My only goal for this blog is for God to be glorified and Christian marriages strengthened through the power of the gospel! I hope you will join me on this journey to a fully word washed life. Philippians 1:9-11
All in doing life together
Football allows us a place to celebrate with complete strangers and enjoy a touchdown catch like we are family. Celebrating in community feels right and natural, because our Father created us to live in community. This post looks at how we can celebrate victories off the football field in our walks with Christ and in our marriages!
I know that I am very blessed. I am married to an amazing man! My husband is an exemplary spiritual leader. This didn’t happen overnight. It took years of walking out the gospel, day in and day out and doing the four activities mentioned in this post. Keep reading, friend!
A kind word can warm three winter months!
Japanese Proverb.
Keep reading as I describe the importance of each word you speak to your spouse.
Today I’d like to share a little more about the birth order theory and how it may relate to what is going on under your roof. If you have more than one child, I believe you will be able to relate and hopefully will benefit from this post.
This post is very timely, as tomorrow I am facing the next big change. I am retiring. Cue the choir- "Hallelujah!" I have worked full time 28 of the last 32 years.
In rank order, your relationships should be God, then your spouse, then your children, then your extended family, friends and neighbors. NOTE! Children, and the demands of raising them, should never be allowed to unseat your spouse. Keeping your relationship with your spouse a priority is good for you AND for your children.
I am feeling very nostalgic, probably because it is the season. It is the time of the year that we look back and give thanks for all that God has done in our lives. And this is exactly what I have found myself doing. I've been looking at old pictures of Jody and I, our life together, our three beautiful children, and past holidays spent with family and friends. My conclusion is that God has richly blessed my family! I know this from my 2017 vantage point, but I didn't always know this to be true. I wish there was a way I could go back and encourage my younger self in the faith!
I'm good at my job. So by all accounts, I am a communication specialist. So I'm sure it came as a big surprise to my sweet husband that when we first married, I was really bad at communicating with him. Considering this early time in our marriage, you could compare Jody’s situation with someone who had just married a graduate from the Culinary Institute of America only to find out their new spouse couldn’t cook at home – their spouse could make delicious meals for strangers, but could hardly boil water in their own kitchen. You would want your money back, right?!
We must lay aside our pride, acknowledge our hurt and let our spouse know when our feelings have been injured. I can’t stress how important the act of humbling yourself is to the health of your marriage! This will take a soul-bearing conversation where you may have to admit to your spouse that you are not as secure as you’d like to think you are or that you portray. It will require you to be vulnerable.
Learning to understand and then speak your spouse’s love language is a worthy endeavor. If you learn to speak the language of your spouse's heart fluently, your marriage will be benefited.
God knew that inside each man and woman there would live a struggle. This struggle would revolve around issues inside a man’s heart and in a women’s mind. God knew men would have little difficulty loving themselves and that women would desire to rule over their husband. I do not for a minute believe that either struggle was shocking to God. He created Adam and Eve and fellowshipped with them as they lived in the Garden of Eden.
Love starts with a perfect, well-timed kiss, but is sustained through purposefully loving your spouse!
Now, I love a spontaneous adventure as much as the next girl, but I don't want the entirety of my life to be such. Jody and I do and have discussed the plans for almost everything. Early on, we discussed what concepts did we wanted our children to embrace during their childhood and what holiday traditions did we want to incorporate into our family in order to bring a sense of family unity and a dependence on God. Later, we discussed what joint physical fitness goals we wanted and what financial security goals we believed we needed, and we discussed how each would contribute to meet this accomplishment.
Enjoying recreational activities together as a couple is an important part of building intimacy for a marriage that will stand the test of time.
Listening to every word in directions is very important when building something. I know this from experience. The latest reminder occurred about three weeks ago. Jody and I took a week off from work to build a bar on our pool deck.
Our vows to God are what makes a marriage stick together during hard times.
