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Living Together Through The Worst
[Guest Post by Sarah Markley. I met Sarah a few years ago at a Starbucks in Orange County. She and I both graduated from Biola University and have been blogging for many years. I finally got her to write a piece on community (a topic she is definitely passionate about). I hope you are encouraged!!] I’ve lived with my husband for almost seventeen years. He’s seen me at my worst (and best) and I have seen him at his. If you really want a good example of community, look at any married couple. Or any family for that matter. In any nuclear family there are three, four or ten individuals…
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Infatuation Makes Us Very Vulnerable
[Guest Post by Gary Thomas. I’m very excited for him to share on the blog today as he is one of my heroes (he doesn’t know that yet). My husband Marc and I went through Sacred Marriage in our pre engagement counseling and believe in his message. He is also one of my upcoming speakers at Quarter Life Conference, a free online conference for the 20/30-somethings on Thursday. Register here for free.] Not only are you stupid when you’re infatuated, but you also become extremely vulnerable. I’m speaking as a pastor who has witnessed the tremendous pain that romanticism has led so many people into. Psychologically, “hearts broken from lost…
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Living Together In The Military
[Guest post by Tracy Steel. We met online (where else?), and quickly became friends after we realized we both shared similar stories of staying single for longer than we both wanted too. Her story is quite touching and I couldn’t wait to have her share about her life in the military.] Loving and living with a military man is no easy task. I realize that you may not be married, or living together in the military– yet all of us are called to love the spouse, family, or friend we live with. This is no easy task either! But based on 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, here is what living with my…
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Living Together: In Sickness And In Health
[Monthly Columnist – Wendy van Eyck] – “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Galations 6:2 (ESV)” My husband and I started living together on the 16th of April 2011. The same day that we stood in front of 30 friends and family, and promised to love and honour each other, for better and for worse, in sickness and in health. Moving in with my new husband, was great fun, and for us fairly easy. There were unexpected things: disagreements about whether the bathroom seat should be up or down, about where it was appropriate to cut toenails, and how the chairs should be arranged. Of…
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Confrontation is Necessary
[Guest Post by Shelley Hendrix] – Confrontation is necessary, it is vital that we first take the time needed to examine our own hearts and motives. The importance of this cannot be overstayed, so please take the time to do this thoroughly by answering these questions: 1. What is my motive in confronting this other person or group? If your answer reveals a desire for revenge, to put the other person in his or her place, or something of that flavor, please wait until your emotions have calmed down enough to handle the confrontation with respect for the other person. 2. Am I ready to accept that the other person…
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Living Together Before Marriage
[Guest Post by Ruth Rutherford] – Picture this, ladies: You’ve been dating an amazing guy for a while now and things are going perfectly. He is sweet, funny, smart and driven. When he looks at you, his eyes sparkle. When he smiles at you, your heart melts. And, most importantly, he really, truly loves God. You pinch yourself to make sure you’re not dreaming because (deep breath) you think you’ve found the one. You spend nearly every waking moment together, often falling asleep in one another’s arms while watching the latest Redbox release. Rustled awake by a nearby car alarm, you look at the clock near his couch and it…
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How to Start An Online Magazine
10 tips How to start an online magazine. When I started blogging on xanga, I wasn’t sure what I was doing, which is why I only posted 3-5 times. When I started a blogspot account, I had no idea it would merge with Google and then no longer be considered the “cool” place to be (see: WordPress.org). But. My growth exploded on blogspot. I posted over 400 devotionals, and it’s also where I found my calling–writing devotionals and articles that encourage and spur others forward (Hebrews 10:24). My blog is also the place where my writing turned from hobby to business, and then to an online ministry. I realized if…
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The Benefits of Living Together
Around Christmas time, I was walking Star–my dog–and stopped to talk to my neighbor. I told him how excited I was that this was going to be my second Christmas with Marc. His immediate question was, “So when are you getting married?” Shocked, I said that we were already married. His next reaction was priceless. “Good. As it should be.” Wait, what? Why is it that we presume all young adults who are living together aren’t married? Maybe because less and less people delay marriage until they’re in their upper 20’s and early 30’s. Maybe because young adults in church look (and act) no different from those not in church.…
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The Sirens of Anxiety
[Guest Post by Abby Norman] – It feels like a siren, coming at you as you drive through your day. Maybe you are headed to work like you always are, listening to your favorite radio program, maybe it is the weekend, you are headed nowhere in particular but hope to land some place special. Maybe you are driving around and around your block because the baby in the back seat refuses to sleep any other way. It doesn’t really matter where you are driving, what you are doing. You hear the siren somewhere in the distance–and you wonder if it is coming for you. There are days when I am…
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Suicide And Depression
[Guest Post by Karen Neumair] – I like to run. Notice I didn’t call myself a runner, because that would imply that I am actually good at it. Me and my 13-minute mile–look out, world! Most people assume that I started running to lose weight, and I tend to let most people think that. Because the real reason is a lot less glamorous, a lot darker. I started running to beat depression. And not just your average, run-of-the-mill depressive episode that many of us experience from time to time, but the more sinister, dark-night-of-the-soul depression, the kind where you don’t remember to eat, you don’t have the strength to get…
