I hope your Thanksgiving holiday was as wonderful as ours! We enjoyed spending time with friends and family and had some of our favorite foods like Beef House Rolls and Persimmon Pudding.

I’m taking a week off from regular blogging to spend time with my hubby. I’m still in disbelief, but in just a few hours we’ll be boarding a plane for one week in Hawaii! And we’ve only known about this trip for about 4 weeks! A couple in our church approached us 4 weeks ago and asked us to join them in their time share in Maui. They even covered our airfare. Now I’m honestly wavering between feeling overwhelmed with their generosity and overwhelmed with everything you have to do to make arrangements for mom and dad to be gone. Thankfully our older children and a friend from church will be handling childcare. I’ve got the color coded schedule of who is picking up what kid when and I’m praying that no one forgets!

If you’ve ever heard me speak or read any of my books, you know that I preach “wife first, mother second.” It’s a lesson I learned the hard way after just about ruining our marriage during the first 10 years when our world revolved around the kids. But even though I believe in keeping my marriage a priority, it honestly doesn’t make it any easier to actually leave my kids. I’ve fought the same old feelings of not wanting to leave that I fought years ago when I first learned of the importance of an occasional marriage getaway. But I now know the importance of pushing through those feelings to do the right thing. And in the long run, it’s actually the best thing for my kids–because a healthy marriage gives our kids the stability they long for!

So to keep you encouraged this week, I’ve pre-posted a simple thought each day to encourage you in your marriage. Please post your comments as they come to you and I’ll catch up with you when I return home.

Joining you in the journey,

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