SISTER WISDOM : build a better life

This guest post is written by Haley Montgomery. If you're interested in writing a guest post for Sister Wisdom, see the guidelines here.

When Annie approached me about participating in her Modern Homemaking REdefined series as a guest blogger, I was honored and excited, but also a little apprehensive. I loved the concept of finding the commonalities of women nurturing their homes and families in so many different walks of life. But, let's face it. My lifestyle is pretty "common" as seeking commonalities goes. I'm a mother of three preschoolers who sends her kids to daycare while she goes to work at an office. Judging by the waiting lists on the daycare centers in my neck of the woods, that's a pretty popular lifestyle choice.
So, as I was formulating thoughts about this essay and my approach to homemaking in 2010, all the same old ideas came to mind. Managing time, prioritizing schedules, getting dinner on the table, balancing work and the needs of children, getting to that 15th preschool party, figuring out what happens when the minivan needs to be serviced, determining exactly how many chicken nuggets can sustain one 5-year-old. Not necessarily ground-breaking and interesting stuff.

About ten minutes later, my boss of 16 years decided it was time to retire and close the advertising agency where I work. Yeah. Life has a way of making it interesting, doesn't it? Over the course of a weekend, a conversation with the Queen of my current company, and some soul searching, I decided to take a trip down entrepreneur lane and start my own graphic design business. Presto, small business owner and work-at-home-mom all in one fell swoop! Can I have a moment, please?

Work opportunities change. Kids change. Schedules change. Choices change. Grocery prices change. Diapers and pull-ups change (constantly). Life in transition. Now there's a commonality. As I started rethinking the new tenor of my life as a mom, designer, and homemaker as it crashes into the new title of business owner, this one fact began to rise to the surface. Change happens. It just does. We can resist it, but we can't stop it. We can bemoan it, but we can't squelch it. We can fear it, but we can't insulate ourselves from it.

As I look at my life in the five years I've had my precious gifts (5yo, 3.5yo and just shy of 2yo), I see an endlessly flowing river of change. And, I see that each new stage of development and each new endeavor has brought frustration or worry, perhaps, but also joy and growth and the satisfaction of having made it through. I'm realizing that for me, modern homemaking is about embracing that life in transition. It's about grabbing it and sucking the life from it, no matter how quickly it's traveling. And come to think of it, the idea really isn't all that modern. My grandmother did it and my mother did it through the constant changes of their times as well. Changing times and circumstances are certainly nothing new.

As mothers and homekeepers, however, it so often falls to us to make the most of those changes, those transitions that may be unique to our years and our families, but common among us nonetheless. I find myself striving in the midst of this inevitable change to create my own individual core consistencies-- those things I want to remain constant about myself, about my home, about the quality of my children's lives. In practicality, it's about setting in motion the habits and schedules and even shortcuts that make that consistency possible, and about putting to rest the guilt to conform to some other Mom's homemaking or parenting core requirements.

So what if Ore Ida or Tyson cuts my chicken and potatoes for me? At least I heard the continuing saga of rocket ships and sharks at the dinner table. So what if my kids find their way to bed some nights with sticky still on their cheeks. At least we found out how funny it is to drop your popsicle, pick it up again and pop it in your mouth, grit and all. So what if crumbs and dust bunnies live well and prosper under the couch? At least we know where all the spare Lincoln Logs and matchbox cars are stored. So what if all the lovely art objects have been relegated to the closet downstairs? At least we witnessed the coffee table tower-building feat of the century right up until the 2yo intervened. These are the core consistencies of what matters and what doesn't. Nothing brings those constants front and center quite like change.

How will I respond to this new transition? How will it affect my home? My schedule? My ability to take care of my family financially, physically, emotionally? It's easy to get lost or bogged down in this repeat-play in my mind. But, these are questions we all face--every day and with every shift in a thousand areas of life from jobs to marriages to gas prices to potty training.

For the past two years, I've chosen a posting "theme word" for the year that reflects something I want to pursue more carefully in my life. The 2010 theme word I determined back in December was "courage." How could I have known that the events of this year would so strongly challenge that pursuit? Modern homemaking and homekeeping requires courage, to be sure. Courage in the face of change. Courage to pull from that change all the growing and teaching it has to offer. Courage to demand from that change the ability to keep what is worth keeping and release what isn't. I hope that I can build from these transitions the courage to really live. To live in my own home, that place I've created. With my own benchmarks for success and my own set of constants. I hope we all can.

What do you need courage to let go of? What do you need courage to keep as part of your core?

Today's 2 Cents Courtesy of:

Haley Mongtomery is a designer by trade, a creative type at heart and a mother in joy. She is the author of EyeJunkie, her personal foray into the art of paying attention -- part mommy blog, part spiritual quest, part cultural record and part sarcastic word-play. When she's not chasing three preschoolers, she's usually writing sentence fragments or obsessing about life as the newly minted owner of Small Pond Graphics. You can follow her on Twitter: @itsasmallpond or @eyejunkie.

I'm trying. Really, people. For your sake, too, because I know you all desperately need my wisdom about natural living every Tuesday whether you like it or not. So I'm trying to make good choices for you.

Like today. 3'o'clock, I'm humming away on my Notebook ( eh... Netbook?), when the hunger rolls in. I perused the pantry and fridge, looking for something low-carb and low-sugar and still appealing.

I settled on an apple. Something to be said for apples. http://www.askdavetaylor.com/review_hp_pavilion_dv2_multimedia_notebook.htmlThey're always better than you think they're going to be. Except when they're just a little too old and get mushy. Blech. But I ate an apple for my snack. That's healthy and natural, so yay me making right choices.

I also quaffed 1/4 of a 2 liter (do the math, folks, that 1/2 liter) of Mountain Dew out of the bottle. Bad, Annie, bad! But I was tired. I needed my caffeination and it's too hot for coffee. So, there it was, the Dew that's been hogging space in my refrigerator for, oh, a month because I don't even really like it and I don't want it and I haven't noticed it until today... well.

But I'm sitting outside on the porch enjoying the beauty of the day and admiring my little herbs which are finally planted (now that it's almost June) and growing (I hope) happily in their new homes. So that's two natural-ish things, and maybe they cancel out the Mountain Dew.

I don't know what to tell you. You probably shouldn't read these posts anymore. Because I'll just be straight up with you: we're going to be out running errands tonight, and I'm not doing a hippie-homemaker-pack-up-a-healthy-picnic-dinner-for-on-the-road. Instead, I have Steak'n'Shake coupons stashed in my planner...

I'm a fraud. I probably shouldn't even have Natural Living as a category on my site. Now you know. Warn the others.

This is a guest post by Rach of Rach's Blog Bite; if you're interested in guest posting for Sister Wisdom, check out the guidelines.

A while ago a light bulb went off and I decided to start making my own cleaning products at home. Okay, it really wasn't a light bulb. It was more like major bolt of lightning, striking right down the middle of our expenses.

It really just ticked me off that I was paying so much for detergent, {laundry and dish}, our cleaning products and our fabric softener. It felt like I was just throwing money away. That crap is just ridiculously over-priced, and a lot of it is super chemically {of the "OMG I can't believe that is really in there" kind of chemicals}...

So enter me with my bright idea. "I will just make my own." My friends scoffed. Never had I had a friend actually scoff, but at this idea they did. They seemed to think that Walmart had homemade laundry detergent: the kind that comes in a cardboard box and says TIDE in big blue letters! I was determined. I figured it couldn't be that difficult or expensive.

So, I did it. Here's the “recipe” and you can see it is pretty basic.  There are so many different ways to make this stuff.  Me being me-{lazy} I picked the easiest one.  It works. Plain and simple.  Your clothes are clean, there are not chemicals breaking your clothes down {saving you money there as well!}, and it's just a better way to take care of your stuff.

Rach's Homemade Laundry Detergent

1 bar grated soap (I use the 3/$1 from the dollar store)
1/2 cup Borax
1/2 cup Washing Soda (Not to be confused with Baking Soda...)

Directions

Mix together until the grated soap starts to dissolve.
Use 1 tbsp./load
***The only place near me that I could find washing soda is Harris Teeter on the laundry aisle. Look up- You'll find it on the top shelf. [Annie's note: I've seen washing soda at Wal-Marts in my area, greater St. Louis.]
I usually grate 6-9 bars at one time- this makes a HUGE batch that will last for 3-4 months! (Remembering that there are only 3 of us in the house and you only have to use 1 tbsp. /load.)

Once I started making laundry detergent at home I looked around knowing there had to be away to do fabric softener the same way {read: the cheap way!}. I googled it, {I google everything} and this was the simplest, cheapest one that I found.

All you need is a Downy ball, vinegar and any type of fragrance oil that you like. I know what you are thinking... and no, your clothes are not going to smell like vinegar. If you use this oil - Downy April Fresh fragrance oil - that's what your clothes are going to smell like!
I mix the solution in a pitcher and just pour in the Downy ball- I purchase a 16oz. bottle of the fragrance oil approximately every 9-10 months.
You can do this even cheaper, and not use the oil- that's just for your nose's sake anyway!

Rach's Homemade Fabric Softener

1 gallon white vinegar
2 teaspoons fragrance or essential oils

Directions

Mix essential oils into vinegar. {I mix in the vinegar jug then pour into a smaller pitcher just because it's easier to handle!} Add to Downy ball and toss it in the wash!
Depending on what EO smell you use- you may need to use a little more- try a test wash first, then add a drop or two at a time.

Rach of Rach's Blog Bite is a fun, real, and hilarious blogger who keeps me coming back to her blog just to see what she's going to be up to next. As Rach puts it, she writes about "Misadventures from my kitchen, my attempts at getting crafty and other things I find I think I need to try!" She's always trying new things, living and learning even when it's messy, and picking up some great ideas and skills in the process. I've picked up some super recipes ( cookies to die for) and what-to-read tips as she shares from her kitchen and her 52-in-52 reading challenge. Great giveaways, too: I just WON my first-ever blog giveaway on Rach's Blog Bite! Wheeee! Thanks, Rach! Go check out her site and I guarantee you'll have fun.

So my original plan of having an issue every Friday is kind of... gone. Heh. Ah well. -Best-laid plans and all that. But here's Issue #2, for what it's worth. I do read a lot, more offline than on, and I love recommending books and blogs that I think others will enjoy...

[There's no Mr Linky. I'm simplifying things - such as my life  - so if you have reading to recommend,  or a similar post, or a book review on your own site, please leave  a link in the comments below! ]

#1: Reading about Writing

I don't follow many writing sites, because it's often just rehashed same-old advice. But Write to Done produces some gems. I find myself re-reading the posts to make sure I didn't miss something good, like this:

"We have to write whether we are in the mood or not. If you write for your career, then writing must be a daily act of self- discipline, even when it’s lackluster and boring." That's from this post.

And this:

"When the writing day is over, make sure you’ve scribed something because one of the best schools of writing is writing." That's from this post by Daryl Sedore.

Good stuff. Worth reading if you're a writer.

#2: A Book a Day. Or Just a Book. Or Two.

I read and reviewed Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge this last week. I resisted it a long time, but when Thomas Nelson had the new revised edition up for review, I decided it was time. And it was. A great book with a good message that women need to hear.{End shameless plug for my own book review.}

I also read -Josephine Tey's The Man in the Queue. I've never really been a mystery fan, either in book or movie form, but I figured maybe I just hadn't tried the right one. I enjoyed Tey's book but I can't say I'm a convert. I've got one by Ngaio Marsh in my bag to take with me this weekend... we'll see.

#3: Old Stuff from the Starred List

I've cut way down on the blogs I follow because there just isn't time for them all, people. I feel a little guilty, being a blogger myself. Oh well. I can deal with guilt. I can't deal with ten thousand blog feeds.

So once or twice a week I hop to my Google Reader and catch up. I skim. If it catches my interest, I read. If I really like it, I star. And then I share. Like so:

"Could it be enough to quietly sit and hold the baby and take care of the kids, or do I have a whole list of extras to do too?" From a post published several months ago, which I've read several times, which still makes me pause and think... Go read it all. [And kind of funny, I just realized that of my total 2 issues of Recommended Reading, this blogger has been in, yup, both! Hm. I must like her writing. Yup. I do. She might not know it though, because I'm what we here in the blogo-sphere call a lurker. Which I feel like I should feel bad about and I do, kind of, but not enough (apparently) to wait for my slow connection to load the page to leave the comment. And now I'm done talking.]

#4: Not Really Reading, Exactly...

I just had to add this. You can read about it, here, at the artist interview on The Artful Parent. But if nothing else, just go see this art by Tif McDonald. It's beautiful and different and if anybody wants to buy me the dandelion one I'll be forever grateful. I wish I had the money... Oh, I wish.

I'd never even heard of "encaustic" before, but I'm going to go scour Etsy for it now. Check you peeps later.

Oh, don't forget:

What's your recommended reading? C'mon, haven't you read something good lately? Prove it. (Nyah nyah nyah. I dare you.)

We get confused, with our climate control options and antibacterial everything. We think things like dirt is bad, subconsciously maybe, but still strongly enough that we shy away automatically from dirty little fingers or mud puddles.

And we say things like, Oh, kids, c'mon, can't you stay clean for 5 minutes? I know I've said that last one recently. Maybe yesterday...

There's nothing wrong with being clean - by which we mean free from dirt - but there is something wrong with attempting to live and keep our children in a sterile environment. Sure, it's germ-free. It's also fun-free.

"Sylvia thought how all parents wanted an impossible life for their children -- happy beginning, happy middle, happy ending. No plot of any kind. What uninteresting people would result if parents got their way" (1).

The reason children can't seem to stay clean for 5 minutes is because they don't (yet) have that subconscious antipathy toward dirt. They seem to have the opposite. They like the feel of dirt, the squish of mud, the splash of puddles. We need to let them like those things. This is how the explore the world in their tactile, no-nonsense way. What is this? they wonder. So they feel it, touch it, see what their fingers can do with it.

Now we know, most of us, that being outside is good for our children.

"For we are an overwrought generation... and every hour spent in the open is a clear gain, tending to the increase of brain power and bodily vigour, and to the lengthening of life itself. ...perhaps a mother's first duty to her children is to secure for them a quiet growing time... the waking part of it spent for the most part out in the fresh air" (2).

So even if we, the Mommies, are not of the outdoors persuasion, we try to get our children out. It's good for them, so we go on walks. We go to the park. Maybe we even grow a few vegetables on the patio. But how much time do we spend trying to make the great big, dirty, muddy, puddle-wonderful world a little bit more like the small, stifling, sterile indoors?

How many times have you just laid in the cool green grass, no blanket between you and the earth?
How many times have you walked around in gloriously bare feet, feeling the textures and temperatures beneath you?

Of course, you the parent need to oversee things. You don't want your kids squishing the dog poo into neat little shapes. But try - try really, really hard - to hold back your own normal, grown-up desire to be clean. Try to squelch the eeeeeew that automatically comes to your lips when your daughter shows you the super-big worm she just found.
Try to give these unconscious explorers time when they can be outside, in the real world, getting real dirt on their hands.

When it's time to come inside, go ahead and break out the antibacterial soap.

"...a love of Nature, implanted so early that it will seem to them hereafter to have been born in them, will enrich their lives with pure interests, absorbing pursuits, health, and good humor" (3).

Images

1. Mud is my new best friend courtesy of BionicTeaching on Flickr.

Sources

1. Karen Joy Fowler, quoted in Michael Dirda's Book by Book: Notes on Reading and Life. New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2005.
2. Charlotte Mason, Home Education: Training and Education Children Under Nine. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1989. Pages 42 and 43.
3. Charlotte Mason, page 73.

What is it that we call natural health? To me, it is two things:

1) it is an overall quality of life, of vitality, energy, and a general habitual freedom from sickness and

2) it is a way of dealing with injuries and sicknesses when they do occur.

Quality of Life

Let's talk about the overall quality of life, first, and I'll give my own background to explain what I mean. The most serious injuries/illnesses I've had probably all occurred in my early childhood: a couple of trips to the e.r. for stitches due to overzealous games with my sister. Past that, not much eventful in the line of health problems. And uneventful is the best adjective for health.

I'm not very athletic, but I was always active, outside playing, running, swinging, riding bikes, building forts, climbing trees. No broken bones, no serious illnesses. A cold or two every year or so, maybe. The occasional stomach bug which no one can escape.

As an adult, I have a pretty high energy level most of the daylight hours. My attention and energy go down and I'm ready for sleep around 9, though if I'm focused on something or interested I can be alert and awake for much later than I should.

The only recurring sickness or pain I deal with is muscle tension in my neck and shoulders, which is almost always a result of stress and improper posture, and which can result in pretty nasty tension headaches. I consider those pretty Read the rest of this entry »

I feel a little funny writing an article about having fun together. Questions assail. First, do I know enough about having fun with my spouse to actually give people advice on it? Two, after a bunch of far-more-serious articles about respect and trust and intimacy and the like, will people get this? Will it come across as flippant? Is it flippant? And most of all, this problem: fun is a relative term. What is fun to me is boring, strange, unnerving to a lot of people. So I'm not sure how to introduce the concept and give help that might be practical on a topic that is so subjective and preferential. But here goes. Read the rest of this entry »

The other stuff is icing; this is the cake.

R E S P E C T – Find Out What It Means

If you get one thing right in your marriage, make it this.

“...and let the wife see that she reverence her husband.”

Ephesians 5:33

We know the word as respect, but I think our dumbed-down version of respect doesn't quite catch it. What does reverence really mean? The Greek root word is the same used for fear and awe; it means to “venerate, to treat with deference or reverential obedience.” To show reverence is a serious thing (which means that to not show reverence where it is due is an equally serious thing).

The Amplified Bible gives us some synonyms: the wife who reverences her husband “notices him, regards him, honors him, prefers him, venerates, and esteems him, defers to him, praises him, and loves and admires him exceedingly.”

A One-Sided Story

Now go ahead and give me the reasons why you shouldn't have to show reverence to your husband. I'll wait.

Done?

Okay. Here's the answer.

The Lord who loves you and saves you is the same one who commands you to show reverence to your husband. Your husband may not deserve it; certainly he won't “deserve” it all the time, fallible and fallen creature that he is. The command still stands, and the tense is present continual: you are to be continually showing reverence to your husband.

It seems kind of one-sided, especially if you're married to a man who isn't doing his part to love you, his wife. But hold on. God is smarter than we think.

This Sounds Like Fun

Assuming you are a Christian, and assuming you wish to follow the Bible, you're now looking at a certain obligation to change some of your ways. Most of us probably don't intend to disrespect our husbands, but we aren't really familiar with what true reverence looks like.

What Reverence Is NOT

Myths of the “oh-so-reverent” wife:

• She wears a head covering at all times.
• She wears skirts and dresses, too, all the time.
• She never says no to her husband.
• She doesn't speak unless spoken too.
• She has no opinions.
• She can't think for herself.
• She is completely stifled.
• She never goes out of the house.

What Reverence IS

Habits of the reverent wife:

• She listens to her husband without interrupting.
• She protects his reputation (doesn't talk bad about her husband).
• She esteems his position (she doesn't make fun of her husband).
• She asks questions in a gentle tone.
• She gives her opinions without sarcasm, criticism, whining, or demanding.
• She makes his priorities her priorities.
• She is open and honest with her husband.
• She is aware of her husband's preferences and tries to accommodate them.
• She accepts his decisions.
• She acknowledges him as head of the house.
• She takes care of herself as a queenly figure should; she isn't mousy and resentful.

What Does That Look Like?

Every time God has brought this little matter of reverence to my attention (and there have been many times), I've always answered back with a little whiny voice, “But what does that even look like? I have no idea how that looks in real life!” That was my excuse: I just don't know how.

But really, I do. God never gives us a command we're not capable of carrying out. Let me give you a picture of me and Joe when I'm not showing respect, and me and Joe when I have a heart of reverence.

Me and Joe: Where Is Da Love, Baby?

It's been a long day. It's just before dinner and the kids are hitting the whiny, cranky stage. I've been doing housework all day and trying to write in between kid-catastrophes.

All day I've run across reminders of my husband: I pick up his dirty socks, I find his belt and wallet that he forgot, I have to make a phone call for him, I need to remind him of some bills to pay, and I keep tripping over the 2x4s he left in the hallway after building me a shelf.

My brain is talking like this:

Why can't he put his dirty socks in the laundry basket? It's right there!

Sheesh, he forgot his belt and wallet. He is so forgetful! Hope he doesn't need his wallet, because I'm not interrupting my day to take it all the way to work just because he couldn't remember it.

Oh, I've got to call that guy for Joe. Why do I have to do that? I am way behind and I have so much to do already.

These bills! He hasn't paid these yet! What if they're overdue? I guess I better remind him. It would be easier if I could just take care of the finances...

Ow, my shin! Good grief, why are these even here? He couldn't move these? They're way too big for me; he knows that. Why doesn't he clean up this mess?

When Joe gets home at the end of the day, he finds a few cranky kids being entertained by a mindless movie. He finds me in the kitchen making dinner. I stop and say hello, give him a little kiss, and immediately complain about my day, remind him of the bills, joke about his wallet that he forgot, and tell him how tired I am, hinting around that I've been working so hard and I could really use a break.

I see his shoulders droop but he bears up, smiles, and offers to take over for a while. I retreat to the bedroom, wondering why I don't feel better about getting a few minutes of silence.

Me and Joe: Happy Wife, Happy Life

It's been a long day. It's just before dinner and the kids are hitting the whiny, cranky stage. I'm tempted to just plop them in front of a movie and not deal with them, but I think about what Joe said. We talked last night about some behavior issues I'm having with the kids, and he gave me some ideas. I call the kids over, have a little talk, and put them to work with me, correcting them the way Joe suggested. I smile to myself; it's working! I can't wait to tell him.

All day long, I've run across reminders of my husband: I pick up his dirty socks, I find his belt and wallet that he forgot, I have to make a phone call for him, I need to remind him of some bills to pay, and I keep tripping over the 2x4s he left in the hallway after building me a shelf.

My brain is talking like this:

His dirty socks are always over here, but the laundry basket is way over there. Maybe if I move it we can get the two together. There. Wow, that really looks a lot better too.

Oh, he forgot his belt and wallet. He was in such a rush this morning because he fed Zeke and then got the fire going for me, it really put him behind. I'd better call and see if he's going to need his wallet. I could run it out there and take the kids for a treat.

I better stop and call that guy for Joe. I forgot it yesterday, and I know it's important to get this taken care of, and Joe doesn't have time at work.

Oh, no, these bills need to be paid. Maybe I could set these up on auto-pay so it won't be a problem. I'll ask Joe about that. I'm so glad he is handling all the bill-paying because it really stresses me out.

Ow, I hit my shin on that 2x4 again. Maybe I can wrangle these out to the garage. This shelf Joe built is perfect, it really gets it organized in here. I know he wanted to go snowboarding this weekend but he stayed home and built this for me instead. That man is awesome.

When Joe gets home at the end of the day, he finds a few happy kids helping their happy Mommy in the kitchen. The table is set and the whole house smells like roast and mashed potatoes, one of Joe's favorites. I set the kids up with a short movie and Joe and I retreat to the bedroom for a little chill time before dinner. He gives me a great big hug and asks about my day, smiles when I mention the bills and says he already paid them online. Then he throws his socks into the laundry basket.

5-Minute Marriage Check

I repeat: reverence is not about bowing down, kissing feet, and being a mousy, opinion-less woman-slave. It is about showing respect to your husband as a person and as the leader of the family.

Reverence is a change in attitude that results in changed behavior.

For today's marriage check, just observe.

• Observe the conversations you have with your husband: how many times do you correct him, tell him what to do, or make a snide remark?
• Observe yourself in action: how many times do you sigh in exasperation, redo something he's done, raise your eyebrows at him, purse your lips at him (and not in a kissable way), roll your eyes, or ignore him?

Those ways of speaking and acting that communicate disrespect are tearing down your marriage.

A wise woman builds her house but a foolish woman tears it down herself.

Are you being wise or foolish?

5-Minute Action Point

From your observations, choose one way of speaking and one way of acting that communicate disrespect. Your job is to change those habits into speech and action that communicate the deep respect, the reverence, that God commands you to have for your husband.

Here are a few examples:

• Stop interrupting him and finishing his sentences; start making eye contact while you listen and waiting until he finishes to respond.
• Stop telling him what you want him to do; start asking him about his plans instead. (“What do you want to do tonight? What are your plans for the evening? What do you need help with? What do you want to work on?”)
• Stop rolling your eyes and redoing his efforts to help; start thanking him with sincerity for what he does and letting go of your need for things to be done your way.

Reverencing your husband is a sure way to show him your unconditional love and acceptance.

Image courtesy of yomi955.

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This post is Day 8 of the Build a Better Marriage Challenge.

It's a 30-day challenge to be deliberate about building a better marriage. We'll talk about some of the common obstacles to a better marriage (marriage killers) and some of the important habits for a successful marriage (marriage keys). We'll also work through some of the misconceptions that affect our marriage, faulty thinking we've picked up from our culture, our pasts, and maybe even from the church. Each day's reading will end with a 5-minute marrige check and a 5-minute action point, so you can take it on home.

Join in via the Mr Linky on the challenge page. You can also just read along, but remember that all challenge participants will receive a free copy of the ebook at the end of the challenge.

Here's to better, stronger, happier marriages!

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Dear friends and readers:
I apologize for my extended and unexplained absence. Sometimes those petty things like life, housework, and motherhood get in the way of my blogging...
But hope springeth eternal! And not even mammoth piles of laundry, crying children, or a hungry husband can keep me away forever!
I am very excited about the new year we are approaching. I am excited to discuss with you all the adventures and issues and, I hope, the wisdom that we encounter in this new year.
I am not sure when I will be back on a regular posting schedule; it may not happen until after the holidays, but it WILL happen.
Till then, enjoy the moments as they come, and i'll see you soon.
Sincerely,
Annie