off. This post is the second of a two-part series, so you may want to start by reading the first post if you haven’t already (in fact, I highly recommend it). As I mentioned in the previous post, I’m seeing themes develop throughout the book…