Gretchen Louise 11 Minute Read Dear New Bride, Ten years ago, I was in your shoes. We were just back from our honeymoon, stepping into everyday life as husband and wife. We painted our walls and arranged our furniture (mostly bookshelves). We unpacked dishes and planted a tree (a red maple we’ve moved three times). And with each item I…
Jenni Marie 5 Minute Read “Are you doing pre-marital counseling?” The bride nodded. “Do you have plans for post-marital counseling?” The poor bride cocked her head and looked at me in confusion as if to say: “Post-marital counseling?! But we’re fine!” Marriage counseling isn’t just for the hurting, the almost-divorced, the dysfunctional. Marriage counseling is for everyone. A veteran wife,…
Elisabeth Adams 11 Minute Read In August 2014, Thomas Umstattd, Jr. published his blog post, “Why Courtship is Fundamentally Flawed.” It sparked a firestorm, racking up more than 1,500 comments, provoking numerous rebuttals from other bloggers, and inspiring a Kickstarter campaign that led (just one year later) to a book entitled Courtship in Crisis: The Case for Traditional Dating. I…
Caroline Rose Sanders 6 Minute Read I was born in 1992. I wasn’t a teenager until 2005, which means I narrowly missed the biggest “purity” era. I never attended a conference surrounding the topic of abstinence, made a vow in front of my youth group or was awarded a piece of jewelry symbolic of my commitment. My parents did things the…
Jenni Marie 2 Minute Read The waitress probably thought we were fighting; based simply on the intensity of our words, her assumption was valid. Our date night date night was evolving into a peel-back-the-layers-and-look-deeper discussion. The topic? Our kitchen renovation. This renovation has been five years in the making. My husband began updating his newly purchased home before we were…
Callie Mitchell 4 Minute Read You can see the problems in your friend’s relationship, and maybe you want to scream “Break up with him already!” But what do you do? I was on the opposite side of this question once, when a close friend spoke honestly to me about the red flags she could see in a long-term-going-nowhere relationship. It…
Gretchen Louise 7 Minute Read As a single, I read dozens of books on relationships. But I quickly discovered that there were two types of books on love and marriage: The books that told all the depressing divorce stories, brought up every negative aspect of the differences between men and women, and then invariably told you how to have a new relationship…
Jenni Marie 5 Minute Read Dear Daughter, If you’re reading this letter, it means that you’ve filled my heart and soul with joy; it means that you exist. If you’re reading this letter, it means that God has blessed me with the privileged responsibility of raising you, cherishing you, training you, preparing you. If you’re reading this letter, it means…
Emily C. Gardner 3 Minute Read Since I didn’t date much before I met my husband (and by much, I mean barely at all), that particular season in our relationship has always been a favorite. Dating was fun. The thrill of getting to know someone can be intoxicating. I’m not a naturally talkative person, but I loved staying up late discussing our families,…
Natasha Metzler 3 Minute Read He’s not a tall, handsome, rich prince. He’s just a man. He’s a good man. A hard worker. Sometimes short-tempered, though always humble. But he sure isn’t a prince. Now that I’ve been married seven years, I can look back and realize how easy it would have been for me to marry someone else. I’m a…
Trina Holden 5 Minute Read I was 21 when I first read The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. My mind was blown as I began to see and understand my family members in light of their unique love style. The inexplicable bond I felt with my Dad? We had the same love language: Words of Affirmation. The distance I…
Chantel 9 Minute Read The moment you have a ring on your finger (and sometimes long before!), the entire world becomes sage with advice for you and your sweetie. Some of it is best let in one ear and out the other. Some of it you should laugh over. Some of it is borderline TMI! (Hey, it happens. Smile…
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