Today, Kayla Nelson of The Accidental Nomad Life is guest posting for us. She was born a leader and has sometimes struggled with being a submissive wife. Boy, do I relate! Today, she is sharing her story and some practical tips for letting your husband lead. It was almost painful. The burden of wanting to step in, take care of it, and just get it done was weighing so heavily on me. But I couldn't. My husband had asked to be the leader when it came to our finances -- he had to be the one to sort it out, and I had to do my best to pray peace and quiet over myself. Being Submissive When Continue Reading
A Date in a Box: Making Date Night Easier
Date night -- this routine event can be so important for a marriage. They give you a chance to reconnect after many days of hectic schedules. They are great for quality time and physical touch -- which happen to be the top two love languages in my marriage. I love getting dressed up and going out for a special date, but sometimes it's nice to just stay home but still have a date. I imagine for those with littles running around, stay-at-home dates work best because you don't have to hire a babysitter. After the kids are tucked in, date night can begin. Do you struggle to come up with date Continue Reading
To the Woman Struggling in Her Marriage
I've recently heard or met several women who are struggling in their marriages. Women who have been hurt, painfully so, by their husbands -- the very men they trusted enough to vow a lifetime to. These women are brokenhearted, confused, and wondering what's to come. Are you one of these women? What you might not know is that I was one of these women. I don't talk about it openly here on this blog, or even in my personal life, because I'm still healing. Because it's a private, personal, painful story. Maybe someday I'll write a book about the struggles our marriage has had to overcome, but Continue Reading
A Game to Spice Up Your Marriage
As you may know, I'm a big believer in marriage. I think it's important to strengthen our marriages in any way we can. There are tons of ways to do that, but today I want to share one that is extra fun. This idea doesn't just strengthen your marriage, it is also a way to spice up your relationship. Yes, this post is all about spicing things up in the intimacy department. (Caution: To all family members reading this, you may not want to continue. Sorry Grandma, Grandpa, mother-in-law, etc.) I saw this idea on another blog while Travis was away in Korea, and I saved it to keep in mind for Continue Reading
Ways to Protect Your Marriage
I have only been married for three years. To most, we are still newlyweds, still learning and loving and new to this whole marriage thing. It's true. But being in a military marriage has definitely given us extra challenges that civilian newlyweds usually don't have. Our brave adventure, otherwise known as a year of separation while Travis was stationed in Korea, put us through the ringer. I haven't shared a lot about the ups and mostly downs of that time, but I'll be honest and say our marriage almost didn't make it through. We have learned a lot in these three years of military marriage, Continue Reading
3 Tips for Newlyweds
Three years ago, I was wrapped up in the preparations for the biggest day of my life - my wedding day. It ended up going by so fast, but it was an incredibly joyous, beautiful event full of love. And then came marriage. Being in a military marriage comes with its extra doses of stress with things like long-distance. And, to be completely honest, there have been times I’ve struggled with those parts of marriage that aren’t so romantic or fairytale-like. However, I surround myself with encouragers, some of whom have been married for 60 years, some who are celebrating 30 years, and some Continue Reading
A Game to Strengthen Your Marriage
I'm teaming up with DaySpring to talk about strengthening marriages. They are offering a giveaway to my readers because they value marriage as much as I do. Be sure to read all the way to the end because we've got a giveaway and a promo code just for you guys! If there's one thing I learned last year while Travis was stationed in Korea it's how important it is to strengthen your marriage in any way you can. Being long distance put an incredible strain on our marriage, and I'm so thankful that God got us through and we survived. Today, Travis and I are celebrating our three-year wedding Continue Reading
Questions for Couples: The Best Gift for Couples
My brother and his fiancé are getting married in just a couple months, and my youngest cousin just recently got engaged. Wedding bells are ringing in our family! I recently went home to visit my family, and I couldn't wait to see my youngest cousin to hear all the details of her proposal, see her ring in person, and give her a little gift. As soon as I found out Morgan was engaged, I bought her a greeting card and bridal magazine. Who doesn't love to look at all those wedding dresses? There was something else, though, that I really wanted to give her. A Book Full of Questions for Continue Reading
8 Tips for Making Your Marriage Last
I sat down with a woman I like to call "Grandma" this week. She's been married for 52 years, and for the last 12 years she and my grandpa have been marriage counselors -- it's safe to say she knows a thing or two about marriage. And she definitely knows about making your marriage last. She agreed to share with me -- and my readers (that's you!) -- eight tips for making your marriage last. 1. Be Equally Yoked This is something you can make sure you do to make your marriage last before you even get married. Make sure the person you choose as your spouse is someone who has the same Continue Reading
How To Handle a Disagreement
Today is our anniversary. Travis and I have been married for two years. It feels like it's been longer than that to me. In our two years of marriage, we've already learned a lot about each other and ourselves. Travis and I really don't fight -- at least yet -- but we have had a few disagreements. Just two months ago, we had our biggest disagreement. I am really proud of us for how we handled this disagreement and worked through it. Every single married couple has disagreements. There's really no way around it. But there are ways to handle disagreements in a healthy way. I've asked some Continue Reading
30+ TV Series to Watch as a Couple
Living apart from your husband for a year can be hard, especially when there's a big time difference. We miss a lot of things about being together, but especially those little things. Things like watching TV together while cuddling on the couch. While Travis is on the other side of the world, we decided to start a new TV series together. We can both watch them on our own, but stay on the same pace with each other. That way we can talk about the episodes whenever we talk, or leave each other messages about the episode to see when we wake up. It's something we can do "together" while we're Continue Reading
My Marriage Makes Me Feel Ugly
I always thought I was a nice person. Kind. Thoughtful. Great at planning and organizing. I would have definitely described myself as a good Christian girl. I didn't think of myself as selfish. Not at all. Until I got married. In almost 20 months of marriage, I've learned a lot about my husband -- as I imagined I would. But I never realized how much I would learn about myself. One of the best wedding gifts God gave you was a full-length mirror called your spouse. Had there been a card attached, it would have said, "Here's to helping you discover what you're really like!" - Gary and Continue Reading