Intentionally Awesome Date Night: 25 Things

Pull out the candles and put the kids to bed early. It’s time for our FREE Intentionally Awesome Date Night resource of the week! The purpose of date night is to connect and build toward a stronger marriage. While this exercise may not appear on the surface to be a marriage-building exercise, it brings perspective in a way that can protect your relationship during moments of temptation. Today’s workbook is called 25Things. What would it cost you if you were unfaithful to your spouse? If you’ve never given it much thought, maybe you should. Your list might surprise you. Click this button for your FREE pdf workbook!   25 Things Count the cost together and reaffirm your commitment to each […]

Rough and Tumble

Rough and tumble—crash!—there goes My coffee cup. I sigh and know They won’t clean up the mess they’ve made. No, not without my guiding aid. I put the laundry down and breathe— I calm myself because I need To temper what I’m wont to yell. It’s simmering there; I feel it swell. I halt my steps a moment more Not to react as oft before. I pray for grace for me, for them. (How oft I need this little gem!) And then I head, quick, down the stairs To find six little eyes, three chairs And toys amuck across the floor All spilling from the pantry door Where hideouts burrow with the food. The eyes are searching momma’s mood. Drawing […]

I Wake

I startle at the shuffling of tiny feet across our bedroom floor. I blink through the heaviness to see the shape of our youngest son silhouetted against pale morning light. I heft my gaze to blazing numbers on the night stand. “Six twenty-two!” the clock defies. That’s exactly eight minutes before I wanted to get up. Just like yesterday, and the day before. I close my eyes for one lingering moment before focusing them again on our son. I see his tightly-fitting striped pajamas in black-and-white, though I know they’re blue and green. He stands patiently beside my bed, hugging his love-worn bear beneath his chin while sucking his thumb. He breaks the habit only to say, with all the […]

Intentionally Awesome Date Night: Urgent/Important

I know you’ve been waiting on the edge of your seat! It’s time for our FREE Intentionally Awesome Date Night resource of the week! Today’s workbook is about Important Things. We are daily bombarded by urgent things. Some of these things are important; others are not. When we attend only to urgent things, important things can fall to the wayside. What happens to the important things that never become urgent? You decide. Click this button for your FREE pdf workbook!   Urgent/Important Get ready to stop putting out fires so you can live more intentionally. Happy Dating!       In case you missed it, you may want to go back and check out our series of posts on How […]

Intentionally Awesome Date Night: Expectations

Hello, friends! It’s time for our FREE Intentionally Awesome Date Night resource of the week! Today’s workbook is about expectations. We all have expectations that are logical and reasonable to us, born out of who we are, what we’ve experienced, and how we see the world. Expectations are human. When life doesn’t match our expectations, we’re left with frustration, disappointment, anger, and conflict. What if you could clear the air and get on the same page with your spouse so that your expectations are more in line with each other’s? What would that do for your marriage?   Find out. Click this button for your FREE pdf workbook!   Expectations Having done this exercise before, I expect you will be […]

Love and Respect, by Dr Emerson Eggerichs

Today’s #favoritething is the one book that’s had by far the biggest impact on our marriage. Love and Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs is a thorough, biblically-based look at the differences between a husband’s and wife’s driving needs. When those needs go unmet, the Crazy Cycle happens–a series of negative reactions that intensify conflict. Dr. Eggerichs teaches couples how to get off the Crazy Cycle and move intentionally toward meeting each other’s deepest needs, and he points them to the One who can help them to do so regardless of what they’re getting in return. It’s not a quick-fix book, but more of a way of understanding why we behave the way we do […]

How to Make Date Nights Awesome, Part 3

Part 3: Conversation Starters So now that you’ve created space for date nights and laid some ground rules, it’s time for some resources to help you and your spouse connect again.   Here’s a free printable workbook of questions to get you going on your first date:  Grow Together, Dream Together Enjoy reconnecting with your Beloved! Let me know how the conversation goes in the comments below. 🙂   Tune in next Wednesday for another free date night resource!  

How to Make Date Nights Awesome, Part 2

Part 2: The Ground Rules Now that you’ve created space for a date, you’ve got to lay some ground rules. Agree upon these rules before you ever start your date. Set expectations up front. If you have to, put them in writing and sign them! Hold each other accountable. Rules for Dating Your Spouse: 1) Unplug Turn off notifications and put all devices away, out of sight. The only call or text that should get through is one from the babysitter in case of emergency (unless you have someone close by who can handle emergencies or you’re staying home, then turn off your devices altogether). How many dates have we spent just staring at our phones half the time? Unplugging […]

How to Make Date Nights Awesome, Part 1

Connecting as a couple while parenting in this day and age can be tough. At the end of busy days juggling work and kids, marriage can easily fall to the back burner, crowded out by constant pressing needs. We can spend all our time and resources on important things and have nothing left for each other. But marriage is the most important relationship God has given us! When we nurture it, we’re more prepared to face the constant bombardment of other needs that come our way. We’re in a season where we don’t get much time together during the week, so we have to be really intentional with what little time we do have. Date nights are a life line […]

On Community, from The Grapes of Wrath

I snagged a copy of Steinbeck’s famous novel The Grapes of Wrath at a used bookstore a few weeks ago. Because we recently watched Ken Burns’ documentary on the Dust Bowl, Mick picked up the book while the images were fresh in hopes of being able to read it in context. He shared this rich passage with me, and I immediately saw parallels for what Christian community can be as we embrace this shared life together. Enjoy. The cars of the migrant people crawled out of the side roads onto the great cross-country highway, and they took the migrant way to the West. In the daylight they scuttled like bugs to the westward; and as the dark caught them, they […]