Tom and Debi
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Category Archives: Priorities
Pruning A Marriage Is Hard Work
It is Spring in FL and everything in our garden needs pruning, weeding, mulching, fertilizing and/or repotting. It can be overwhelming when looked at as a whole. But Tom and I have found that focusing on one thing and completing … Continue reading
Vintage Post – Constrained or Compromised?
Originally posted March 2011 Driving down the road they stand as deformed sentinels declaring to everyone, “I was here first!” Yet progress moves forward without regard for the hows, whys or who’s in the way. I’m talking about beautiful trees … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Marriage, Priorities, Vintage Posts
Tagged Growing Strong Marriage, topiary trees
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One More “Let’s Be” to Practice
I’ve been surprised that I haven’t written more during the quarantine. One would think that a writer writes, and only needs time to do so. And that is true, unless you are practicing this final “let’s be”. Let’s be present. … Continue reading
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
Not This Time
Change. We change clothes daily. We change our schedules to meet demands. We change our attitudes when it’s hurting others. Change can be easy if it’s something we want to do. But not all change is easy. I have found … Continue reading
Living Our Marriage Backwards
Our church just finished a series studying the book of Ecclesiastes. It has been a sobering and encouraging endeavor. I have learned much in the process. I am grateful for a church where God’s Word is cherished–all 66 books of … Continue reading
Do You Struggle With This In Your Marriage?
Today is Tax Day in America. It is the day we all must pay our dues to the government whether we like it or not. If they have taken too much from us during the year, it is a time … Continue reading
Monday Tradition
We celebrated our 40th anniversary in February. And for most of those years we have kept a tradition–a favorite tradition. Every Monday is our weekly date night. You may ask, “Why Monday?” We had a very practical reason. Monday was … Continue reading
Vintage Post—9 Tips For Spring Cleaning Your Marriage
(Originally posted on March 13, 2013) Photo Credit: Imperfect Homemaking blog There was a day when people invested time and energy in cleaning their home from top to bottom each and every spring. I know because we lived next door … Continue reading
6 Questions To Evaluate The State Of Your Union
It’s January, but more surprising than that–it’s 2019! It seems like yesterday when we were concerned about Y2K. We blink and time flies by at record pace. Yet it stays the same. Seconds turn to minutes. Minutes turn to hours. … Continue reading
Date Night Challenge 2018 – The Letter “X” – Xtra Special Advent Calendar
I love it when November has an extra week after Thanksgiving. It makes it easier to transition from one big holiday to the next. If you’re like us, it’s easy for our marriage to take a back seat to all … Continue reading
Posted in 2018 Date Night Challenge, Alphabet Dates, Christian Marriage, Christmas, Date Night Ideas, Holidays, Priorities, Romantic Ideas
Tagged Advent Calendar for Marriage, Advent Calendar ideas, Being intentional, Christmas, Romantic Christmas
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Erasing Your Spouse
Have you ever shared something with your spouse and realized they hadn’t heard a word you said? Either they were distracted by their gadgets or the TV, but it was obvious they weren’t listening to you. If we’re honest we … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Marriage, communication, Priorities
Tagged Being intentional, communication, Don’t be an eraser, marriage
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Is Your Marriage Like This?
It seems more and more couples are sharing with us the current lack of health in their marriage. We can see the pain and disappointment in their eyes. It grieves us because we know this is not how marriage is … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Marriage, Growing Strong Marriages, Keeping It Real, Perspective in Marriage, Priorities
Tagged Help for Marriage, Is Your Marriage Like This?, Troubled Marriage
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A Gift to Avoid Drift
For my birthday this year Tom has committed to work out with me at home. He went so far and quit his gym membership too, so I knew he was serious. I am excited for this new chapter in our … Continue reading
Wake Up Call
This has been a difficult week for our church family. A dear friend and long time member of our church had a massive heart attack last Tuesday morning. They were just enjoying normal life when this crisis hit them unexpectedly. … Continue reading
This One Practice Produces Change
In our last post we talked about the detriment it is to have a condemning spirit towards your spouse. Today we want to talk about the antidote. In the Christian life the antidote to a condemning spirit is a grateful … Continue reading
11 Possible Indicators You Have A Mediocre Marriage
MEDIOCRE. Just the sound of it is blah, don’t you think? I looked up the definition and found this interesting… One of the things that is remarkable about mediocre is the extent to which it has retained its meaning over … Continue reading
Posted in Boredom, Christian Marriage, Difficulty, Growing Strong Marriages, Priorities, Troubled Marriage
Tagged Brian Cranston, marriage, mediocre, settling in marriage
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Is Your Marriage All In?
There is growing tendency in newly married couples to stay independent financially, socially and emotionally. This is cause for great concern. Let me explain… When we said, I Do, we were committing to a new way of life. We were … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Marriage, Difficulty, Growing Strong Marriages, Newlyweds, Priorities, Seasons of Life, Showing Honor, Temptation
Tagged Dependence in Marriage, Finances in marriage, Independence in Marriage, Joint Checking Accounts, Priority of Your Spouse
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Anticipating What’s to Come
What a privilege it is to encourage you and your marriage to grow. It is a responsibility we don’t take lightly. When life requires our attention there is a constant struggle of wanting to give you our best, yet take … Continue reading
Posted in Christian Marriage, Christmas, Holidays, Priorities
Tagged Cloverton, Hallelujah
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The Romantic Vineyard 