My Marriage: Twenty Five Years on the Anvil of Time

My Marriage: Twenty Five Years on the Anvil of Time

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Marriage puts our character on the anvil of time. Our impurities are revealed then burned up and beaten out until we are sharp and strong. Only then do we understand the hard and humbling aspects of marriage are forging something infinitely greater than two separate people.

Why We Lie

Why We Lie

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Lying to others is deplorable. It erodes trust, the glue in any relationship. You don’t have to look to the political arena to see it either. Look at your workplace, in your home, and even in your own heart. But lying to ourselves (and to God) is worse than lying to...
The “Mundane” Things in Marriage Make or Break It

The “Mundane” Things in Marriage Make or Break It

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I could spit on every romance novel I read as a teenager. They deluded me into thinking that marriage was one, long romantic adventure. What a crock. I’m not down on marriage. I endured four difficult years of separation because I believe so profoundly in marriage....
Intimacy with God is a One-Size-Fits-All

Intimacy with God is a One-Size-Fits-All

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A little more than four years ago, my husband and I separated due to sin in my husband’s life. I soon found out was there was quite a lot in my own and it was primarily due to my shallow intimacy with God. It is my default to try to play god in my life and in...
The Never-Ending Process of Mourning

The Never-Ending Process of Mourning

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I was cleaning out a closet in my house when I pulled out a tub of crocheted items and felt a lump lodge in my throat. My father—who would have turned 70 this week but succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 2004—had made the items for me and my daughters during my...
Amaranthine: The Unfading Devotion of God

Amaranthine: The Unfading Devotion of God

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Silly, silly girls. Running, running after love. Your Lover already cherishes you. What more can others give?   Their words are honey. Their eyes are heated. Their arms are sinewy. But their hearts are fickle and unfaithful.   But your Lover, his words are...

Is the Bible Chick-Lit?

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When it comes right down to it, God is just a sappy romantic. “Blasphemy!” you say. “Sacrilege! Heresy!” In the words of Inigo Montoya[i], “Let me ‘splain.” In Hollywood, they’re called chick-flicks. In the publishing world, the genre is affectionately called...

Please Don’t Bring Me Flowers Anymore

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I’m not really into gifts. I don’t care much for flowers. I won’t refuse them. I’ll just put them in the only vase I own and set them on the kitchen table to die. Nor do I need loads of quality time to feel secure. Working part-time, writing, and meeting the...

Naked and Knotty

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Standing fully clothed in the shower while combing through a knot in my 10-year-old daughter’s hair was a sublime place for an epiphany about God’s perfect parenting practices.

The Greatest Lover of All-Time

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In anticipation of Valentine’s Day, I googled “World’s Greatest Lover” expecting to find shirtless movie moguls, pouty-lipped teen idols, or at least some sordid tale of Casanova. The entire first page was devoted to two pathetic examples—Cheap Trick’s...