Purposeful living is something the Lord has been teaching me a lot about lately. When my father died, I was convicted even more of the importance of living with intention. We aren't promised tomorrow and each day with our loved ones truly is a gift. I think that before my dad got sick, I would have said that with a little sass - like yeah, yeah each day is a gift. But I don't want to take it for granted anymore! God has been shifting my focus toward living on purpose, with intention, doing the things that really matter while I'm here on this earth! God calls His people to live abundant … [Read more...]
Marriage Journey: 4 Lessons from 4 Years Together
If we were sitting down over coffee talking about relationships, I'd share these things I'm learning on my marriage journey with you. I'm no expert, in fact sometimes I feel so massively unqualified to even write about marriage. But God keeps reminding me that marriage is something that requires constant cultivating, and that mistakes are part of growth. We've crammed a lot of life into our short time as a married couple - a baby, job loss, illness, the death of my father, daily joys and trials. So many blessings and major life changes, all rolled into four short years. I spent some … [Read more...]
10 Ways to Choose Love When Marriage is Hard
Love isn't a feeling, it's a choice. I probably heard that a hundred times leading up to my wedding, but didn't really understand it until the first big hurdle we faced as a married couple. We've walked through job loss and unemployment, sickness, difficult work situations, death and loss in our short 4 years of marriage. And I'm finally starting to understand the idea that love is in fact a choice. I choose how I respond to my spouse when things get hard. As I was thinking about this lesson God is teaching me, I made a list of 10 ways to choose love when marriage is hard. You can read … [Read more...]
Loving Your Spouse Well In Difficult Seasons
I've been pretty open about the difficult season we've been in as a family. Some days I feel like our entire marriage has been a difficult season - not just because the blending of two lives is messy but also because of all the external factors we've encountered in our short (almost) 4 years together. Job loss, illness, depression, death - these things can easily cloud the last few years of our lives and make it seem as though there weren't any good seasons. I'm learning that there is an ebb and flow to marriage, as there is in life. Just like the tide comes in and goes out regularly, we … [Read more...]
Valentines Day Gift Guide for Him (and Her!)
If you're looking for something to give your sweetie this Valentine's Day (or any occasion special to the two of you), this Gift Guide for Him and Her should help you come up with some fun ideas! My husband and I have always celebrated Valentine's Day in some way, partially because his birthday falls on the day after. He has always disliked when his birthday is because of all the love and hooplah, so I usually try to do something fun for him to make him smile. Even though it's turned into a crazy candy laden holiday, I do think it's a nice sentiment - a reminder to be loving on each other … [Read more...]