We all know a guy like this. He’s outgoing, suave, sensitive, and flirtatious. Women flock to him, and because of this he always has a different one on his arm. Some are quick to write him off as a player. Others simply attribute his antics to a deep love for women. And with so many to choose from, there are a lot out there for him to love.
Three Years of Marriage
Last night I told Daniel that it is hard to believe how little we knew each other when we said "I do" three years ago today. We knew we loved each other, we knew God brought us together, but in all honesty, there was so much we didn't know. I mean, we hadn't even known each other for a year before our wedding day! We had a lot to learn! I'm sure ten years from now I will say the same thing about this stage of our marriage as well. That is the wonderful thing about marriage.
After Three Years of Marriage: Take it One Day at a Time
Whenever we examine our hearts and lives we inevitably wind up with a list of things we want to change. Reflecting on the past year can bring a laundry list of goals, dreams, sin that needs to be addressed, and the like. If you are like me, you can be simply overwhelmed by the enormity of the task before you. There is so much that needs to change, or that you want to change. You have so many goals for the next year that often feel so unattainable. You have so much guilt over your past failures. Where do you even begin? Here is something so simple, yet so profound, that has encouraged me this year as I have sought to grow as a believer and as a wife.
After Three Years of Marriage: Love is Unconditional
One of the benefits of reflecting on the past year is that it affords me the opportunity to see areas where I need to continue to grow. It also reminds me of the importance of my role as a wife. Carolyn Mahaney has taught me so much (through her writing and speaking, of course) about God’s design for me as a woman and as a wife. The last few days I have been listening to some of her messages and in her message “Loving Your Husband” on Titus 2:3-5 she highlights two things that were really convicting to me:
After Three Years of Marriage: Part 1
It’s hard to believe, but my third wedding anniversary is this coming Friday. When we got married everyone said it would go by fast, and while I believed them I didn’t fully understand just how fast it would go by. In some ways it feels like we’ve been married forever, not in the sense that some describe forever (i.e. monotony, boring, etc.), but in the sense that I simply cannot imagine my life without or before Daniel. My life is so much more enriched and blessed by him. He is my best friend. He knows me sometimes better than I know myself. He loves me and cares for me. He is fun to be around. He is my dear, sweet husband.
Mourning with Those Who Mourn on Mother's Day
Her.meneutics (the Christianity Today women's blog) just posted an article I wrote on navigating the difficult waters of the joy and grief that surrounds Mother's Day. I link the exhortation in Romans 12:15 ("Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep") to the celebration that surrounds the day. I know a lot of women who, like myself, want to be happy for others this coming Sunday but feel a sting in their soul regarding their own longings for children. Romans 12:15 is for days just like that.
What a Girl Wants (and How She Can Get It): Part 3
Even with the most comprehensive and put together discipleship program girls today have a responsibility to act rightly. Women, and girls, have tremendous power at their fingertips. While most young women would say that they want a man to lead, provide, and protect them, many of them settle for far less than God’s ideal for a godly man. As John Ensor so helpfully says in his book, Doing ThingsRight in Matters of the Heart:
What a Girl Wants (and How She Can Get It): Part 2
Yesterday, I discussed the disconnect between what many younger girls want and what they actually do to go about getting it. The local church is the place where they can learn about what it means to be a woman and live according to God's guidelines for them. And the Bible has a lot to say on this. Here is the continuation on yesterday's post.
What a Girl Wants (and How She Can Get It): Part 1
It’s the stuff little girls dream of. What begins as a childhood fascination with princesses, dress-up clothes, and mock weddings, grows into a teenage obsession with wedding magazines, boys, and dreams of matrimonial bliss. Most girls, pre-pubescent and teenage, think about getting married. They flock to romantic movies, swoon over the male lead pursuing the woman perfectly, and then hope and wish that the same thing might happen to them someday. Regardless of what the feminists say about girl power and all, most teenage girls (especially Christian ones) still want marriage and family. But then again, there is also a disconnect somewhere.
Hope for Homosexuals
A few years ago a girl I knew remarked that she felt strange visiting her particular hairdresser because she was a lesbian. Knowing that this woman was attracted to women, not men, made her uncomfortable, and eventually she moved on to someone else. She meant no ill-will towards the hairstylist. She was a solid believer, valued God's word, and prayed fervently for lost people to come to Christ. But when it came to the homosexual hair stylist something just didn't sit right with her. I think her response is quite common for many of us within the conservative Christian community.