Tom and Debi
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Category Archives: Keeping It Real
Mercy
“It’s only a surface cavity,” My dentist explained. “You may not need novocaine at all. I’ll start drilling and if you feel any pain raise your hand.” I’m ashamed to say I about took his head off! Novocaine is a … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Marriage, Difficulty, Growing Strong Marriages, Keeping It Real, Seasons of Life
Tagged Dentist, Mercy, Novocaine, Numb
12 Comments
Tomorrow
It is said at most traditional marriage ceremonies, yet we often give little thought about it from that day forward. “‘Til death do us part.” A couple of Sundays ago, our pastor taught on 1 Corinthians 5 – 7. The … Continue reading
Posted in Biblical Encouragement, Christian Marriage, Death and Grieving, Keeping It Real, Seasons of Life
Tagged A.W. Tozer, Metro Life Church, Sexual intimacy, until death do us part, Widowhood
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Today
Today marks 15,695 days I have been a Mrs. Tom’s one and only Mrs. to be exact. I was 19. Tom was 24. We had our life ahead of us with all its twists, turns and unknowns. These 2242 weeks … Continue reading
Posted in anniversaries, Celebrations, Cherishing, Christian Marriage, Keeping It Real
Tagged 43 years, Anniversary, Everlasting arms of God, marriage
2 Comments
This Man
He serves tirelessly. He works hard when someone is depending on him. He is faithful to complete any job well. And He does it with joy. We have had a hard few seasons back to back. We have lacked time … Continue reading
Posted in Cherishing, Christian Marriage, Keeping It Real
Tagged comforts of home, serving, Strong Marriage, This Is Us
1 Comment
Comfort and Joy
It’s Christmas week and we’ve been more aware in recent years of our need for comfort and joy. Tom’s stepdad is in the final stages of life with Hospice overseeing his comfort. He has lived a full life and at … Continue reading
When The Roses Are Wilted And The Wine Is Flat
Most of you know how much we have been through the past few years. It has seemed that one crisis after another has continued since the beginning os 2019. Throw a pandemic in the middle of it all and it’s … Continue reading
Posted in Biblical Encouragement, Christian Marriage, Dating Your Spouse, Difficulty, Growing Strong Marriages, Keeping It Real, Seasons of Life
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To Cherish or Admonish?
You’ve probably had it happen in your marriage too. Your spouse is telling a familiar story to some friends and they get a detail wrong. How could they not remember how it happened? Admonishment is my knee-jerk reaction in such … Continue reading
Can You Trust Me Here?
We had only been married a few months when I became very sick, requiring surgery. The look in Tom’s eyes revealed his concern, but even more revealing was his deep love for me. I saw mirrored in him the love … Continue reading
Great Married Christian Sex Takes Effort.
This title alone may have caught your interest because once you’re married it is assumed you’ll have great sex. But sadly for many couples they struggle in their sex life from day one. It can become an increasing source of … Continue reading
Caring For A Broken Heart
My brother went to be with Jesus last week. In just five short weeks he went from being a healthy husband, father, Papa and brother to fighting for his life against Covid. Many of you have prayed with us for … Continue reading
Not Enough Suitcases
Today’s guest post is from my friend and fellow blogger, Julie Sibert, who blogs regularly about marriage and intimacy on her site at http://www.IntimacyInMarriage.com. A friend and I recently went on a long hot walk around a lake, meandering about … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Marriage, Difficulty, Growing Strong Marriages, Guest Post, Keeping It Real
Tagged Guest Post, Intimacy in Marriage, Julie Sibert, not enough suitcases, Thank you Jesus
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No Tricks—All Treats This Halloween
I’ve started to write a post several times and my mind goes blank. Life has been unpredictable this year, and it keeps coming at us. Our youngest daughter gave birth to her first baby at 24 weeks and 5 days … Continue reading
Unexpected Expectations
Have you ever been caught off guard by unrealistic or unfair expectation of your spouse? Have you ever been surprised that you even had expectations? I have, sadly, and I regret what I put Tom through. Thankfully I have a … Continue reading
Posted in Birthdays, Celebration Dates, Celebrations, Christian Marriage, Keeping It Real
Tagged Birthdays, disappointments, Keeping It Real, marriage
3 Comments
Five Things To Do When You’re Bothered, Bummed and Blue
On March 17th our lives came to a screeching halt. No more meetings; no more friends gathering; no more church services together; no more date nights to our favorite places; no more life as we had known it. At first … Continue reading
Ten Ways to Not Waste This Time in Marriage
None of us expected this, but here we are. It has been the strangest worldwide event in my lifetime. We have been sheltering in place for a couple of months now, and social distancing whenever we venture out. Always going … Continue reading
“Tap In” with Intention
We are watching a series on Hulu titled, Alone, (on the History channel if you have cable). It’s a reality show that takes it to the next level of all other reality shows. Ten people, trained in survival skills who … Continue reading
Posted in Boredom, Christian Marriage, Keeping It Real
Tagged Alone, COVID-19, History Channel, Hulu, Intentional in Marriage, Tapping Out
1 Comment
Just Another Day Sheltering In Place
We are really enjoying our time together at home during this crisis, and we are grateful to be in good health. But four weeks in and we’re having to get creative with our time. So far we have: Walked daily … Continue reading
Living History – What Will Be Remembered?
I know we are all in the midst of biggest crisis we’ve ever faced in my lifetime–and I’m 60. It is unprecedented, which adds to the temptation to be anxious. In times like this it is good to pause and … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Marriage, Difficulty, Finding Joy, Keeping It Real
Tagged COVID-19, Living History, Look Up, Priorities
4 Comments
Will You Pray With Us?
Today is Sunday. The day most of us are used to a very different routine–getting up and ready to go to our local church to fellowship with friends, worship God and hear the preached Word. But today most of us … Continue reading
Posted in Biblical Encouragement, Christian Marriage, In Sickness, Keeping It Real, Music, Prayer, Seasons of Life, Worship
Tagged Cody Carnes, COVID-19, Kari Jobe, Prayer, The Blessing
5 Comments
27 Years And Still Hiding The Weight Of It All
We have lived in our home for over 27 years. We have some wonderful memories and some we would rather forget. But all of it is proof that we have lived our life here in this place we call home. … Continue reading
The Romantic Vineyard 