Friends, in the end, if we decide to trust God with our seasons of life, we’ll see how trustworthy He is. He’s been with us before and He’ll be with us again. Our best bet is to focus on what God wants us to do now and embrace the beauty of our current season. Even if we are not all called to run half marathons – thankfully. Read more
It is very easy to feel inferior with this snapshot of womanhood taped to my mirror, calling me to look like this someday. But the Proverbs 31 woman is not a real woman! This is not Mary or Elizabeth or Rachel. This is not a portrait of an actual woman at some ultimate moment in time when she “has it all together.” Proverbs 31 is a big-picture view of the life of a woman of noble character— not a description of someone who does all these things perfectly, all at once. Read more
Have you ever stopped to think about all the events that would appear on the timeline of your life? From childhood, through the teenage years, and then into the ever-changing adult years, our lives are a pretty wild ride, right? We have family dynamics, education, careers, travel, joys, losses, financial ups and downs, children, long hours, health issues, friendships, aging parents, aging ourselves—and about a million other factors that make up life’s tapestry. Read more
The body of Christ has an awesome responsibility to an anxious world. We know what everyone else needs to know: That a mighty God is on the throne and in control. Read more
Our online survey respondents really admire their men! Here’s a sampling of how respondents answered the above: gentle, teacher, fun, hard-working, dedicated, leader, loving, strong, defender, respectful, kind, funny, nurturing, attentive, loyal, caring, invested, involved, intentional, steadfast, patient, level-headed, dependable, present, faithful, provider, devoted, God-loving, awesome, playful, encouraging, and laid-back. Oh, and let’s not forget my favorite three-word answer of all: “What I wanted.” Read more
In honor of Father’s Day, this two-part blog is a follow up to an earlier series on what every new dad can do to be a competent and confident father. This series shares the research on what every mom can do to encourage rather than discourage that process (Part 1) – and takes an opportunity to show dads how appreciated you really are (Part 2). Dads are … different. I’m quite sure that is not a surprise to any mom... Read more
In the nationally-representative survey that undergirds the The Surprising Secrets of Highly Happy Marriages, Shaunti found that even in struggling relationships, 97% of spouses said they care about their mates. This means if we’re assuming our spouse doesn’t care, statistically, we’re wrong. And that means our resulting unhappiness is based on an assumption that’s also wrong. Read more
Our research found that when a couple has friction over money, it’s not about the money. The tension feels like it is about the dollars and cents but is actually about other factors under the surface –like how money makes us feel, our insecurities and fears, and how we process decisions. Read more
If your leaders know there is an interest in discussing sexual intimacy from a biblical standpoint, they may be more open to wading into this area at a Friday night couples’ event, addressing it in married couples’ small groups (see the bullet points at the end for one idea), creating support groups, or teaching on intimacy during the worship service. The key is: your idea has to be as specific as possible. Read more
Thirty years ago, the church just didn’t talk about sex. The brave pastors who tackled sexual intimacy or Christian sexual ethics knew they might be confronted by embarrassed or angry people after the service. Unsurprisingly, many pastors simply stayed away from the topic! Some still do. Read more
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