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Ask Joy Do you think the majority of Christians get married at a young age or rush into it to have sex due to the pressures of the church, the Bible or peers telling you to wait until you’re married? Also, do you think it ties into the high rate of Christians getting a divorce? My Response Personally, I think the trend of Christians getting married at a young age is starting to decrease a bit. The delay in marriage that we see in culture …
Ask Joy I cheated on my girlfriend after 15 months of dating. We were planning on getting married. After I confessed to her she didn’t want to see or talk to me again. It has been 3 weeks since and we have talked a few times and I actually got to see her two times this past week. She came to my house one time for some stuff and ended up not taking any of it. Then Friday we went to a function and dinner …
Ask Joy I am currently leading a Love and Respect small group for women. They come from all different situations, happily married, fresh divorce, divorced more than 5 years, married to someone who does not believe in God, etc. Every time these women leave my house I feel like I am putting them in more pain.. yikes! I am using the Love and Respect DVD series and workbook, but it is geared towards couples. Do you have any suggestions as to how I can better …
Ask Joy My boyfriend just broke up with me again. He’s had a rough past with his family and some trust issues. He admits and KNOWS that I love him. He wanted to marry me, but felt so disrespected and was hurt, so he gave up. I’m understanding now after reading your parents book. I want to show him I understand what he meant by disrespect, but I’m also afraid it won’t help. My Answer Proverbs 24:16 says, “For a righteous man falls seven times, …
Ask Joy What happens if you meet someone when you are very young and realize you’re best friends and never want to be apart. You stay pure and you get married…Life is good for a while because you’re hanging out with your best friend. Sex is not a big deal…you have it when he wants to. But then you wake up one day and realize you have never really been physically attracted to this individual. That the sexual feelings you had for him before marriage …
Last weekend I had the honor of being a bridesmaid in my friend Sarah’s wedding. Despite the rain, the ceremony was one I will never forget. Maybe it was because I was holding an umbrella… or because I was barefoot… or because minutes before the ceremony Sarah was playing air hockey with her father… Those things may contribute to the memory, but the stories that were shared about Sarah and Cassidy are probably what I will hold onto the longest. I don’t think there was …
This is my first guest blogger in the whole history of the entire universe. That is an awesome sentence. Slightly dramatic, but totally true. For my first guest blogger I chose Morgan because we have a similar heart and life. Have I looked as smokin’ as her in a wedding dress? (That’s her in the excerpt photo.) No I have not. But we both have fathers who are authors and speakers, trying to help relationships. We also work for our fathers because we too believe …
It feels like many people I talk to have already given their heart away once. And for those who haven’t, they are scared to open that door because of the pain they have seen their friends endure. With an increasing delay of marriage and an increase of serious relationships prior, I believe our generation is going to relate on the topic of “lost loves” far more than past generations. Something that can be tempting to create an identity around. Let me explain… Many of us …
First you may want to read…
Singleness and the Church: A Helping Hand May Help.
Singleness and the Church: Part II
Continuation from Friday’s Singleness and the Church: BELIEF…and the Satisfied Single.
Small State of the Union:
Because of my propensity to dogmatism, I tend to shy away from God-talk or anything that sounds like I’m trying to be holier than I know I really am. In my desire to not fall into legalism or pietism or any other ism that would put me in a sometimes disliked category of “Christian,” I choose my words carefully.
Sometimes.
Being the daughter of, and working for the man who wrote a book on marriage titled, “Love and Respect,” has made it impossible to ignore the word respect and what it means to me. I will admit, Ephesians 5:33 is not a passage many of us women jump for joy when reading. “However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Eph. 5:33 I have had to ask myself this question and would …
Last week I heard the little “pop” sound on my computer and realized someone was “chatting me.” It was an old friend who had just recently broken up with his girlfriend. After e-chatting for a bit, I decided to run one of my little theories past him. He resonated with the portion I shared and said I should write it up. So here goes…
“Ah, I have picked up magic in her nearness.” –Poet Ezra Pound I don’t vomit that much. In fact, prior to puking on Monday night after the final episode of The Bachelor, I can tell you the time, place and scenario of my last barf. It might have been the food I was eating, I’ll give you that…but all I know is that the moment I began watching the episode my stomach started turning. I have only seen the last few weeks so if my …
(a fictitious letter)
Dear Fellow Friends of Rachel,
Did you know that infants, if put in a pool, start swimming naturally? It’s kind of scary to watch because, well, they are infants. What more can they do than sleep, eat, poop and cry? Letting go of an infant takes a huge amount of trust in the child’s natural instincts. Something we can’t see.
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