Life has to get done, and someone has to do it. In a marriage, dividing that labor can be a sticky web of personality clashes, time constraints, and differing priorities. How can a husband and wife actually divide their labors in a way that keeps unity in the marriage? Read “It’s Not About the Dishes” on Growthtrac to find out.
And if your division of labor seems fair, but you are still running on empty in your emotional love tank, maybe your Love Language is Acts of Service. You have a need to be served above and beyond the obligatory assignments of your spouse. How can your love tank be full and not depleted as your spouse accomplishes the daily chores and tasks of life? Read “I Cleaned the Toilet for You: Speaking Love through Acts of Service” on Start Marriage Right.
Many brides choose to have hymns sung as they walk down the aisle. It’s a beautiful way to tie into the history of sacred tradition as many saints have done before them. Whether a cappella or accompanied, the opening song becomes the intro to the story of the bride and groom’s marriage.
At a recent wedding, I heard the contemporary hymn “It Is Well” as the bride stepped through the doorway and walked wondrously down the aisle. But when the bride and groom stood facing each other at the altar, the song didn’t stop as I was expecting. Instead, people started joining in and for several more verses, the entire crowd was worshiping on our feet at the volume of joy, anticipating what was to come–the story that was about to unfold in this wedding.
I don’t know whether it was planned to have people join in or whether it was the charismatic nature of the crowd, but in any case, it was breathtaking. Outdoor singing usually leaves each person feeling like they are singing in isolation because the voices dissipate so quickly into the air that there is no way to hear the people singing in front of you. But with this song, it felt like the Holy Spirit had put a covering over the crowd so the voices mixed and blended and expanded in the joy of the Lord.
And with that welcome of the Holy Spirit and that unification of all us endeared family and friends, we finally sat to cheer on this union of bride and groom. The intro to their story was told, the tone was set, and we together watched a most beautiful story of God’s mercy and love in these two people’s lives. Their wedding utterly gave glory to God.
So if you are walking down the aisle to a hymn, why not cue the crowd in to start the ceremony off with worship? Invite the Holy Spirit to come from the very beginning!
What do you do when your spouse has a TV habit that makes you feel invisible and undervalued? This common dynamic can subtly divide a marriage team and can derail a marriage from its God-given purposes. But TV is not the enemy. At the heart of the conflict are hurts such as feeling alone, unheard, and taken for granted in a marriage. Read “Me or the TV” at Start Marriage Right to better understand this emotional wound and to find a starting point for talking about it with your spouse.
TV is an amazing gift to be sure, but so many couples, my husband and I included, let it take a place in the marriage that limits and dulls the connection between husband and wife, as well as between each person and God. How can a husband and wife create healthy boundaries in their TV habits? Read “Breaking Up with the Our TV” at GrowthTrac Ministries to start thinking about your own relationship with TV.
I’m so excited to announce that my husband and I are leading The Significant Marriage seminar in Whittier, CA on August 22-24. Please come if you are able!
What is The Significant Marriage? It is by far and away the best marriage seminar I have attended. It helps each couple build a tool belt for their marriage in order to free the couple up to pursue the purposes God has in store them. Couples get to dream together and create a plan for living purposefully.
Come check it out! After all, no other couple ever in history can offer the world what you and your spouse can. 
Marriage is tough. Parenting seems tougher. How can you strengthen your marriage team in the early stages of parenting?
Check out my articles “New Mommy Secrets” and “New Daddy Secrets” on GrowthTrac Ministry’s site.
My husband is my beloved, my chosen one. Since we fell in love, he has had first place in my heart. Well, until we had our daughter, that is.
I know I’m not alone. Many marriages fall to the wayside when the kids come. For several months, this is a necessary shift in focus, a season of need. How can a couple keep this season just a season? How does a husband take first place again in his wife’s heart?
Read my article, “My Number One,” on Start Marriage Right to find out how to shift the marriage back into first place.
Hello SCB fans,
Thank you for your patience with me on my (very long) maternity leave. Motherhood has been a joyful journey so far!
On that note, it is with both delight and sadness that I announce the end of my active authorship of The Sweet Christian Bride. I will still post occasionally and I still welcome guest posts, but I will no longer be updating regularly. Instead, I will keep diving fully into motherhood, and I will focus my writing ventures on Christian marriage.
Please feel free to use The Sweet Christian Bride’s archives to the fullest, as well as to download A Bride’s Devotional and purchase The Purposed Bride(makes a great bridal shower gift!) Also, check out Start Marriage Right and GrowthTrac for my articles on Christian marriage.
God bless your engagements and marriages!
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