Got expectations? They might be destroying your marriage. Sitting next to each other in the church pew at a conference for young girls and their moms, my daughter and I smiled at each other. Standing and worshiping together, we clapped hands, waved our arms, and sang our hearts out. We took notes sitting side by …
If you are feeling worthless and alone in your marriage, I want to give you HOPE today. Even if your marriage is “okay.” Especially if your marriage is “awful.” And really if your marriage is “full of conflict,” “mean-ness,” hurt, or even verbal/emotional abuse. And I hope that if you understand what I’m about to …
She is clothed in strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. (Proverbs 31:25) There are times I don’t want to be a grown up. I have three kids, a husband, a house, a ministry, and countless other responsibilities. Being a grown up is a difficult requirement of life to ignore. In …
Psychologists will tell us that the “parent-child” or “mothering” style of relating is extremely unhealthy in marriage. What IS healthiest is “adult-adult.” Unfortunately, we don’t always do that. Both men and women can be “parental” or “mothering” in a relationship and “childish.” This manifests itself in ranges of varying levels of controlling behaviors to rebelliousness, …
What if there was a process to change your marriage? And what if it was not only biblical, but had been proven to work? What if there was even tons of research behind it? And the method had been around for literally decades? Here’s the thing – ALL marriages have conflict. Based on what we’ve …
The factory worker stood in front of me. Greasy hands wiped the front of his shirt. “What ARE you, anyway?” he asked me. My brow furrowed. I chewed my lip. I had no idea what he was talking about. “What do you mean?” I inquired. “You’re always so happy all the time. And whenever someone …
Story of Stuff It was 35+ years ago. I stood outside the police station with a group of 12 year olds, waiting for things to get started. As I watched my dad drive away in the car, my heart started to pound. The police officer outside started collecting the permission slips from the other kids…and …
The horses grazed in the pasture. The drying grass crunched under my feet as I walked from the barn out to the field, eager to try the new thing I learned the day before thanks to Equus.com. Normally, my process was efficient and productive. Take the lead. Walk to the horses, maybe saying, “hello” to …
Communication When I read Dare 14 from The Respect Dare this morning again, I saw a number of things that I hadn’t seen in it before. The comments about the husband’s emotional responses, subtle as they were, stood out to me. What’s really interesting is I’m also currently studying horse communication. I spent about half …
Stop doing it all. Earlier this week, I wrote about the entire “housework” issue in Dare Thirteen in terms of who is actually doing what. Yesterday, I wrote about the “Do It All” woman, the one who is exhausted, burned out, and stressing out those around her. I received an email saying, “This also applies to …