Here we go again. It's that time of the year when many of us reflect on the past year—the good, the bad, and the ugly—and resolve to do better this year. Maybe you had a great year that exceeded your expectations. This is a great time to give thanks for the many blessings God has bestowed on you. But, [...]
Recently, my wife Sharon and I pulled out all the Christmas stuff to start transforming the decor of our home from Fall to Christmas. Turkeys were replaced by jolly Santas, and Fall leaves gave way to evergreens and the scent of pine. A big part of our yearly Christmas tradition has been going to cut down our Christmas tree [...]
Sometimes marriage can be hard. Sometimes marriage can be painful. Sometimes that pain and hardship can lead you to entertain thoughts of escape—to distance yourself from your spouse (physically, mentally, and/or emotionally) and the hard work necessary to maintain a marriage of love, unity, and understanding. When I'm in this place, it's a red flag for me to [...]
This month we conclude our examination of Paul David Tripp's book, "What did you Expect?" by finishing Commitment 6: We will work to protect our marriage. So, what is it that produces a marriage of unity, understanding, and love? This kind of marriage is the result of a lifelong commitment to daily marital work and deep trust in God's [...]
This month we continue looking at Commitment 6: We will work to protect our marriage. If it is true that all the horizontal skirmishes a husband and wife have are rooted in a deeper war for the heart, and if it is true that a marriage must be fixed vertically before it is ever fixed horizontally, then the place where [...]
This month we continue to look at Commitment 1: We will give ourselves to a regular lifestyle of confession and forgiveness. Last month we talked about confession. This month we will focus on forgiveness. There is perhaps no other ingredient as essential to a healthy marriage than forgiveness. Yet forgiveness is not always attractive. Forgiveness is difficult and costly. It [...]
Everyone searches for hope. Everybody looks for a reason to continue. Everyone wants to know that what they give themselves to will prove to be worth it. The things we say and do are rooted in deeply ingrained thoughts and desires. We are all on a lifelong treasure hunt. Your treasure may not be my treasure, but we're both treasure [...]
by Sharon Peterson Do you want to feel more connected to your spouse? Try praying together on a consistent basis. Russ and I don’t have a set time to pray each week but we do pray together often. It really makes us feel closer to each other and to God. When you pray together it will unite your spirits, which [...]
This past Sunday at our church, the speaker made a remark that he has learned more about Jesus' love for him through his relationship with his wife than any other means. I immediately concurred with that statement. My wife is God's gift to me to teach me about His love for me—and how I need to love others. Here are [...]
This month's post is a reminder of why God instituted the covenant of marriage in the first place. Though companionship and procreation are certainly important, God primarily designed marriage to give the world a divine picture of Christ's relationship to the church (His bride). We can lose sight of this sometimes and forget that our relationship with our spouse is [...]
