It’s been a perfect August vacation afternoon. The smoke and rain have cleared enough for my husband and I to enjoy a lakeside hike in Grand Teton National Park. The mountains’ jagged grey peaks jut high into the sky, ribbons of snow still clinging along north-facing crevices. A family of Canadian geese glide on jade-colored waters which mirror the mountains. A white-footed hare forages near the trail. It’s quiet. My soul drinks in the scene the way a thirsting desert wanderer gulps fresh water. Such beauty. Such magnificence. We’re still marveling at what we’ve seen as we make Continue Reading
Why I’ve adjusted my thinking about how marriage works
On October 9th, my husband and I will joyfully and gratefully celebrate 38 years of marriage. Somehow, the two of us have blossomed into a tribe of sixteen strong (and I don't know that our family is done growing)! I've written a guest post for CBE International about a major paradigm shift my husband and I experienced in recent years regarding husband/wife roles in marriage. I hope you enjoy the piece, which begins like this: Rob and Julie were quite certain they had the formula for a successful marriage. God had brought them through a rough season early in their Continue Reading
Why I want to be content to live a small life
In the rolling hills of the Palouse countryside near my town, a small white church sits tucked behind a row of evergreen trees. To the side of the church is a tidy little graveyard, much like the one in this image. My husband and I have walked through that graveyard on more than one occasion, reading names and dates on the headstones, reflecting on life. I suspect these folks who died over a century ago lived simply. They probably didn’t travel far. They likely had only a small circle of people who knew them. By today’s standards, we might think of their lives as wasted—but Continue Reading
Why sure-fire Bible answers may not be as helpful as we think
When we lived in the same town with them, “Bret” and “Lindsey” had been married for nearly two decades. Early on in their marriage, they’d gone through a major crisis. The way they handled it became, in their view, a powerful testimony which they were compelled to share with others. Bret and Lindsey concluded that the answer to marital strife was for the wife to submit every decision, no matter how small, to the husband. She was to serve him twenty-four seven with sacrificial devotion. He, in turn, would provide for the household, manage the finances, bring ultimate discipline Continue Reading