| The Grit and Grace Project

Our Secret Marriage Code

Bill and I have this thing we sometimes say to each other. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it’s one of those habitual, intentional refrains we’ve chiseled into the foundation of our marriage. We don’t write it, we say it… but if we did write it down, and if archeologists were to stumble upon it someday in the ancient runes of our marriage, I’m not sure what they’d make of it. We say, “I need to express something.” Which is code for, “Listen up. I’ve thought about this a lot, and I have a feeling about something that won’t go away without verbal expression. I don’t need you to do anything about it, but I do need to say it […]

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Creative Dating—No Money, No Problem

By Geinene Carson / Life & Culture, Work & Money

In our current season of raising young children, my husband and I have accepted that for the time being date nights may not look like they used to. Daily fatigue, along with the constraints of bedtimes, a tight budget and the availability of trusted sitters, are all factors to be overcome if we wish to successfully leave the house for a night on the town. Pursuing anything even vaguely resembling a date these days, calls for creativity and flexibility in how and when to make it happen. We like to think that we are perfecting the art of “dating in.” Though the location remains the same, after the children go to bed the time is ours to do with what we want.

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I Know My Man, But Do I Understand Him?

By Clare Marlow / Relationships

I saw this YouTube video the other day about an engineer who works with a bunch of prank-playing welders. They created a “backward bicycle” with a front tire that turns the opposite direction of the handlebars and challenged him to ride it across their workshop. The engineer, like most of us who learned to pedal at age 5 or 6, figured he could instantly master the bike. Instead, it took him eight months of daily practice before he could stay on the bike for more than a few seconds. He was a young guy and a public speaker to boot, so of course the video was super cool and fun to watch. But it was a few little words in the middle

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Make It a Great Day!

By Saffron Trust / Relationships

Today’s visit to the bank should have followed the same basic routine it always has; a few transactions in a few minutes. But what I thought would be a simple exchange of polite greetings with a bank representative transformed into a beautiful connection with “Nick” (on his name tag). It was an encounter that has influenced my thinking and taught me a valuable lesson about how precious each second of every minute, hour and day are to those of us still drawing breath on this earth. As I exited the bank, Nick called my name. As I turned around, he pointed in my direction and said, “Phyllis, remember to ‘Make it a Great Day.’” I smiled and said, “I will!” After learning

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Keeping a Marriage Strong When Hardship Strikes

By Geinene Carson / Relationships

Our daughter’s birth was a joyous occasion as she was ushered into this world without any complications. As far as we knew, we had a healthy second baby with a bright future ahead. Yet, at four months, she wasn’t meeting the milestones she should have been and doctors began to show growing concern. After recommended testing, we were told crushing news. Our daughter showed signs of mysterious brain damage that must have happened while in the womb. There was immediate medical concern for her life as doctors were in the dark as to any specific cause. The best they could offer was a prognosis that she would likely never walk or talk and we would have to continue living with the uncertainty

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My Road Through Infertility

By Bethany Moore / Faith

Like many women when they first get married I believed I would get pregnant easily. I started taking birth control at 25 for cramps, got married, and soon got off of them because we figured in a few years we’d have a baby. This was the next step if that was in your future, so we took it. My husband and I began the natural family planning method. I would diligently take my temperature every morning and then begin to chart it. Well, a year into that plan of action I realized that my diligence had lasted for a few months. I was terrible at it, pitiful at remembering every morning and was completely off my chart by halfway through the week.

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Marriage Is Hard

By Teresa Christian / Relationships

What if everything we read on Facebook were true? I recall a post in my newsfeed that said something to the effect of, “if it’s over for ‘Bennifer’ (Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner), then there’s no hope for any of us.” Oh, really? Marriage is hard work. That’s true. And some marriages just don’t survive. But to exploit this attitude of defeat based on one Hollywood couple is quite bizarre. I mean, they aren’t exactly the first famous couple to get divorced… But, perhaps that’s part of the problem. We look at these glamorous lives and really believe that these people have it all together. They have money, fame, and people at their beck and call. Wouldn’t that make any marriage easier?

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