On today’s #MarriageMonday, I’m answering an email that was sent in about the difficult journey of healing from painful memories after infidelity. Sometimes there are photos, destinations, people, or other triggers that bring up strong emotions, often...
“Especially when grief is fresh, it is going to sneak up on you.” – Chrystal Evans Hurst Have you ever experienced accumulated grief? This is when you have multiple losses within a short period of time. Maybe you’ve experienced accumulated disappointments...
Dear Friend, In February of 2012, Valentine’s Day was anything but enjoyable for me. Twelve days earlier, my husband had left and my world was turned upside down. Not only that, but infidelity was a part of why he left, so there was a double-whammy on my heart....
Mark and I often get the opportunity to speak on marriage topics, but rarely do we get the opportunity to preach a Sunday morning message together. In today’s episode, we are sharing a unique message that Mark and I had the privilege of delivering at The Church Next...
Mark and I often get asked a lot of personal questions over social media, through email, or sometimes even in-person. They range from our relationship, marriage, parenting, hobbies, to the more personal side of our lives. So today we are doing something we’ve...
Welcome to our fourth bonus episode of the No More Perfect Podcast! I like to surprise you with a little extra, bite-size podcast goodness every once in a while that’s quick to listen to and helpful for your life. Just to say thank you! And today’s episode...
If we’ve been connected for any amount of time, then you likely know how passionate I am about emotional health. As a “thinker” and a former “avoider,” I have finally–late in life–learned the value of feelings and emotion. Being married to someone...
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have to work through a process to make peace with my past. I have to ask myself, “How can I make sure I don’t get stuck here? How can I move forward?” Maybe you’ve even felt like parts of your past are looming over you and that...
“I had cashed in all of these blessings, all of this protection, this institution and community that God had given me to be safe in. And I exchanged that for what I wanted, for my selfishness.” – Chris Teague You know, there is nothing better than a story...
Mark: When marriage gets stale (and it does for all of us!), there’s a temptation to check out. We reason that if it feels like our spouse doesn’t care, then we won’t care. Or we tell ourselves that we’re the only one trying and we’re...
We have a line of trees along the west side of our country home. The previous owners wisely planted the trees to provide a hedge of protection against the winds that gust across the cornfields of central Illinois. Those trees serve as a visual picture of another hedge...
Welcome to our third bonus episode of the No More Perfect Podcast! I like to surprise you with a little extra, bite-size podcast goodness every once in a while that’s quick to listen to and helpful for your life. Just to say thank you! Today we want to share a...
Today we’re talking about how things that happened in the past sometimes can put a cloud over the future. You may sometimes wonder: Can I really heal? Can I move forward without shame? Can God really use me? My guest really understands these questions. She has not...
I’m really excited for the episode I have to share with you today! One of the things I enjoy the most is the opportunities I get to speak at live events. I so enjoy hanging with the people that I love to encourage – and that’s you! So today’s episode is a...
Last week on the blog, Mark shared a little bit about his journey of surrender. So this week for #MarriageMonday, I wanted to share about a journey of compassion I’ve been on over the years. Colossians 3:12–13 says, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and...
