One thought from Angela Duckworth’s book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance struck me as being particularly relevant for marriage. While Grit is mostly about work and vocation, apply the following thought in relational terms and you’ll see what I mean: “What ripens passion is the conviction that your work matters. For most people, […]
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Don’t you think it would be cruel to ask your spouse to hold down five jobs? Let’s say your wife is a university professor, but you expect her to also serve as a detective in the police department, an investment advisor at a local bank, a case worker for child protective services, and sell new […]
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A few years ago, Lisa and I took a military transport and landed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It felt unbearably hot, even for a couple traveling from Houston. Yet the Navy chaplain escorting us around said, “Congratulations—you wisely came here during the coolest time of the year.” Trips like this one overwhelm me with the […]
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The conversation took place almost a decade ago, but I can still remember it. “If either of you ever have any doubts,” this man told me and my best friend, “you need to know you’ve got two really good boys.” The man speaking to us was our sons’ high school principal. He’s the kind of […]
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“But the angel said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid, for look, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people…’” Luke 2:10 Want to know the absolutely best present you could give your spouse or family for Christmas this year? You won’t find it on the ubiquitous “12 […]
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Last week, we talked about the need to hate hate. In this two-part series, we’re looking at the blessing of loving love. No one has more joy than the person who has learned to love love. We’re not talking about loving someone merely as a duty but loving because God has made it the […]
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The Jesus life is much more radical than most of us care to admit. In particular it means that as Christians, we don’t get to hate anyone (1 John 4:20). Look at this in the context of other sins: for instance, if stealing is wrong, it is wrong to steal from anyone. You are a […]
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William Law lived in a time (the eighteenth century) and place (England) where he believed a superficial and misguided education usually made young people worse rather than better. Young boys, he said, were fired with ambition and selfishness, trying to make a name by establishing themselves as better than others, which, of course, is the […]
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As most of you know, I’m married to an organic loving, buy local, GMO free, do-all-things-the-healthiest-way-possible wife. All the way back in the 90s she decided that there was no way we’d let plastic diapers “with all those chemicals” ever touch our children’s precious bottoms. So we used cloth diapers. There were actually two […]
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A blockbuster quote from a blockbuster book (Unwanted) by Jay Stringer unmasks what I have seen but been unable to describe in marriage: “Few of my male clients recognize any needs they have except for sex. This puts a tremendous strain on their partners to be sexual in order to experience intimacy. The pressure men […]
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