More for Your Marriage

I was just reading a devotion that said to "Stop reading your Bible like it's something to check off your Christian to do list." It talked about reading it for what it is, a love letter from God to each and every one of us...we have to read it like it was meant for us and apply it to our lives. I was so convicted because sometimes we do that don't we? We sit down to read the Bible just so we can say we did it today...we go through the motions, when we really need to dig in, find ourselves in it, and apply it to our lives. I could hear the Lord speaking to me saying, "We do that in our marriages, too." We allow complacency to set in and we just go through the motions, when the Lord meant for it to be SO MUCH MORE! DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU ARE JUST GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS IN YOUR MARRIAGE SOMETIMES? I'm going to take a wild guess and say you do...I think we all can get to that point sometimes. Our intentions are GRAND and we make that promise to always k

When you have been married for any length of time over about a month or two...you KNOW that fighting and/or arguing and/or disagreeing IS GOING to occur. It may happen more in some marriages than others, depending on the personalities that God put together, but it WILL happen. We are all human, imperfect, and sinful in nature...which leads to selfishness and pride...and neither of these things work well in a marriage. SO, WHAT DO WE DO WHEN THE INEVITABLE DISAGREEMENT ENSUES???? So glad you asked! I have researched, and pulled several points from different places, but first, let's hear what the Bible has to say about it. Colossians 3:12-15 says : "Therefore, God's chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. Above all, put on love--the perfect bond of unity. An

To start off, let me say that I am so sorry that it has been over a month since my last post. I have no excuse except business, exhaustion, etc...which is just what the devil wanted...to slow down my blog posts and me. I am DONE letting him win with this...so I will try to be better about not waiting so long.  Today, my post was prompted by a directive from God that I totally ignored! I KNOW-- it sounds TERRIBLE when I say it out loud, but in a nutshell, that's what happened. Drew and I were at the grocery store, just picking up a few things on the way home. We got our goods, loaded the car, and got in to leave. I noticed in the car next to me that a woman was loading her groceries with a very small toddler in the front of her buggy. She handed the small child a Yoo-hoo and went to put her in her car seat on the other side of the car. She left her buggy next to her car so she could go put the little one in her seat. I looked at her as I drove past and the Lord spoke to me, &quo

It's been over a month since my last post...I have been super busy and super tired (NOT A GOOD EXCUSE...BUT TRUTH)...so when I received the below email from Dr. Dobson, it struck me that this would be helpful for ALL families. He talks a lot about housewives in this article...but it VERY MUCH SO applies to all ladies, working inside or outside the home...So I thought I would share it. I have added a few comments here and there in BLUE AND ALL CAPS...so you know that Dr. Dobson didn't say that...LOL 3 Tips to Understanding Your Wife's Fatigue By Dr. James Dobson 1.  For some strange reason, human beings (and particularly women), tolerate stresses and pressure much more easily if at least one other person knows they are enduring it. This principle is filed under the category of "human understanding," and it is highly relevant to housewives AND/OR WORKING MOTHERS . The frustrations of raising small children and handling domestic duties would be much

NO- this post is not about the song--HAHA...but the title just fit! Last Sunday our pastor preached on Pride...It was an awesome sermon, and it sparked a long week of thinking about how pride is such a sneaky sucker! So many times satan uses pride to destroy a marriage, and we don't even realize it until it's too late! It sneaks into our daily lives and keeps us from doing the things that God has called us to do in our marriage...men and women alike!  Let's look at what pride looks like in a marriage: Not asking forgiveness when you know you were wrong Not telling your spouse when they hurt you because "they should already know" Not admitting our mistakes Feeling like and acting like all problems are the result of someone else's mistakes Not taking suggestions from our spouse because we "have all the answers" and know how to handle this better than they do Never admitting we are wrong--even on the smallest things Not being willing to

Have you ever heard a song several times before and then one day the Lord just speaks to you through it...like never before? This morning, as I drove to work, Zach Williams' song "Chain Breaker" came on the radio. I have heard this song so many times before, it's even my husband's ring tone...and if you know my husband, his phone is always ringing...so I hear it a lot! But today was different...it spoke to my soul, made me smile, and gave me a reason to rejoice! As I listened to the song, the words just stuck out today, they rang in my head and washed over my heart...I REALLY HEARD what it said. And as I drove and listened, God spoke to me and I'd like to share it with you. But before I do, I want you to watch the lyric video below and read the words as he sings. Really think about what it says as you listen. "If you've been walking the same old road for miles and miles. If you've been hearing the same old voice tell the same old lies. If

As I sit here with high anxiety and knots in my stomach, it feels familiar. This storm called "Matthew" is heading our way and my mind is swimming with the possibilities and outcomes that are unknown and scary to say the least. Being surrounded by huge, OLD, did I mention HUGE Oak trees doesn't seem like the best place to be in a storm of this magnitude...but it's where I am. I am pushing "trusting God" to a new level while praying for angels of protection to wrap themselves around this house and our friends and family who are also riding out the storm. The familiarity of this feeling takes me to a place I have been--but in a very different situation...a broken marriage. We ALL have storms in our marriage...we may have weathered them nicely and came out stronger on the other side, some of us could have had HUGE "oak trees" crush our dreams and lost everything, some may be struggling through right now with prayers that angels of protection will wr

So is anyone else exhausted, or is it just me? Have you ever felt stretched thin, over committed, weary, tired, or exhausted? Do you have a million things going on in your life and can't seem to find time for yourself and God, much less your marriage? I AM THERE! I feel like I run myself ragged trying to do the things I deem "necessary" to be the best I can be as an Assistant Principal, a mother, a wife, a friend, a Christian. I work so hard at trying to be what I think everyone expects of me...and I fail every time. I get so busy that I lose sight of what God has really laid on my heart...people, marriages, families in trouble. God has laid a heavy burden on my heart to DO SOMETHING to help others in their marriages and families. I don't have a degree, but I have a love for people and what God wants for their lives. Recently I received an email (which was sooo NOT a coincidence in my opinion) to earn a Life Coach certification to help people in the areas that God h

MARRIAGE ISN'T EASY...we all know that...but what if we are the ones causing it's failure??? We are ALL GUILTY of doing and saying things that squash the romance or leave our marriage feeling empty. Today I am sharing 12 things that kill marriages. I can not take credit for discovering these things...I am a huge fan of Dr. James Dobson...I have put his stuff on here before. Below are "12 Marriage Killers" according to him--with added commentary from me. If you would like to see it on his website or see what else he has to offer, you can click  HERE . 1. OVER-COMMITMENT AND PHYSICAL EXHAUSTION: These two things are so easy to get caught up in these days. At the Chapman house we have work (five days a week, sometimes 6 for Jeremy and neither of us are home before 5 usually), church (Sunday, life groups, youth group), 2 boys in soccer (practice twice a week and games on weekends), and so on and so on. And we don't even do as much as some other families we know. Ac