Recent Posts

Visioneering by Andy Stanley – Do You Have Vision for Your Marriage? (Part 1 of 2)

Editors Note: This is a 2-part series inspired by Andy Stanley’s book Visioneering: God’s Blueprint for Developing and Maintaining Vision. Part 1 outlines elements of  a “Vision from God” . Part 2 will offer a personal testimony and explore how to apply it to your marriage and family.

In the book, Andy defines the 4 core components of the ever-so-daunting idea of a “God-ordained” vision and “20 Building Blocks of Vision”. Let’s journey together to understand how God has a vision for our marriages and families… so we can participate in it and experience the joy of His presence and fruits.

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Romance Idea #5 – “Honey-Do List” Operations Management (I’m Gonna Actually Do the Stuff)

First and foremost, I agree, honey and buttermilk biscuits are ridiculously delicious. Second, I agree, I wish I was eating some right now. Third, I agree, they are best when made from scratch by Grandma. Alas, this post is not about tasty food. It is about how I can love my wife better.

I first learned about the “Honey-Do List” about 3 weeks into marriage from some of my married friends. For those of you not “in the know”, a Honey-Do List is exactly what it sounds like, it is that growing list of gentle requests from your wife that you often hear in the form of “Honey” will you DO this… that… and/or the other thing. […]

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In the [CNN] News: Does the Black Church Keep Black Women Single?

I recently read this article and experience a wide array of emotion: sadness, anger, compassion, and frustration. I would say “pardon me while I get on my soapbox”… but I will not. I have no problem defending the faith and Christ’s sacrifice and design for marriage. My goal here is to not be a jerk, but to affirm Christian Marriage.

I am slightly hesitant about commenting on this given I am not an African American man or woman… but, last time I checked Christ was a colorblind, resurrected Jewish Messiah. His Church should be colorblind. The “Body of Christ”, aka, the Church, is a beautiful, multicolored, patchwork quilt. My post is in reference to the church, marriage, and dating… NOT African American people.

Here is the link to the article referenced in this post: CNN.com – Does the black church keep black women single?. While you could go there and read the article, I am copying and pasting many points from it in the text below. Quite a few articles could be written about some of the claims / issues in the article: men’s issues with the church, too much reverence for a pastor, the culture of Christianity in the South, using Church as a dating service, and more… but I will stick to the main claim about the Church “keeping women single”. […]

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Team Hoyt – How Hard Are You Willing to Work for Your Family?

You may have seen one of these emotional and inspirational videos before. That’s OK. Watch it again.

The journey of Dick and Rick Hoyt is one of the most wonderful heart-string-pulling stories you have probably ever heard or seen. During birth, Rick Hoyt’s umbilical cord wrapped around his throat, depriving him of oxygen. Doctors diagnosed Rick with spastic quadriplegia and cerebral palsy. Doctors told his father, Dick, that he might as well file Rick away because he would never be able to have anything resembling a normal life. They were very wrong…

They eventually competed in over 1,000 races, which include marathons (26.2 miles), duathlons, and triathlons… 6 of which were Ironman Triathlons (2.4 swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run). They also biked and ran across the entire U.S.A for a distance of 3,735 miles in 45 days.

The Hoyt’s story made me ponder… how hard am I willing to work for my marriage?[…]

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Devotional: Vices, Virtues, & Fruits of the Holy Spirit – Galatians 5:19-26

In the bubble of Christianity, it is inexplicably easy to get “overwhelmed” with internal theological or apologetic debate. Dissecting scripture to find “objective truth” is sometimes difficult as we try to understand and “pin down” the lines we should not cross. We question whether or not certain actions, activities, or choices are OK, and try to define (and sometimes wiggle into or out of) the black, white, and gray areas.

Most of us most of us know plenty about the Bible and Christ. What if all someone knew were these words from Christ: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” (Luke 10:27). Imagine what the world would look like if we stopped reading the Bible and simply lived out only the stuff we already know. […]

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