A few days after Christmas, my daughter put a leftover cinnamon roll in the microwave, set the timer for four minutes, and walked away. A few minutes later, as the cinnamon roll began to char, I hurried down the stairs after smelling smoke, and was shocked to see grey smoke billowing from the microwave. My son started coughing and crying in the next room. My husband rushed the noxious plate outside, and on a frigid 30 degree day, we...
“Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul.” (Psalm 66:16 ESV) Each year around my anniversary since I started blogging, I have written something here about our marriage and what God has been doing in our lives the past year. I almost skipped this year. It’s been the hardest year (our 11th) I can remember, but God is taking what seemed to be crumbling in our hands and...
“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8 A whole three years ago when I was a brand-new blogger, I posted my very first printable. It was a lettered print of 1 Peter 4:8, and it’s been a popular post on my blog since. I still love it (and have it on my wall), but I wanted to give it a little makeover. Plus, my husband and I just...
I recently discovered the Gospel Taboo blog and read this article that captures a marriage lesson I see God pressing in on me recently. Kendra Dahl, the author, had an alarm set on her phone that said, “nourished and cherished by Jesus” that would go off before her husband was to arrive home. This was to remind her that only Jesus could fully nourish and cherish her the way Ephesians 5:29 describes. Knowing this set her free to love...
On my seventh anniversary, and first year blogging, I wrote about how I threatened my dear husband with mozzarella (yes, that’s still embarrassing and no, I still don’t remember how to spell mozzarella) and how God was graciously at work in my “rock tumbler” marriage. On the occasion of my eighth anniversary, I wrote about subtle ways I am learning to bless my husband (and yes, I am still learning those very same things). And now, just after my ninth anniversary, I’m pondering the ways...
I’m sure it’s happened since Adam and Eve. I imagine something like this: Adam: “Why are you letting little Evie play out in the rain without her buckskin slippers?” Eve: “Well, she hates shoes and I can’t keep them on her, so I gave up.” Adam: “You can’t just give up. We are the parents here, after all.” Eve: “What are you trying to say, dear husband? Do you think I’m unfit?” Adam: “I didn’t say you were a...
Marriage can be a beautiful, but tricky thing. First of all, let me say that I’m so thankful to be married to a man who is a new creation in Jesus and who is always growing and learning. The two of us have the same Spirit, so in the end, God smoothes out our rough edges. But in the middle . . . well, we sometimes get splinters. Take this past Sunday morning. My husband grew up in a...
She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. Proverbs 31:12 I was tempted to name this post “How I failed as a wife the first eight years of my marriage,” but that would make this about me and not the sweet ways God is at work. Eight years ago when I began this journey of marriage, I thought I was ready with hearty recipes, coordinated throw pillows, cute lingerie, and my marriage books, but the...
Do you know those moments when you’re faced with your own brokenness and failures? Other than my daily flops and flounderings in mommying, nothing makes me face this more than a good ‘ol argument with my husband. We don’t argue often anymore (our first few months as Mr. and Mrs. were a bit of a doozy), but there are still times when we completely miscommunicate. This happened recently. We felt and saw the same situation totally differently and ended...
