Relationships

re·la·tion·ship

/rəˈlāSH(ə)nˌSHip/

The unique ability of women to create deep, personal bonds that enrich lives. With strength and grace, investing in others while maintaining boundaries in order to build healthy connections, and work to repair those that are not

What Makes a Sister the Best Kind of Friend

By / Relationships

I love my sisters; we’re ridiculously close. In fact, they’re my best friends. However, I’m not naive enough to think that all sisters are best friends, so I do count myself fortunate (as are they). But if you too share a special bond with your sister, I think you’ll agree that this is what makes a sister the best kind of friend… You can always be yourself. Being best friends with your sister means you don’t have to worry about being judged. You don’t have to get yourself together when you’re with your sister. She’s happy to meet you exactly where you are. Her closet. What is it about a sister’s closet that makes it so much better than your own? I stand in […]

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Commitment— the Road Forward in a Relationship

By / Relationships

Commitment. What a wonderful yet often terrifying word. It’s so very easy to stay on the sidelines, or put one foot in while the other just can’t make it to the other side. Human nature has a way of avoiding the “all in”. Whether it’s relationships we find ourselves swimming in, the jobs we have been hired to do, the care of our families, or simply the tasks necessary to pull off the thing we call everyday – we have decisions to make. The day I arrived at my wedding location, I looked around and said to myself what I am sure every blissful bride says, “Oh crud, what am I doing? Am I really going through with this thing?” My discussion

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5 Ways to Improve Your Relationship With Your Man

By / Relationships

I’ve been with Eddy for nearly two years, and he very recently got down on one knee and made me his fiancée. I still can’t stop looking down at my ring (going on three months now), and my Pinterest boards are full of mason jars, lace, and lavender bouquets. I love knowing that I get to spend the rest of my life with my fiancé and can’t wait to trade in our new titles for the sacred husband and wife roles. Part of the reason why I’m so ready to commit to Eddy is because during the course of our relationship we’ve had a lot of opportunities to grow together (myself especially) and to figure one another out. While we have so many

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For the Girl Who’s Forging New Friendships in a New City

By / Life & Culture, Relationships

How many of us have sheepishly walked into a social event as the “new girl,” our hearts beating out of our chest as we cling to our phones for some semblance of comfort and security? One of my good friends and I had a conversation recently around this topic of making new friends, and how difficult and oftentimes awkward it can be. When I moved from my hometown on the East coast three and a half years ago, and drove across the country to build a whole new life in California, I was struck with the reality that I literally knew no one here, and no one knew me. It was simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying. From moving coast to coast, to then

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Tips to a Happy, Healthy Sex Life

By / Relationships

Remember when you were first married and you couldn’t wait to get your hands on your man’s body? I have been in love with my man for more years than you can imagine and he still makes my heart skip a beat. Don’t get me wrong, he still drives me crazy and I’m not talking about in-the-bedroom-crazy. I’m talking picking up after himself, lowering the toilet seat, sealing the chip bag, putting dishes in the dishwasher, listening, hearing and sometimes knowing I just need a hug. It makes no difference if you were married last month or decades ago, sexual intimacy needs to be a high priority. We women are multitaskers. We know how to get things done, take care of everything

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7 Things to Look for in a Man

7 Things to Look for in a Man

By / Relationships

I recently read an article listing the top seven characteristics you should look for when hiring an employee. As I read through them, it occurred to me that these are exactly the things every girl seeking a life-long relationship should want. They are the qualities that make a marriage work, will build a healthy partnership, and can weather the storms of life. It made me wonder why we don’t take the same well thought out, purposeful approach in finding marriage material as we do when hiring our next assistant. So let me just share with you these seven qualities that make a great employee and are equally important in the arena of dating relationships. Not cuteness, a great car, or fun on

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The Bachelorette: A Romantic Culture in a Feminist World

By / Life & Culture, Relationships

This is my first season watching The Bachelorette. Yes, I know, I’m behind the curve. I haven’t watched any season of The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, determining it had nothing to do with lasting relationships, choosing to use the space on my DVR for something else. The goal of finding a man who desires a lifelong marriage commitment and is willing to propose at exactly the right moment on camera, well you understand my skepticism. But recently my daughter was visiting when the new season began. She, along with my other daughter and the girls who work with me, are ardent viewers of this series. Convincing me to grab my bottle of water and sit down with her on the sectional, I decided to

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3-Reasons-You-Should-Share-Your-Story

3 Reasons You Should Share Your Story

By / Purpose, Relationships

We all have stories. We’ve lived our varied lives, and while some details may overlap, our stories are specific to each of us. Our experiences, good and bad, tender moments bursting with joy and light and the heart-wrenching darkness of grief and pain are being woven together to create our unique tale. I have a story. I have stories, even, and I can tell you that the tone of the story changes with each season that I’ve been in. Whether I’d count it as remarkable or not isn’t the point—it belongs to me. It’s mine to share or to keep tucked away, just like your story belongs to you. Some details are light and casual, like the city I was born in and

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5 Things I've Learned in a Decade of Wifing

10 Things I Learned in a Decade of Wifing

By / Relationships, Faith

As I approached my 10 year wedding anniversary, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the lessons I’d learned through a decade of wifing, as I like to call it. There are hundreds of things I’ve learned about me, him, and certainly about God, so I decided to make a list of the lessons that have been life-changing. 1. Age isn’t an excuse to quit. I was a mere 21 years old when we said, “I do.” That’s pretty rare these days. “Getting married young,” is a common excuse I hear when it gets hard and people are looking for reasons to “escape” the marriage. I’ve heard it a lot during my wedded days—friends, celebrities, and strangers alike often cite it, but marriage is

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5 Tips to Build Healthy Relationships

By / Relationships

Relationships between humans, with all our messiness, requires effort. Whether it’s with family, friends, or co-workers, it just takes work. It will require a bunch of grit and a boatload of grace. There will be days you will think it’s just not worth it, and in some cases it may not be. Yet, in the grand scheme of life, healthy relationships are indeed worth the effort they require. The treasure gained, life shared, and wisdom earned are wonderful byproducts gleaned from no other source. So here are a few things we can do to build those lasting relationships. 1. Listen. With the intention of hearing what they have to say, not listening to formulate our response. 2. Observe. Take the time to observe their

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When-Your-Friends-and-Family-Can’t-Get-Over-the-Affair

When Your Friends and Family Can’t Get Over the Affair

By / Relationships

Objectivity within the Affair No one knows for sure, but it is estimated that affairs affect 40-70% of all marriages. Most affairs are eventually discovered. During this devastating time, people often disclose the affair to friends and family in search of necessary support. So what happens when it’s you? Your partner cheated. You are devastated. You run out and tell your friends and family. This is okay because you do need the support, but you are surprised once your relationship is on the mend that your friends and family are the ones who haven’t gotten over it. First things first: if you have any inclination that your relationship may stay intact, only disclose to people who aren’t too emotionally invested in the relationship. The

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Marriage-Won't-Mean-You're-Never-Lonely

Marriage Won’t Mean You’re Never Lonely

By / Relationships

There’s this one thing I still expect my husband to fix. Years ago, as the practical outcome of an epic fight, I wrote my husband a not-so-epic poem. In it, I released him from the pressure to read my thoughts, to make perfectly nuanced romantic gestures on time, to protect my inner and outer world, keeping it safe and happy. It was a relief to both of us when I did this. He could love me as himself, not some propped up version of perfect. Monumental transactions like this don’t become part of your soul overnight. Yes, I relinquished my unrealistic expectation for my husband to be my everything, but relinquishing something does not kill it. You slay it on an altar,

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The Wedding Sway, Your Son's Wedding Day

An Unexpected, Wonderful Moment on Your Son’s Wedding Day

By / Relationships

I am watching my son dance his first dance with his wife. Foreheads touching, lips moving in a conversation no one else can hear, arms looped around the other’s neck, leaning together in a careless box step. Why do we make a spectacle of something so sacred? I look away. And then I notice the black and white row of our three other sons behind them. Their arms are draped behind each other’s backs and they are swaying to the music. Swaying. Together. Like a mother who never forgets how to move back and forth when a child needs soothing, I sway in time with them from the other side of the dance floor. I am struck by how substantial this image

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Discussing All Things on Relationships and Faith (Video)

By / Faith, Relationships

We believe relationships and our faith are some of the riches parts of our lives. We wanted to make it easy for you to get to some of our favorite articles on relationships and faith. 7 Things to Look for in a Man 5 Important Things to Discuss as a New Couple How My Husband and I Survived My Affair How to Know if Your Boyfriend is a Charity Case 5 Things I’ve Learned in a Decade of Wifing From Pregnant Widow to Single Mom, Building Faith: Growing in Your Relationship with God, Battling the Mind Monster: A Letter to My Mom This is Your Brain on FOMO Family Devotions Can Hurt For The Fatherless On Sex and Faith and Marriage, Comforting Thoughts

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Coffee-&-Conversation-How-to-Connect-With-a-Friend

Coffee & Conversation: How to Connect With a Friend

By / Relationships

Like the rotating menu of lattes at Starbucks, every season has it’s own flavor of busyness. Each one can shake up our schedules (and our budgets), and life gets busy fast! My calendar is full to the brim with commitments, parties, and family trips, and my brain is reeling with dozens of Pinterest projects that will cost me approximately $1 million dollars to make but will definitely help me save money…or something. During such times, it is all too easy to push friendships to the back burner. And even when we manage to carve out brief blocks to meet with friends for coffee or a play date at Chick-fil-a, those breaks from the craziness quickly turn into complaint sessions. We allow ourselves to

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Excuse-My-Interruption,-But-I’m-Right-and-You’re-Wrong

Excuse My Interruption, But I’m Right and You’re Wrong

By / Relationships

I’d like to start off this piece with an admission. Hi, my name is Jordan, and I’m an Interrupt-a-holic. (Hi Jordan.) The first step to dealing with any problem is admitting you have one. And how do I know that I have this problem? Well, let me take you back to my moment of self-discovery. Now, it seems to me that we humans always seem to notice faults in others before we are able to recognize them in ourselves. Funny how that works, right? But it’s true! To truly see how bad we are, sometimes we have to meet someone else with the same problem—oftentimes on an extreme level. And that’s exactly how I began to see the truth… Several years ago when I was dating a guy

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