Aunt LaLa

Before I give you the challenge, let me give a back story. In 1997 there was a twelve year old girl who dreamed of her prince Charming. She had filled her little girl heart full of Disney princes... and their magic. Movie magic. Fast forward to 1999 she was now almost fourteen and attending a youth conference. They talked about all sorts of topics. The topic that caught her attention was the "Dating with Purpose" concept. Not every fourteen year old is preoccupied with who God wants them to marry. Or what God has to say about dating. She started writing in a journal to her future husband, after being inspired by a famous Christian artist. And started to pray over him. Whoever he was. But at that conference she made the choice to not date just anyone. She wanted to guard her heart. To only date someone who had the qualities of the husband she dreamed of. So she made a list, and prayed over it. Furthering her commitment to God and herself, not to kiss or be intimate wit...

I hope somehow these post about marriage have helped you or maybe remind you of what you may need to revisit in your own marriage. It has reminded me of some of the most important things that are needed for a happy and healthy marriage. I have had four post and this makes my fifth. The four post covered... Quality Time Communication Loving Yourself Compromise This last post will wrap up the Keys to a Happy and Healthy Marriage... for now  I really feel like marriage is not promoted in our culture. Instead we have a "Try it on" mentality. Live with the person first. Then if you don't like them... well it is easy just break up. But being in a marriage...having that commitment is sacred. It is a life commitment. Until death do you part. Sometimes...marriages do not work out. Someone said something to me who did not get that happy ending all us girls dream about. "God hates divorce. Hates it. Do you know why? Because of ...

Hi everyone! So this is our fourth installment of Keys to a Happy and Healthy Marriage... I hope you are enjoying these. Today's topic - compromise. In my personal opinion the reason we do not compromise is because of pride. Pride can be our downfall in so many ways. In all of our relationships. Scripture talks about pride alot. Recently I taught our youth group and we talked about respect.  Sometimes when we are disrespectful it is because we are holding on to our pride. James 4:6 says "But he gives us more grace. That is why scripture says: "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble" Jesus was the ambassador for grace. God warns us about pride throughout the bible. It is a dangerous characteristic. I've touched on it briefly and today I'm going to focus on how pride can snuff out your marriage. When you are joining two people together it is difficult. You both have your own quirks, pet peeves, h...

This post is straight from heart and is painful to share... this is not only for my married readers but for my single readers as well.  I remember when I was 14 and starting writing in a journal to my future husband. I guess I've always been a romantic and my love for Disney probably didn't help. To me the person I was going to marry was one of the most important people I would ever meet. Marriage to me was/is something sacred, important, it would effect my life forever. It was also something God had created. To join a man and a women together to form a team to work for him. To be companions for each other. What God had and has planned for me has been important to me...A priority. I knew what I wanted. I made a list. I petitioned God for about 9 years for my husband. I prayed for him. My list: Had to have a one on one relationship with God. Had to be a lifestyle. Treated his family with respect and love Filled with the Holy Spirit and beli...

What did you just say?? I remember the look my mom gave me countless times when she would ask me that question... It gave me a few seconds to rethink what I could say from here...I could repeat what I had said which would of resulted in a punishment...Or I could say something totally different... Usually I chose the latter...I changed what I said or gave a pouty "nothing" My mom would say, "that's what I thought" I can still hear her tone. LOL Our words have power, as a child the negative repercussions we not pleasant but they were not life altering. As an adult our words hold more weight. We have bigger more complicated relationships. We are in leadership. We have our own children. I talked about in my last post that I wanted to just put some keys to a happy marriage and a healthy marriage. I talked about Quality vs Quantity  .... The important of investing in your spouse Today I want to talk about our words. Josh and I established a set of...

After being married almost ten years I feel like I have some insight to this whole married thing. And let's face it we are always learning. There some key points that I think are an absolute necessity to a healthy happy marriage. I'm going to talk about those key things. Not in any particular order of importance just some info I'm going to pass along... I'm an advocate for healthy and happy marriages.  I believe they are possible and attainable. I am an analytical thinker. To me there is a formula to have a successful marriage. Before I go into these key points or formula... Be warned... Being in a marriage is work. It's a commitment that is not to be taken lightly. You are a team.  It's going to take you 100%  to do this.  This post is talking about a key point: Quality VS Quantity I'm sure the majority of people have heard that taking date nights are important. Don't lose the romance Always date your spou...