How To Get Your Spouse To Respond To Your Requests

Mark: Last week’s Marriage Monday was a reminder of the importance of asking for what you need or want. Whether it’s bringing flowers when you pick me up at the airport (Jill’s want) or being sensitive to how my capacity is different than yours (Mark’s need), we have...

Just Ask For What You Need

Mark: About a year ago Jill said, “You know what I’d love when you pick me up at the airport?” “No,” I answered, “What would you love?” She responded, “That you would bring me flowers.”  I admit I was surprised at...

The Moms Group Curriculum You Need

It was the moms group I didn’t intend to start. Desperate to meet other moms after a move to a new city, I invited eight moms I barely knew from church to join me once a week to read and talk about a book on motherhood. Truth be told, I felt better equipped to be a...

Are You Minimizing?

“We don’t get to decide what’s important to our spouse, but we do get to DISCOVER what’s important to them.” That quote is from this video we’re sharing for today’s Marriage Monday. The topic is minimizing and it’s...

Getting to the Heart of Anger in Children

Today’s we get to benefit from the wisdom of author and speaker Ginger Hubbard. Ginger is the author of I Can’t Believe You Just Said That and Don’t Make Me Count to Three. A veteran homeschooling mother of two adult children and stepmom to two much-adored...

What’s Your Mothering Personality? Take the Quiz Today!

I sat at my friend’s kitchen table as our kids played just a few rooms away in their playroom. We had weekly playdates—one week at my house, the next week at hers. I loved our time together, but I also struggled with it as well. You see, my friend is an innie and I’m...

The Power of a One-Minute Hug

Mark: It happens at every marriage seminar we do. We lead couples through a process that increases emotional safety in their communication. At the end of that conversation we ask them to enjoy a full body hug for a minute. Jill: After our first “talk break” they often...

When You Feel You’re Not Good Enough

Do the voices in your head tell you that you are not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, or just not enough, period?  If so, it’s time to stop listening to the lies that sabotage your confidence and start embracing the truth of your true identity in Christ....

Lessons Learned From a Close Call

It was just three weeks ago when Mark and I got up and prepared to head to the airport for our speaking trip near Washington DC. As he does every day, Mark headed downstairs and made his coffee. He spent some quiet time and headed into the kitchen for a second cup of...

Invest In Your Marriage Without Leaving Your House

It’s been 7 years since our marriage fell apart. We spent well over a year repairing the erosion damage caused by slow fades we didn’t even know existed. After those years of rebuilding our marriage, we determined we would never allow our marriage to...