A bout a year ago Jess and I went through our first escape room together with a group of friends and family. For those of you that don’t know what an escape room is, it’s a themed room with a sequence of mental puzzles and disguised or hidden solutions. The idea is that you’re trapped in a room and you have to figure out how to escape. One solution often leads to another puzzle. Sometimes there are hidden keys, ciphered combinations, and other tricky things to be solved. Some items are hidden … [Read more...]
How Being “Selfish” Can Help Your Marriage
T here we were, sitting in our bedroom and Jess was sharing with me how she felt that I was distant and a bit on edge with her. She recognized that I was stressed and overwhelmed, and asked me how I was taking care of myself. It was at that moment that I realized that I couldn’t remember the last time I had actually thought about what I needed. She looked at me and said, “Remember to take some time for yourself and allow yourself to recharge”. Okay, let’s be honest, many people think that … [Read more...]
The Secret Weapon Behind Unity
B etween the two of us, Adam is a much better apologizer. He’s much quicker to seek resolution than me and deeply desires to resolve conflict. I find that I tend to sit in my pride and justification for why I think I’m right longer than I ever should. The thing is, the longer I make up self-gratifying excuses for why I’m right, the more bitterness and resentment begin to plague my heart. Pride is scary that way. It can embed its claws into any crevice it can find and the longer we allow it … [Read more...]
6 Simple Steps to Keep your Marriage a Priority
W hen Adam and I first got married, we knew that we wanted a good marriage. We had visions of ourselves dancing at our grandkids’ weddings and laughing in rocking chairs on our porch when we were 85. While this was a great ideal, it didn’t become a goal until we hit rock bottom and had to make a choice about whether we were going to fight for our marriage or whether we were going to let it wither away. Thankfully, God spoke to both of us, shifted our hearts, and restored our marriage. Now, … [Read more...]
4 Powerful Biblical Truths about Marriage
W hen we first get married, everything seems perfect. It seems as if the love that we share will sustain us. It seems as if we will be able to work through any argument with ease, that the butterflies will never fade, and our spouse will never be able to let us down. If you’ve been married any length of time, you know that this just isn’t the case. Marriage is wonderful and beautiful, but that beauty takes work. To have an intimate marriage that reflects the love of Jesus, we have to deal … [Read more...]
7 Steps to Achieve Best-Friend Status with your Spouse
O ne of the most profound things I have ever heard was the idea that after 30, 50, or 70 years together, we hopefully will not only still love our spouse, but still like them too. This idea really caught me off guard the first time I heard it. Wouldn’t the goal be to love our spouse? Isn’t liking them natural and love more difficult? While the Bible calls us to love our spouse, we are not called to like them. “Liking” our spouse is a feeling, whereas “loving” them is a choice. And “liking” is … [Read more...]
The Real Definition of a Provider
A man naturally feels a strong desire to provide for his family. This is a God-given desire. However, as a culture, we have defined “provision” as purely financial. While it’s good to provide financially, God calls husbands to a much higher standard. The call for a husband to provide goes far beyond financial security to his full investment and involvement. But what does that look like? In short, a Husband should provide: A safe, loving place for his family A safe place can mean … [Read more...]
Confronting Our Sin and Wrestling with Responsibility
There we were in the middle of one of the biggest fights we had had in a long time. Tensions were rising. Hurtful words were said. And I was desperately clutching to my pride. I feel things incredibly deeply... I think more deeply than most people. So when I begin to go down this road, resentment and bitterness set in quickly. And the longer I stay in this space, the longer it takes to step away from my judgemental, self-entitled attitude. In the middle of these times, I feel so justified … [Read more...]
Pillow Talk: God’s Design for Sex
I’ve often heard husbands using bible verses to guilt their wives into sex, saying that their wife isn’t following what the bible says if they don’t submit to them sexually. I’ve also heard of wives using sex (or the lack of) to punish or reward their husbands for being their definition of a good husband. When sex becomes selfish or manipulative, the results are disastrous, turning sex into something trivial and meaningless. But this isn’t God’s design. Sex is incredibly intimate and beautifully … [Read more...]
Embracing a “Mary” Heart in a “Martha” World
I had just sat down with my latte and cracked open a new devotional. I was so excited to start digging in. This devotional was a few hundred pages and would probably take me a while to get through. I was ready to be challenged and learn something new. As I started to read the words, however, I felt discontent. Usually, I feel inspired the more I work through a devotional, but this time all I felt was a lack of peace. Now I've never heard God audibly speak to me, but I could feel His spirit … [Read more...]
