Walking to the Kindred Spirit mailbox, I had a prayerful conversation about marriage. My marriage. The marriage of my oldest daughter. My friends share their ups and downs of marriage. I noticed a theme in my reflection of “contempt.” The Gottman Institute provides marriage resources and research on contempt in our marriage. Personally, I’ve witnessed…
The Sacred: 63 Years of Marriage
This post is to honor my mother and father in 63 years of marriage. I was cooking and getting ready for their meal, when VCU called about an issue regarding my course that I teach. I told her I needed to continue cooking while we talk. “We are celebrating my parent’s 63 years of marriage…
Take a hike!
We all find ourselves searching for opportunities to experience something other than our new reality. I’m grateful beyond belief that I continue to have a job, and I can work remotely. Working remotely has been incredibly efficient for some aspects of my job. I can get up early and work all day from my office…
Listen
If you really listen, you can often understand the meaning behind the words or conversation. Dr. John Gottman discovered four negative behaviors, or “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse,” that spell disaster for any relationship. Learn what they are and how to avoid them. Dr. Gottman’s Four Horsemen: Stonewalling Defensiveness Criticism Contempt I was reminded…
Hunger Satisfied
I’ve attended a handful of classes with “Life in 10 Minutes“. Today, they offered a virtual session. Our goal was to use our senses in writing. Elizabeth asked us to think of an event, a place, or time, and we built in different aspects of writing while using our senses. What joy to have this…
Loving Kindness
Praying this for you… May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us. Psalm 67:1 I am a big fan of Audible. They offered a free download for a guided meditation on loving kindness. I’ve done the meditation at night to pray for loved ones and those around…
The God Who Sees
What we pray for will be revealed. What we expect and the reality of what is before us will often make us question if our prayers have been answered. The married couple becomes disenchanted when the bills pile up and the car needs repairs. The pregnant mom becomes overwhelmed when the reality of no sleep…
He Restores
When you were born, what was going on in the world? I love those birthday cards that highlight your birthday with the number one song on the charts, this day in history, and famous people who share your birthday. Psalm 139 reminds us that we were created and fearfully, wonderfully made by God. He created…
Morning Breakfast Bake: Quarantine Kitchen Adventures
Since being on quarantine, my personal chef, Parish, has had another kitchen helper to invade his space. I’ve cooked some pretty amazing meals from whatever we’ve had available. That’s my gift–resourceful and don’t over think it. He is more the “follow a recipe chef”. Who does that? So for this recipe, you’ll have to go…
Fully Known and Loved
Do you believe what God says to you? Yes. We believe, but, as the person begs of Jesus on behalf of his son, “Help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). The story behind the verse: After the boy’s father further explained his son’s condition, he said to Jesus, “If you can do anything, take pity on us…
ARRESTED BY GRACE 