Sex In Marriage: Blue Marriage God’s design for sex is a lifetime of pleasure and delight. Sex should be something we enjoy and look forward to in marriage. In a healthy relationship, there is effort and forethought given towards sex to make it fun and pleasurable. However, Satan’s ultimate goal is that we will be ashamed of our sexuality so that we won’t talk about sex with our spouse. The good news is, you don’t have to live a life full of frustration, shame and rejection.

Our ability to contribute to life is dependent upon our ability to suffer and sacrifice. He whose sacrifice is the greatest, contributes the most. Recently I donated blood at a local clinic travelling through town. I’ve often scolded myself for allowing so much time to pass between donations. It wasn’t much of a sacrifice…about an hour of time, no physical pain (nor squeamishness in my case), and some refreshments to boot. However, the results could be of the greatest good. I

A few months ago, Danny and I were honored to attend his son David’s wedding. I cannot thank the Lord enough for the blessing of the healed relationship between my husband and his son. We’ve cherished getting to know Danny’s new daughter-in-law Veronica, and of course the grandkids are a gift to our hearts as well. Imperfection The song the happy couple chose for their first dance was one I’d never heard, but it brought me to tears as soon as I heard the chorus. If you’ve

“You’re not my real dad.” Okay, maybe those weren’t the actual words a 12-year-old Jesus spoke after he’d left Mary and Joseph for three days without their knowing where He’d gone. But, it was kind of the same sting after his mother said in Luke 2:48-49: “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” Jesus replied, “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” WWJ(oseph)D What would Joseph do as he stood there gazin

We just arrived home from a Disney World vacation combined with Arlene’s writers’ conference. Our two teens and I exercised an eight-day park pass, while Arlene joined us for four days and spent four at the conference. It was fantastic to see Arlene in her writers’ community, and to meet our friends from Faithful.live in person. Upon arrival, the shuttle driver brought my vacation to an immediate discord of thoughts. His words that evoked my dissonance… “Welcome to Disney whe

Be Resolved Our church has been studying II Timothy 1:12 with the theme “Be Resolved.” So Sunday, Pastor began a series of sermons about love—specifically, being resolved to love. I think many of us are still trying to figure out what to feel and think after the Charlottesville tragedy, and he began the discussion of being resolved to love by talking about hate. Hate and love are not two emotions on the same spectrum, he told us. Hate originates from sin. Love, however, is

Imbalance Recently, I shared a personal situation that had me chained down over the last year. Failing to pray forgiveness for certain siblings left me shackled to sin’s floor. But before, “I forgive you,” came from my lips, I needed grace to pour out from my heart. As I’d admitted in the previous article, after nearly a year since my dad’s passing, there was never an opportunity to grieve his loss. The result is numbness. In this void is also an imbalance of emotional respon

Traditions of the first marriage for the bride and groom tell us that their passions for each other physically ignite and erupt with the simplest glance or whispered flirt. Newlyweds should desire each other in a voracious and healthy sex life. God created man and woman to perfectly compliment each other. He also created sex so the husband and wife may engage in the joys of love-making. Couples continue to enjoy sex even after the arrival of their children. Physical intimacy

I didn’t have to break this news to my wife. She already knew. And guess what, she wasn’t upset. Maybe because I also understand I’m not her soulmate either. Now, before you go feeling sorry for either one of us – Don’t. The term soulmate has become distorted. Maybe too often and in some weird way has morphed into a definition of emotion superseding that of love. Like this ridiculous claim – “This person is my spouse, but that person is my soulmate.” Time Travelers Soulmates

Number Cruncher How much thought have you given to the reality of remarriage? I know you’re aware that over 50% of all first marriages fail. Most of us like to chalk that one up to youth, inexperience, lack of support and anything other than the reality that you may have been part of the problem. Okay, so we’re already playing from behind the 8-ball when we decide love has blossomed within months of the first failure. You’re wiser and know what to look for this go around. Rig

Is it ever too late to pick up the baton and finish the race? Men seem to drop the baton more often when it comes to relationships with their children than women do. It might have something to do with the impossibility of two alpha males occupying the same space. The reality of it is that the sanctity of those bonds were broken from the start. When Adam sinned, he separated himself from his Father God. Unresolved and unrepentant, their relationship resulted in exile. Many of

A new survey by BuzzFeed recently asked people if they’d commit an extreme act if it meant receiving five million dollars. There’s crazy stuff on the list; some things downright disgusting. The milder includes quitting the internet for fifteen years; only 45% would do it for the money. 54% would listen to only country music for the rest of their lives. Only 24% would live in solitude for the next twenty years. 7% would never bathe while spurning deodorant for their remaining

I’ve posted before about the joys and challenges of blended families. Oddly enough one of my biggest hurdles was communicating with our 13 year-old. The thought of time alone scared me to death. I mean really, what do I say to her? Leah has assured me that the swings from sweet and affectionate to cutting in her comments were completely natural. Having never been around teenaged sisters or daughters, I trusted what my wife said was correct, but didn’t want to test the truths.

What’s In There? I, like many others in south Louisiana, grew up in a Catholic household. That’s where God’s influence began and ended. It wasn’t about a particular religion, as it was about having never stepped foot in church. As I got a bit older I noticed there was a Catholic church not far from our home. I often wondered what went on inside of it other than weddings and funerals. I always knew, trusted, assumed, okay, hoped there was a God. I wasn’t sure though. I’d heard

The Dilemma Why can’t we get it right? It’s all so seemingly simple. Man and woman copulate, and their child is born. Oh look, it’s a boy, and he looks like daddy. Proud dad smiles, softly strokes his calloused palm over the light blue beanie cap the nurse tugged over junior’s funnel-shaped head, and he feels panic. Boys Need Dad Boys love their mom, but they desperately need their dad. Around 6 or so years old, young boys begin to identify with dad’s personality and style of

When I was about nine years old, my best friend got a new blue winter jacket. When I saw Laurie’s new jacket, I wanted one just like it. I needed a new winter coat, but nothing would do. It had to be like Laurie’s. There was nothing special about her jacket. It was dark, plain, and at most, functional. It certainly didn’t have any pizazz or sparkle. Looking back now, it wasn’t a coat for me, but that didn’t stop me from begging my mother to buy me one just like it. In the end

For I was born a sinner— yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. Psalm 51:5 (NLT) Did you ever ask yourself why you want kids? I know, you’re probably thinking ‘No, but I’m asking myself right now – Why did I think I wanted kids?’ Yeah, people who have children have asked themselves that at least once before their child’s 3rd birthday, right? Those little innocents have the same fallen nature that is in us.  As one version of Psalm 51:5 states it:  “I’ve been out of step

Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s a matter of life or death.” In my law enforcement career, confidentiality truly was a matter of life and death. Taking that concept a step deeper, was the tricky process of managing confidential informants, or CI. These were people who provided intelligence or set up drug deals in exchange for cash or a reduction of criminal charges. Over the course of my years working undercover in several multi-jurisdictional drug task forces, I managed

Our seventeen-year-old son flew to France a week ago. He’s gone for three months on a high school exchange program. We hosted his wonderful French partner last fall from August to November. We’re surprisingly at peace with our son’s excursion. It’s partly because it’s obvious that his host family are warm and kind. It’s also due to his older sister’s successful exchange to France three years ago. It’s mostly due to trusting the Lord for his wellbeing. It’s amazing the travels

I originally wrote this post to speak to and encourage other women, but the more I wrote, the more I realized I’m talking to both husbands and wives. I want wives to see themselves as worthy through their husband’s eyes. And I want husbands to look at their wives and see something beautiful and precious and worth fighting for. This isn’t meant to be one of those posts that’s controversial or steps on toes, but as I read through it again, I realized it might accomplish both of