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
A Letter to My Brother Before His Wedding Day
My brother is getting married soon. In just one month and two weeks, he will be standing at the front of a church in a grey suit awaiting his beautiful bride. I couldn't be happier for him and his wedding day. He honestly chose such a wonderful woman to claim as his wife. I am going on three years of marriage. I've seen the ups and the downs. As my brother prepares for one of the biggest days of his life, I wanted to write him this letter. Before Your Wedding Day: A Letter to My Brother To my little brother, Logan, I am really surprised how quickly this special day of yours is approaching. 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
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
Loving Your Husband When Your Own Love Tank is Low
I just wasn't feeling the love. If everyone has a love tank, mine was low. And it was making me cranky. I have read about loving your husband, but love was the last thing I was feeling. It wasn't my husband's fault really. Due to military life, I hadn't seen him in a month and didn't get to talk to him as much as when he's home. I wasn't getting my quality time. Or my words of affirmation. Or my acts of service. Or physical touch. Or gifts. None of the five love languages, and I was feeling it. The lies began in my mind. "He doesn't really want to come home." "He would be texting you Continue Reading
50 Ways to Show Love to Your Spouse
Marriage takes work. Everybody knows that. A loving, healthy marriage doesn't come easy. A husband and wife both have to be intentional about showing love to one another. You have to be willing to serve one another. The best marriages include spouses who both have a desire to make the other person feel special, important, respected, and loved. So what are some ways to show love? Depending on each person's love language, different acts can have more meaning to certain people. Some spouses really appreciate when the other person helps with chores. Others just want to spend some quality time Continue Reading
Books to Help You Grow as a Couple
Travis and I have been married for eight months this February. I think we are definitely still in the newlywed stage. We haven't had any big arguments yet -- nothing we couldn't solve within an hour. We are so in love, and we both enjoy finding ways to show our love to one another. But no matter how happy or healthy our marriage is, I believe there is always room for growth and improvement. Why not work on our relationship now while it's great rather than wait until we have problems? I believe it's important to work on your relationship from the very beginning to prevent future problems. Continue Reading
The Best Part of My Wedding
There was one main part of my wedding that made it so special and so beautiful -- and no, I'm not talking about the white dress. My Wedding: How We Included Prayer One of the things I loved most about my wedding was how it was wrapped in prayer. Including God in our wedding planning, wedding day, and marriage was so important to me. I loved how so many people helped me include Him. Before we began decorating the day before the wedding, everyone came together to pray in a circle. We prayed for the day to go smoothly, the next day to go smoothly, and for our marriage to be blessed. Continue Reading