MARRIAGE :: 7 day social media challenge
OKAYYYY MY PEOPLEEEEE … we are doing this! Starting next week, January 27th, I’ll be cohosting a no screen + social media challenge! Make this challenge what you want! For our home, we’ll be deleting social media apps and going dark for seven days! Super special thank you to Stephanie at 500 Seconds to Joy for being the ultimate brains behind these challenges! She’s so amazing! Click here to sign up for the Challenge Support Emails! You will not regret it! I’m so excited for what this will for our phone addictions (I hate to use that word but it’s 2020 and well… the truth). But not just that, I…
MARRIAGE :: promises
It’s so easy today, or maybe just seems such common practice, during weak moments in marriage, to be tempted to think of alternatives. To think about breaking the promises made at the alter. Words like seperation and divorce are the new norm. But I feel moved by today’s devotional to remember that marriage was created not just to give us the good times, good feelings and good partnership. The marriage covenant is meant to be permanent and unwavering—unconditional in every other way—because through it, we more vividly experience the unconditional love, grace, and forgiveness of God. Marriage was created to move us and change us during the hard times. There…
MARRIAGE :: authenticity
“It’s easy, in our culture, to idealize marriage. This is especially true for younger generations who have grown up seeing reality through the lens of social media. Authenticity is applauded and sharing your real life is celebrated—just as long as it’s not too authentic or too real.” In the beginning of our marriage, I was so lost. Even with awesome examples of healthy marriages in my life I so struggled with how to actually BE married. I was so SELFISH. I had such high expectations. I often think Eric is a saint for hanging in there with me while I fumbled through the first few years. I wanted marriage to…
FAITH :: cure
When I did a poll a few days ago, 77% of you voted that you are more surrounded by negative marriage talk as opposed to positive. I figured the stats would go that route, just mainly because of the culture we live in today, and the divorce rate. So my next devotional focus was an easy choice. Because of those poll results. But also because there is always room for improvement in my own marriage. We all have gaps in our ability to give and receive love. On our own, we’re all missing something. Gaps. I have so many gaps. I’m selfish. I’m impatient. I seek perfection. I have expectations…
READ :: It’s Not Supposed To Be This Way
To preface: I’m not going through a crisis in my current season of life. We have no struggles with infidelity. I’m not fighting any major battles health wise, or the like. I share none of the major storylines of this book. I’m somewhere in that in between phase, stuck in the middle of the high highs, and the low lows. And for me, this is one of the scarier spots to be. Because I fear the unknown of what’s next. Will it be an amazing opportunity for our family? Or will a heart wrenching catastrophe be on the horizon. The inability to control the unknown is a major fear for…
Old Pine, Seasons + Soulmates
Our love story often doesn’t feel like one for the books. Our daily grind is beyond normal and basic and blend-able. But something about those two glasses of wine on our very rare date nights always gets me sappy. And something about the drive home, where you play a song I’ve never heard that catches my mood like a dagger to the heart. I swear you bank these songs just trying to make me cry. As we chatted tonight about life and work and people, our origin story was brought up. And that magical mix of pinot noir, reminiscing, and tonight’s track,”Old Pine,” reminds me just how epic our love…
Baby Two’s Birth Story
Disclaimer: This is a Birth Story. This is not sugar-coated. This is Real. Raw. Birth. There are photos. If you do not want to read about birth, or see photos of a birth or a baby breastfeeding, please exit your web browser immediately. I warned you. So if you continue to scroll, it’s your own fault. Since the birth of our first child, I’ve been obsessed with everything birth related. Birth stories. Birth groups. Birth photos. Birth videos. Birth plans. Birth everything. It’s crazy how something so common, something that happens millions of times a day, can be so compelling and consuming. When we fell pregnant with our second, my wheels…