Several years ago Mark and I were introduced to a great marriage book by Emerson Eggerichs called Love and Respect. This book transformed our thinking in many ways. The book Love and Respect is based upon the Bible verse from Ephesians 5:33 which says,...
When Mark and I found ourselves sitting in a counselor’s office around year 7, we found that we’d made a very big mistake. We’d put our kids before our marriage. We also learned this was no more healthy for our marriage than it was for...
When Mark and I speak together on marriage, we introduce ourselves as being married “27 years…17 of them happily.” It’s a description we wish weren’t true, but unfortunately it is. Our marriage has had plenty of ups and downs....
Today I’m starting what I hope to be a weekly feature on my blog: Marriage Monday. Mark and I speak and write together about marriage. Each Monday we’ll share about a common marriage struggle and how we’ve learned to handle it. You...
It will be here before you know it. Valentine’s Day. The day you get to tell your wife how much she means to you. Husbands, before you run out this afternoon to pick up your Hallmark card or that beautiful heart-shaped diamond necklace that’s been...
I’m not much of a gift giver so anytime gift-giving days present themselves, I find myself in a pickle. Seriously, friends, I’m what you might call gift-giving challenged! I rarely can think up something creative on my own but I can steal, oh I...
Love is a Verbby Jill SavageMy friend and I sat across the table chatting over lunch. With February being the “month of love” we began to discuss our plans (or lack of plans at that point) for Valentine’s Day weekend. Eventually we moved into sharing some marriage...
One of the most important things we can do for our kids is to model a healthy marriage. I can say that my parent’s gave me that gift as a part of my heritage. Today is their 49th wedding anniversary!Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad. Thank...
I recently heard a phrase that I’d never heard before: attention infidelity.I’m familiar with both words, but I’ve never heard them used together. Since hearing the phrase, I’ve not been able to get it out of my mind. The term...
Mark and I have been navigating a pretty big life change lately. It’s required us to be intentional about “talk time.” With kids interrupting, the phone ringing, and everyday responsibilities calling, this has been no small task. We...
A couple of weeks ago my daughter and I went to see the movie Julie and Julia. A friend had encouraged me to go simply because of how the movie portrays marriage. You know Hollywood gets the relationship thing wrong much of the time. But they got it right in Julie and...
There’s still time to register for the Love For a Lifetime summer class this Thursday evening at Heartland Community College in Normal, IL. You’ll find registration info here!By the way, you can join in a conversation about wedding memories happening over...
Marriage is harder than we think. There are lulls of “easy” in the middle of the “hard,” but there’s much more “hard” than most of us expect. Why should we expect anything else? Marriage is about blending two completely unique...
Dear Mark,It’s hard to believe that we’re celebrating 26 years of marriage today. On that hot summer day 26 years ago, we didn’t have any idea about the journey that was ahead of us:If you’d told me we’d be living in Illinois and not in...
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