Marriage

Building and maintaining healthy marriages.

Take It Easy—On Your Man

Take It Easy—On Your Man

Sometimes we can be a bit hard on the men in our lives, mostly because we don’t understand how they do life. The good news is that our genders are different. Understanding and appreciating those differences will help us relax. Whether it’s a boyfriend, boss, co-worker, son, or spouse, when we remember that they just think differently, it can simplify life and reduce conflict. So here are a few things to never forget when you are dealing with the opposite sex: 1. Men hear what we say, not what we mean. It’s movie night and you say you don’t care what you see, he believes you really don’t care—then immediately purchases tickets for the biggest action movie in the theater. 2. They want to […]

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Remember This When You Take Your Marriage For Granted

Author Lewis Smedes wrote, “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.” Yet forgiveness is one of the most difficult of human actions. We think that by not forgiving someone who has hurt us that we are holding some sort of power over him, but this simply isn’t true. As a matter of fact, the exact opposite is true. Choosing not to forgive only leaves us powerless, bitter, and resentful. There is nothing more damaging to a marriage than choosing not to forgive, and nothing more healing than the act of forgiving. Marriages seem especially vulnerable to insensitivity and anger. Perhaps it’s because we’re with our husbands every day and begin to feel a sense

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This Grit and Grace Life Podcast

An Attorney Helps You Prepare for an Unexpected Loss – 012

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | Email | TuneIn | RSS | More There are some subjects we just want to avoid, especially the ones we sincerely hope to never face. Yet if that day comes, we may find we weren’t prepared. Since one of our own, Julie Graham, just found herself in this position of having lost her husband of 11 years and steps away this week, we thought it would be a good time to look at how to prepare for an unexpected loss. Darlene is joined by attorney, Leesha Crouch, to discuss in simple, relatable terms the things that every woman should do legally to safeguard her family if heartbreak should hit. Viewing in an app?

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Mix It Up and Try These Day Dates With Your Man

Whether we’re in our first month of dating and learning each other or getting a night to ourselves after a long work week, date night is often our best night of the week for much-needed quality time with our man. The usual dinner, movies, and walks downtown can be a part of a fun routine, but I am the number one fan of starting the day together with a morning date. If you’re in need of a change and looking to try something new together, take to these ideas for a morning cup of romance! Here are 10 ideas for morning dates with your man: 1. Be early risers. Set your alarms and head to a wide open spot to watch the

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Commitment— the Road Forward in a Relationship

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

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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Tips to a Happy, Healthy Sex Life

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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Married to the Badge Not Your Typical Life

Married to the Badge: View from a Police Officer Wife

Growing up, I could never have imagined that I would one day be a police officer’s wife, married to a walking badge in polyester black. No, the silly games I played pointed to my future husband as a banker or a doctor, someone who made a decent living working a “normal” job like everyone else. I guess I wore those same rose-colored glasses as I imagined and planned out dinners at 5:00 PM each day, holidays with family gatherings, spur-of-the-moment get-a-ways, sleeping blissfully in my lover’s arms at night without a care in the world, and a “Better Homes and Gardens” type boudoir with not a stitch out of place. What I received? I received the polar opposite of my imaginary dreams.

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Our Story: From Pregnant Widow to Family of Four

Our Story: From Pregnant Widow to Family of Four

This is Part 3 of Ashby’s story. Be sure to catch up if you missed Part 1 or Part 2. I used to have a florally framed paper titled “Our Family Purpose” on my fridge. At the top of the paper was written “Jesus, Ashby and Trooper” and below was a list of things I wanted our lives to be about: loving and serving others, pursuing Biblical truth, being generous, etc. In my mind, this was our family and I had no desire for it to grow. I felt like I had won the lottery with my late husband, Spencer, and I knew I would see him again in heaven. So in the meantime I was focusing on my son, Trooper, and whatever ministry opportunities

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Skillet's Korey Cooper Talks About Marriage, Motherhood, and Rock 'n' Roll

Skillet’s Korey Cooper Talks Music, Faith and Family

A multi-platinum record-selling, international touring rock band is hardly the first place one would look to discover the formula for a great marriage. Celebrities of any type are not generally known for their ability to begin, build, and maintain healthy relationships. However, the year I heard that one couple was celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary in the midst of headlining a major tour, I had to find out more. Success for a unique couple living in an unusual world. Enter John and Korey Cooper of the rock band, Skillet. In order to discover how they made it to this marriage landmark, I had the opportunity to speak to Korey. She gave me some insight into their unusual pairing, living in an unusual

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The-bachelorette-a-romantic-culture-in-a-feminist-world

The Bachelorette: A Romantic Culture in a Feminist World

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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5 Things I've Learned in a Decade of Wifing

10 Things I Learned in a Decade of Wifing

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

Marriage Won’t Mean You’re Never Lonely

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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Discussing All Things on Relationships and Faith (Video)

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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2-Minute Read on How to Create a Wedding Registry

2-Minute Read on How to Create a Wedding Registry

The engagement season is full of decisions and deadlines. Juggling details, proper etiquette, timelines, and relationships is a lot to handle all at once. For many reasons, creating a wedding registry was one of the most intimidating tasks to me. However, I received a few pieces of advice along the way, each of which was a true gift of relief. Here are 8 tips for tackling a wedding registry: 1. Dreadin’s Worse Than Doin’. Any time I feel overwhelmed by a big project ahead, I recall my grandmother’s coined phrase: “dreadin’s worse than doin’!” It’s so true. Have you ever noticed that once you start chipping away at a big project, it’s oftentimes not nearly as difficult as you anticipated? And once you finish—or even make

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How to Have a Beautiful Wedding on a Budget

Did the new year bring you a new ring? Or, maybe your Valentine surprised you with a proposal for life-long love. No matter when or how it happened, congratulations! Engagement season can be full of anticipation and lots of growth, but for many couples, finances and the lack-there-of can be a heavy weight anchoring you down from head-in-the-clouds love and bliss. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always end after the “I do” either, sorry. But there can be freedom! Money does not have to be the dream crusher! Your wedding can be beautiful, even better than you imagined in your head, and still your best day ever while staying within your budget, I promise. Plus, wise budgeting for the wedding can prep you and your soon-to-be husband for conversations

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From Pregnant Widow to Single Mom

From Pregnant Widow to Single Mom

This is part two of Ashby’s story. Read Part 1 here! Shortly after Spencer’s death, I drove out to Immokalee to the place where we used to live. Standing on the grassy bank of Lake Trafford where our Airstream once gleamed in the sunlight, I stared at the water with my hands on my swollen, pregnant belly genuinely not knowing what to do next. This empty space made my loss even more real. Every fiber of my being ached to go back and climb into our cozy home with my husband again, but this empty space was a very visual reminder that he was no longer here and there was not a home to come back to. In the Heartbreak and Confusion, What’s

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