Tom and Debi
Our Book Offers Daily———Encouragement
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Category Archives: Difficulty
Pandemic Marriage Check Up
Tension. Every marriage faces it. It comes from no where and sometimes settles so thick you could cut it with a knife. Many use words instead, which cuts deeper and always leaves a scar. Pandemics are like a boiler keeping … Continue reading
Bookends Of Our Marriage
Bookends. Their sole purpose is to hold up the books standing in-between them. You can have a bookshelf without bookends, but they won’t stand tall. Most likely they will fall over as mine always do. Bookends come in all sizes … Continue reading
A Marriage Many Will Never Know
You may have heard the news about Kelly Clarkson and her husband, Brandon Blackstock, divorcing. She filed for a divorce following the quarantine stating irreconcilable differences. It’s a known fact that celebrities have a harder time keeping the knot tied … 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
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
How Will We Respond In Crisis? The Choice Is Ours
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash[/caption] Today is a guest post by Sheri Bybee Mitchell with Good Job, Mama on Facebook. I met her a while ago after she left an excellent, thought-provoking comment on a post. Since she doesn’t … Continue reading
To Love and Cherish
We were asked to share the following post with our church family. We wanted to share it with you as well… Most of us included this line in our marriage vows. And if you are like us, you have probably … Continue reading
Posted in Cherishing, Christian Marriage, Difficulty
1 Comment
Vintage Post – Emoceans
(Originally posted April 8, 2017) We’ve had a front row seat to the magnificent ocean off the coast of Mexico all week long. It has been a soothing rhythm providing peace to our souls. I was praying and God reminded … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Marriage, Difficulty, Vintage Posts
3 Comments
Happy Hour – Five Friday Favorites
We haven’t shared a Happy Hour post in a long time. We thought since we’re all home now, we could use some encouragement for our marriages. Here is what many of our dear friends from the Christian Marriage Bloggers Association … Continue reading
Posted in Blog Love, Christian Marriage, Difficulty, Five Friday Favorites, Growing Strong Marriages, Happy Hour, Sexual Intimacy
Tagged Blog Love, Five Friday Favorites, Happy Hour
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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
Patiently Waiting And Watching
Spring. It’s the time when I brave my rose hedge (thorns) to prune it to half it’s size. It is always difficult to start because they look healthy, but they’re not. They need to be cut back to grow healthier … Continue reading
Posted in Biblical Encouragement, Christian Marriage, Difficulty, Growing Strong Marriages, Prayer
Tagged COVID-19, New Growth, Philippians 4, Pruning, Roses
10 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
Our Emotional Roller Coaster
I hate roller coasters. They throw off your equilibrium and make you have to regain footing once you’re back on solid ground. Not to mention the unexpected twists, turns and drops along the way. I’d rather not take part, thank … Continue reading
Five Friday Favorites – Difficult Topics in Marriage
So often in marriage the way the enemy works against us it to make us uncomfortable talking about important topics. The only way to counter this attack is to do the difficult thing and talk about them. We are privileged … Continue reading
Giving God Full Creative Access
Imagine an artist gifted in painting realism who has an accident in the studio. Paint is splashed all over the canvas ruining the piece as they had planned. But is it ruined or just different? Abstract paintings are as beautiful … Continue reading
Five Friday Favorites – Ways To Fight Fear
It has been a difficult month so far. Lots of circumstances that can tempt me to fear and I must fight for faith and peace. Have you ever been in a similar season? Bad news seems to be like one … Continue reading
Five Friday Favorites – Keeping It Real
Normally these posts are lighthearted. We share with you some of our favorite moments or things we love. But today my heart is heavy for those facing extremely challenging circumstances–terminal illness, job loss, rebellious children, chronic pain. All of these … Continue reading
In Case Of Emergency
We have all had it occur at some point in our marriage. Life is going along as expected and then it happens. You receive a phone call, a knock on the door or you hear a your child crying. You … Continue reading
In Or Out Of Control
There are some things you can control and some you can’t. And sometimes what you thought you could control, you find out the hard way that you never could. Ever been there? We all have, if we’re honest. I grew … Continue reading
The Romantic Vineyard 