I like it when Michael shows how much he loves me by spending time with me, buying gifts of chocolate, or taking care of little things around the house. My husband has learned how to speak my love language and he does it so well. In fact a few weeks ago he came home with a bouquet of chocolate bars. It was so sweet of him! I think he figures that they’ll last longer than flowers. Ha! I love that man. While Michael also deserves my love in return, time has shown me that he needs something else–my respect. He needs to know that there are qualities about him that…

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but today is our second-last marriage vow. The last one will be here on Monday. But fear not because there are plenty of other great things coming your way. One will be a printable with all of the marriage vows listed, and another will be an eBook free to subscribers that contains all 21 of the marriage vows. I’ll also continue sharing marriage encouragement and inspiration. Now onto today’s vow… “To Uphold Our Marriage in Prayer” This afternoon my daughter called me from school to ask me a question about her schedule. Just before hanging up she said, “Pray for my exam,…

I’m a sleeper. I’m especially known to nap in the car, whether we’re driving across town or taking a road trip. I just have to close my eyes and I’m down for the count. Last thing I remember from this afternoon is that we drove up to someone’s house to drop off a guitar, the next thing I knew we were pulling up to Skinner’s Diner in Lockport. I was out cold. I don’t remember my husband getting back into the car or driving us there. I also sleep on airplanes. In fact two years ago I stepped onto a plane in Hershey Pennsylvania and woke up in Chicago. I opened my eyes asking…

Just like you and daddy. That’s the kind of marriage she says she’s always wanted. She wants to love, to laugh, and to hold on the way he and I do. And here she is. Our daughter has grown up and is a young woman herself – being courted by a fine young man.  So now it seems each day I’ve got some thoughts on love and loving that I want to share with her. Suddenly it feels more urgent to pack in all I’ve ever wanted for her to know. But I found myself a bit hesitant to share what was on my heart on this particular day. She…

I don’t particularly love shopping with Michael. I enjoy doing a lot of things with him–but walking around a mall together is not at the top of either one of our lists. Not that I don’t like going to the mall, or walking with my husband–it’s just that when it comes to being shopping buddies we’re not the best fit. I’d much rather shop with my daughter who doesn’t mind humming and hawing for 20 minutes over a pair of shoes. We’re both the same way, shopping is like hunting for a particular style. We don’t know what it is that we’re looking for until we find it, and we don’t mind…

It was a beautiful May afternoon. While out for a walk, I got it in my head that I wanted to buy a house. This one was on the same street, but it was much bigger than our little red house on the corner. Our kids (two of them at the time) would have their own bedrooms, and I’d have a pretty front porch. It had just come up for sale. I couldn’t wait to tell Michael about it, but at the same time I suspected that he might nix the idea of increasing our mortgage. He seemed to like our humble abode and didn’t mind that it was a…

Last night I came across a letter that I received a while back from one of my readers. Reading it through, I couldn’t help but think that it would be a great fit for this marriage series. I hope you enjoy her encouragement as much as I have… Dear Darlene, I was happy to see you grapple with the unaccepted (even among many Christian women) idea of the authority of the husband in the family. So much of today’s culture de-emphasizes the husband’s role or, in the case of much television and movies, either the husband is a buffoon incapable of decisions or a self-contained superman who does not need…

It was Friday night. After 20 years, I still remember that because we had gone over to my sister’s house for a Bible study like we had every other Friday night of that year. About 15 of us would get together in their basement to sing, pray and search scripture together. It had been a long day and our son Brendan–a baby at the time–was more than ready to grab some sleep. We all were. Turning into the driveway, I was relieved to finally be home. Suddenly Michael stopped the car short. He fell silent before putting it back in reverse. Cranking my head to look past him, I could see…

On my own. That’s how it felt when he walked out the door to catch the next plane. True, traveling was a necessary part of his job, but I’m the wife who’s left behind. It’s me who stays back to look after things. To clean up the spills, to fix the broken appliance, and to take out the trash. To discipline the children and to kiss them goodnight. Sometimes…I wish it didn’t all have to fall on me. But it does. So my husband was taking off for a trip first thing the next morning and there wasn’t much I could do about it. I sat at the edge of…

I had just stepped into the hallway when I saw it. One of the most beautiful things one could see–the undying love between a man and his wife. Dad had been sick for some time already, and the cancer reduced him to about 85 pounds. Looking at him, I wondered if his transparent skin was the only thing left that held him together. He was too weak to sit up without being lifted, and up until two weeks before he passed on, Mom was his sole caregiver, waiting on him both night and day. The evening we saw her stumbling to help him into his wheelchair, was the night that…

Poetry… I’ve read Dr. Seuss. Does that count? Ask me to write a poem, and I’m lost. Seriously. I wouldn’t know a good poem if it was staring me in the face. On the other hand, my niece Stephanie is an incredible poet. At least I think she is. I’ve never known enough about poems to tell for sure, but she puts pen to paper and off she goes creating beautiful words. The fact that she does it with ease tells me she knows what she’s doing. A few years ago, she told me they were having an “open mic night” at a bookstore downtown, and asked me to come…