Vow, n. A solemn promise made to God; an act by which one consecrates or devotes himself, absolutely or conditionally, wholly or in part, for a longer or shorter time, to some act, service, or condition. (Dictionary.com)
Tomorrow is my 3 year wedding anniversary. Wow… How fast time has flown by, yet…. it seems like we’ve been married for forever! I think that that’s a good sign, though. 
June 10, 2006
Three years ago, as I prepared for the wedding, I thought it would be neat if Jason and I wrote our own vows. I’m not a huge fan of all things traditional (hence the non-traditional look to the wedding party’s attire!), wedding vows included.
Unfortunately, Jason didn’t seem as enamored with that idea, so I set off in search of the “perfect” wedding vows for both of us: Non-traditional, meaningful, and powerful. By piecing several examples of vows together, I came up with vows that I loved (he liked ‘em too). Here are my vows to him:
Hmm, as I began to write the title for this post, I thought, “Wow, that’s got a double meaning! I’m announcing the winner of the book “Love & Respect“… but I’m also going to tell everyone who the winner is if they PRACTICE love & respect in their marriage!!”
So first…. let’s talk about the book giveaway. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who participated…. I had fun, and hope you all did too! I’d love to hear your thoughts: Would you want me to do MORE of these types of giveaways?!
Okay, so… just to prove to you my methods in choosing a winner, I photographed the whole process (except the cutting & folding of all the little papers with the names/email addresses on them).
All my little name pieces :)
I put them in a box....
...Shook up the box....
...Closed my eyes...
...And picked a name!!!
So… without further ado… the winner is………………..
This weekend, I was given the opportunity to share with a group of ladies at a “20-Something” retreat. I chose to talk to them about an area in marriage that is often lacking: RESPECT!
Ephesians 5:33 commands that a wife respect her husband. Unfortunately, there is no condition on that command. We are to respect our husband regardless of whether or not he deserves it, regardless of whether or not he shows us love or respect, regardless of whether or not your own needs are met.
Douglas Wilson makes an interesting comment on this topic. He says,
“Respect is to be rendered to husbands because God has required it, and not because any husband has earned it. It is good to remember that God requires wives to render more than their husbands deserve.”
In fact, in 1 Peter 3:1, Peter predicts that many wives will not be married to men “deserving” of our respect - men who are disobedient to God’s word. However, it’s our respect that can change their hearts!
Next week, I will talk more about this topic… and what we can do to ensure that we are showing respect to our husbands, out of our obedience to God. To get ready for next week’s topic, I’ve decided to give away the book entitled “Love & Respect” by Emerson Eggerichs.
THE GIVEAWAY: Read the rest of this entry »
This weekend, Jason & I took a nice long walk/jog along the road that leads from our island (Ocean City) to the next island (containing the towns of Strathmere & Sea Isle). Jason works in Strathmere in the summertime and wanted to check out the beach situation, since storms tend to wash part of it away in the wintertime. It’s about 2 1/2 miles from our house, so we drove part of the way, leaving about 3 or so miles for us to go on foot.
The afternoon was beautiful and sunny, although a bit windy. The marshland to the right of us stretched on for miles, and the bay to the left of us soon opened up into the wide ocean. It was gorgeous (I love living here!).
As we were heading back towards our car (still about a mile away), something on the side of the road caught my eye. It looked like a shiny pebble at first… but on closer inspection it was a BABY TURTLE!!
Seriously, this turtle was the CUTEST thing I have ever seen! About an inch long, it was soo tiny yet so spunky, as you’ll soon see….
Our running past it must have startled it, because he was scrunched up in his shell, but his little eyes were darting back and forth, perhaps wondering when it would be safe to pop back out. We backed off & watched it, wondering if it was headed back to the bay, or across the scary road to the marshland beyond. After a few moments, the baby turtle emerged from its shell & TOOK OFF for the middle of the road!
Now, let me explain something… while this road is not a highway, the cars do drive rather quickly, and a turtle of this size would never be seen by a car! This little turtle was bravely heading where he knew he needed to be… unbeknownst to any danger though. :( It made me so sad to think of how many baby turtles must die while making a trek like this!
Stop, Drop, & Roll…. you probably learned this as a young child, just in case your clothing ever caught on fire. To put out the fire, your teachers had you practice these three things:
- Stop what you are doing.
- Drop to the ground.
- Roll until the fire is out.
Now, I’ve never had to use this method in a real fire (thank God!) but I recently learned how to apply this concept to MARRIAGE! Just like we talked about with our Complaint-Free Week Challenge, it’s often hard to tame our tongues…. but it is sooo important we do that for the sake of our marriage!
All men thrive on respect… & when we cut them down with our tongues, whether through complaining, sarcasm, nagging, angry words, etc… it belittles them and shows them great DISrespect. Not a great way to strive for a holy marriage!
So, I’m borrowing my content from Stacy Miller of Shore Fellowship Church in Egg Harbor Township, NJ, who taught this at She Speaks ‘09 Women’s Conference this weekend. This is a portion of what she talked about, but it really got the wheels in my head turning!
She turned the Stop, Drop, & Roll concept into a positive habit we can form when we are ready to open our mouth with something negative to say to our husbands (or children, co-workers, parents, etc).
So here’s what to do: Read the rest of this entry »
Are you up for a good challenge? Depending on your personality, or even what’s going on in your life at the time, this challenge may or may not be EXTREMELY difficult!
Your challenge is, for a WHOLE WEEK, to not complain. No complaining about your husband, your kids, your co-workers, your boss. No complaining about your messy house, dirty dishes, never-ending laundry, or shoes that are left in the middle of the floor for you to trip on. No complaining about your job, workload, lack of extra money, or need for a vacation. No complaining about headaches, vomiting children, tiredness, or your desire for sanity in the midst of chaos.
For one whole week, no complaining allowed! At all! No excuses!
So, what’s the catch? Why are we doing this? Read the rest of this entry »
As a wife, a mom, or a woman… what kinds of FEAR do you face?
As a wife, I face the fear of failure - that my husband won’t think I’m good enough, that I’ll fail at being the best wife out there.
I face the fear of rejection - that if I do something “wrong”, my husband won’t love me anymore.
I face the fears of burning dinner, leaving wet clothes to rot in the washing machine, forgetting to take the garbage out before it stinks up the whole house, and yes…. I face the fear of getting fat. I suppose all of these seemingly “minor” fears stem from fear of rejection, now that I think about it.
Now, I find myself beginning to face NEW fears… as a soon-to-be Mom! That’s right…. Jason & I found out that I’m pregnant, and I’m due in November! Exciting times, but scary nonetheless. Read the rest of this entry »
Wow, has it REALLY been over a month since my last blog post?! My goodness! What a month this has been! And what a major case of writer’s block I have had!!
However, I HAVE been reading… a lot. I’m currently in the midst of reading 4 books - at the same time! One is in my bathroom (I read a page or two at every sitting), one is on my nightstand (I read a page or two in bed at night, waiting for Jason to join me), and both the third and fourth are in my school bag (I read them on my breaks. I get a few pages read each day in one or the other).
It’s the third & fourth books that I want to focus on right now, because they are the ones which broke my writer’s block today!!
One is called “Sacred Marriage” by Gary Thomas. It is about marriage making us HOLY rather than HAPPY. Majorly convicting stuff… I’ll have to get into some of the concepts at a later point in time. The other is called “The Husband Project” by Kathi Lipp. It is a practical guide to showing love to your husband each day (similar to “The Love Dare“).
So, I was reading “The Husband Project” today during my student’s music class (because I had accidentally left the other book in the classroom) and I was hit with conviction. The ideas from working toward a HOLY marriage combined with the suggestions for loving my husband…. and I thought, “Wow… I need to share this!” So, here goes….
“Try walking in the door of your home and see what you notice as you cross the threshold. What’s the vibe that your house gives off? Does your home give you a hug or a panic attack?“ (The Husband Project; p. 64)
When I walk into my house, I see Read the rest of this entry »
February was the “Month of Love,” right? There’s Valentine’s Day, and of course…. my engagement day was in February as well! My pastor did a series this month on marriage… we had a “Fireproof” outreach the other evening…. Stores go nuts for Valentine’s day related love … Hallmark cards are splashed in red as they all proclaim undying love for your spouse, lover, or special friend.
Well, after reading “The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman, I’ve been in tune to recognizing Love Languages in people (even in movies I try to pick them out)…. and I realized that Hallmark has discovered them as well.
A few weeks ago, I was shopping for a Valentine’s Day card for my wonderful husband and I began to laugh at how each Love Language is expressed in each card! To prove my point, I slyly pulled out my cell phone & began taking pictures of the cards that I read. I must have looked very silly to passersby, but…. hey, it’s all in the name of being a Striving Wife!! (sort of)
So… here’s what I found…
Hallmark’s Version of the Five Love Languages:
Not so sure what your Love Language is? That’s okay, I didn’t know for the longest time. I mean, I suspected, but I wasn’t entirely sure. If you’re in the same boat as me, or if perhaps you can’t decide between two (or three), a quiz might be the right next step for you!
Below is a quiz adapted from Gary Chapman’s book, “The Five Love Languages.” It is designed to help you to understand the in which you best receive (and give) love.
The Love Language Quiz consists of 30 pairs of statements. Choose ONE statement in each pair - the one that best represents your desire. Keep track of your answers: write down the letter of each statement you choose. (Make sure you’re only choosing one!)
The Love Language Quiz: Read the rest of this entry »
![103339: Fireproof, Special Collector"s Edition DVD](http://ag.christianbook.com/g/thumbnail/1/103339t.gif "103339: Fireproof, Special Collector"s Edition DVD")
