#10-10: Cherishing Your Marriage
Posted by: hopechestnews <hopechestnews@...>
The Hope Chest with Virginia Knowles
#10-10: Cherishing Your Marriage
October 19, 2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Hope Chest is a free e-mail magazine sent to over 1200 families around the world.
The publisher is Virginia Knowles, wife to Thad and mother of 10 children.
Check out Virginia's web site at http://www.VirginiaKnowles.com or e-mail her at HopeChestNews@embarqmail.com.
Hello, my dear friends!
Welcome to the October edition of the Hope Chest! This month, we're playing "Shuffle the Hope Chest Issues" again. You see, I had intended to send out this issue on "Cherishing Your Marriage" next month, in honor of my 22nd wedding anniversary. Yep, that's right, Thad and I were married on November 23, 1985! However, what I had intended to send out this month on home schooling with purpose and joy (rather than pickles and prickles) is not quite ready to roll. In that November issue, I will also feature a review of Gary Thomas's new book, The Beautiful Fight: Surrendering to the Transforming Presence of God Every Day of Your Life, which is being released next month. I've been enjoying my advance copy immensely, and even though it is not about home schooling, so much of it applies directly to what we are attempting to do in our homes.
But, back to THIS issue, "Cherishing Your Marriage." I have heard from a whole bunch of you that you are struggling in your marriages. You are not alone! It can be a bumpy ride! I so appreciate our pastors for making strong marriages a priority in our church's life together. Last month, they gave every married couple a free copy of the new book When Sinners Say "I Do": Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage by David Harvey, and they are also providing discussion questions for each couple to talk about together. Then, one evening each month, the home groups have a "couples night" so we can talk about these things with our friends.
In other news: On January 26, I will be presenting sessions on "The Bible as Literature" and "Read for Your OWN Life" at a Books & Beyond seminar being organized by my friend Cheryl Bastian (http://www.CherylBastian.com). The seminar will be held at Killarney Baptist Church in Winter Park, Florida. I'll send more details later -- they haven't been posted yet on the NearHim Home Educators web site (http://www.nearhim.com/). There will be several speakers on a wide variety of topics related to literature and writing. I am so looking forward to this! Please pray for me as I prepare for these sessions.
As always, if you have any prayer requests, you are welcome to send them to WeArePraying@embarqmail.com or visit http://www.VirginiaKnowles.com/WeArePraying for an explanation of this ministry.
In this issue you will find:
- From My Heart to Yours: Family Nights by Virginia Knowles
- "Cherishing Your Marriage": an excerpt from The Real Life Home School Mom by Virginia Knowles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From My Heart to Yours:
Family Nights
by Virginia Knowles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One thing that I really appreciate about my husband Thad is that he is committed to building a strong family life. A couple of months ago, realizing how tough it is to get us all together at the same time even for a few hours, he decided to start a Family Night each week on Thursday. We still don't have it down to a science (and it's still rare for all 12 of us to be here!), but we try to have a yummy dessert, some good conversation, a short time in the Bible, and maybe a game if one of us can be creative enough to think of something that is good for a wide age range. A few weeks ago, out of desperation, I pulled out the zip lock bag of Scrabble tiles (the box has long since been destroyed) and pulled out five at random. Each of us had to make up a sentence where the words started with the letters -- the sillier the better. For example, when I picked the letters U, W, U, R and E, someone wrote, "Unicorns wrestle under rhinoceroses' ears." Some of our other sentences were about pink flamingos and such. We played that game for several rounds, and I think it will make an encore soon. Another week, we were running late, so on the spur of the moment, we asked Julia to tell us about her new job and about her weekend trip to Gainesville to see the Auburn/Gator football game. Thad and I have also taken the time to share with our children chapters of our own life stories, especially our testimonies of God working in our lives.
Last night for Family Night, we loaded several of the kids in the van and went to see the encouraging new movie Pilgrim's Progress: Journey to Heaven, which is set in modern times. We found out when we got there that this was its world premiere! I even got to shake hands with the producer, Danny Carrales, who was sitting across the aisle from us. The movie is playing at the Greater Orlando Christian Film Festival, which is hosting free showings of several movies up through next Thursday at the Regal Cinema in Winter Park Village. You can find more info at http://www.GreaterOrlandoChristianFilmFestival.com. For those who don't live in the Orlando area, but are still interested in the movie, you can click here: http://www.PilgrimsProgressTheMovie.com .
Recently I realized that Family Night would also be a good opportunity for our younger children to recite the Bible memory verses they get in Sunday School. Usually these get lost in the shuffle of getting home from church. I decided to bring along a sturdy folder to church so we could immediately put all Sunday School papers in there for safekeeping. Then we can review them during the week, and actually put those memory verses to good use!
As for desserts, we try to have something yummy. Usually it is something simple like brownies, apple pie (bought at Sam's Club) or ice cream. We do try to be a little creative once in a while, too. Thad and I had been to Starbucks on our date a few weeks back and ordered their apple caramel drink. We decided we could make it just as easily at home for Family Night. We simmered a gallon of apple juice with cinnamon sticks and cloves, ladled it into mugs, spooned on dollops of whipped cream, and drizzled caramel sauce on top of that. Yum! Similar to this, we always have wassail for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, which is the same hot apple juice & spice concoction with cranberry juice and a little orange juice concentrate added in, too.
If any of you have any great ideas for Family Night activities, PLEASE send them along for the rest of us! I'd be glad to share them in a future Hope Chest issue!
Cherishing Your Marriage
Excerpt from The Real Life Home School Mom
by Virginia Knowles
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Virginia's note: This is the first half of the chapter "Cherishing Your Marriage" from my book The Real Life Home School Mom, which I revised and expanded this summer. For more information on the book, click here: http://www.VirginiaKnowles.com/TheRealLifeHomeSchoolMom. Please understand that we don't have it all together. I'm just sharing from my experience, hoping to spare you from hitting some of the "potholes" on the road we have traveled these past 22 years. If you are really struggling in your marriage, let me recommend Gary Thomas's book Sacred Influence: What a Man Needs from His Wife to Be the Husband She Wants. I also recommend, for any married couple, his books Sacred Marriage and Devotions for a Sacred Marriage the latter of which is comprised of short, readable weekly essays for husbands and wives to read together.]
CHERISHING YOUR MARRIAGE
A loving, Christ-filled marriage lays such an essential foundation for a successful home school lifestyle. Does that statement fill you with hope or with a sense of despair? Perhaps you feel like your marriage has failed. Maybe you are already divorced and you don't think this chapter applies to you. Or maybe your husband is not a believer in Jesus, so a Christ-filled marriage sounds impossible. Please keep reading, because I think you will find something helpful here anyway.
I know that some of you reading this chapter are feeling so overwhelmed already that you need a quick infusion of grace for your situation before you read a sentence further. Here is some encouragement from Carolyn Mahaney:
"If you are in an exceptionally trying situation with your husband, I encourage you to pour out your heart to the Lord of love. He knows, He sees, and He hears; and though your tears may be lost on your husband, they are not lost on your heavenly Father. He is the compassionate Lord who urges us to draw near to Him so "that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). Although you may not understand, you can be sure that your marriage has God's loving inscription upon it. God's unerring wisdom has ordained your relationship with your husband – for your good and for Christ's glory. Look to God for strength to endure, for the Lord promises that He will husband you (Isaiah 54:5-6). God will renew your strength so that you will not grow weary in cultivating a tender love for your husband. Furthermore, you do not know what the Lord has planned for your future. Your tender love for your husband could be the means God uses to soften his heart toward you and toward Himself. I have seen this happen in many marriages." (Feminine Appeal: Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother by Carolyn Mahaney)
Besides Carolyn's helpful book, I just have to recommend a stellar book on marriage that I didn't discover until after 20 years of marriage: Gary Thomas's Sacred Marriage: What if God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy. Gary Thomas is one of my all-time favorite authors. I think I've read eight of his books so far. This particular book has totally changed my perspective on marriage, just when I needed it most. I was initially resistant toward reading it, but the more I read, the more I wept and repented for my sinful attitudes. This is not a "how to" marriage book, but a deeper look into how marriage challenges us to grow. While it should be required reading for all couples, I think it will be an especially vital encouragement to those who are struggling with less than ideal relationships. More than any book on the topic, it has helped me to adjust my thinking to the firm foundation of Christian maturity in marriage. Two other great marriage-strengthening books are Love That Lasts: When Marriage Meets Grace by Gary and Betsy Ricucci, and The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace.
Strong and godly marriages never just happen. Certainly no marriage is perfect. We all have room to grow. A healthy, enduring marriage requires much hard work and commitment, as well as continual repentance and forgiveness. It is tempting to coast along taking marriage for granted because, after all, we are home schooling, and of course home school families have it all together; if we don't happen to have it together yet, well, we'll just have to "fake it until we make it." But what happens when the edges of our sanity become frayed at home? What happens when we are tempted to settle for mediocrity? What happens when we let the guard down?
Home schooling doesn't automatically immunize our marriages against conflict or even divorce. I know plenty of home school marriages that have already broken up, and even more that are on the rocks. If you are home schooling to build family unity, you can expect to come under constant attack from Satan. He does not want husbands and wives to love each other or bear and raise godly children. He will do whatever he can to break us apart, even in subtle ways. If we think we stand firm, we had better watch out lest we fall! (1 Corinthians 10:12) Some people assume that Satan only goes after the weaklings because they are an easy target that he can pick off easily. Some say that he only bothers to attack the strong folks, because he knows what damage they can do to his evil plans by extending the Kingdom of God. Let's not be naïve. He will go after anyone for any reason! I hate to seem so pessimistic, but this is the truth. However, we do not have to be victims. God has called us to be overcomers, "more than conquerors" through our faith in Christ. But to conquer, we must realize we are in a battle.
When I first published this book in 2000, I organized this chapter around five dangers that war against a marriage in a home school family. In this new version, I'd like to take a more positive approach, and focus on these seven safeguards to protect our marriages instead. (Like a mama sneaking vegetables into casserole, I'll still cover those dangers!)
-
Safeguard #1: Focus on Your Foundation
-
Safeguard #2: Make Your Marriage the Priority Over Every Other Earthly Pursuit
-
Safeguard #3: Respect Each Other
-
Safeguard #4: Forgive Each Other
-
Safeguard #5: Communicate with Grace and Purpose
-
Safeguard #6: Guard Your Purity
-
Safeguard #7: Steward Your Resources
Safeguard #1: Focus on Your Foundation
"At least you have a common foundation in Christ," my friend encouraged me. There was a hint of sadness in her voice, because she has what is euphemistically called an "inter-faith marriage" but which for her is a constant struggle. What keeps her going is her own strong faith in the Lord, which she had renewed after her wedding. I took her gentle admonition to heart. While Thad and I didn't (and don't) have the perfect marriage, we at least have Jesus together. That's huge for me.
So does that mean you are doomed to failure in home schooling if your husband is not a believer, or is spiritually immature, or has glaring flaws that are adversely affecting your family? Not at all! But you are going to have to work all the harder at pursuing God for yourself, at training your children in God's ways, and at building your marriage despite the hindrances. Even if you know the Lord and your husband doesn't, your faith is still a foundation. Remember these words in 1 Peter 3:1-2? "Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives— when they see your respectful and pure conduct."
The passage in 1 Peter 3 goes on to extol the beautiful and quiet spirit that we all need as wives. Why? Not just because it makes for a happier marriage, but because it pleases the Lord!
At our wedding, the soloist sang a song I had written. One line of the chorus went like this: "Show us your purposes for our union, that we may glorify you, Lord." Did we even know what that would entail? After more than two decades, the most important question for me as I look at my relationship with my husband is still, "What are God's purposes for me in my marriage?" One purpose is to use the very challenges of daily life with my husband to shape me into his own image, to prepare me as the bride of Christ (Ephesians 5:22-33) and not just the bride of Thad. And that's a good thing! That's where my eyes need to be: on Jesus, not on my circumstances. If my expectations are resting on the Lord's grace and mercy, then I will be less likely to place an impossible burden of expectation on my husband. Likewise, my commitment needs to be on pleasing first the Lord and then my husband, not on pleasing myself. As I focus on the Christ's faithfulness, it becomes my own, and I learn how to be faithful to my husband. As I contemplate God's unconditional love, I become willing to receive it and give it to my husband. My foundation is secure.
One of the benefits of life in the Lord is that we are part of his earthly body. Our church family has played such a vital role in strengthening our marriage. First, there are the solid Sunday morning sermons that set our hearts on Christ's way of love and peace. Then there are the weekly small groups where we can discuss how to apply Scripture in our daily lives and relationships. In our church, the couples in each small group meet together once a month to talk about marriage, often by discussing a book such as Sacred Marriage. It is through our conversations here that I realize how much we are not alone, that other husbands are much like my husband, and that other wives are much like me. This has been so liberating. At a recent couples' night, a newlywed husband shared how when he and his wife have a conflict, it helps to pray together. This verse (Matthew 18:20) came to mind: "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." If we want the best marriage counselor present, all we have to do is pray, and God shows up! I'm grateful that this young man brought up the idea of prayer to encourage the rest of us old fogies who have been married much longer. I am also thankful for our pastors, who have so graciously counseled us when we have hit bumps in our relationship. They are real human beings who have had struggles in their own marriages. So they do not see it as a sign of weakness when a couple asks for pastoral help, but as a sign of strength and humility. I think every marriage needs this kind of boost somewhere along the way! Our church also hosts family-building workshops and ladies' retreats that have benefited my marriage. And finally, there are the friendships I have with other women who have encouraged me in fulfilling the good plans that God has for me as a wife and home school mom. What a treasure our church is in helping us focus on our mutual foundation in Christ!
Safeguard #2: Make Your Marriage the Priority Over Every Other Earthly Pursuit
Moms, you are certainly to be commended for all you do in home schooling your kids. But in all honesty, that's not the very best thing you can do for them. Yes, I still think it's the best educational option, but there is something you can do at the same time that is even more important: CHERISH YOUR MARRIAGE! I know you've heard it said, "The best thing that parents can do for their children is to love each other." That is so true. Your marriage is the foundation for a healthy nurturing home. A strong marriage will facilitate a home school, but a weak one will destroy it. Unfortunately, moms can be so devoted to home schooling and dads so consumed in their careers that they become apathetic to each other and place the marriage relationship to the back burner. We think our mates will understand that we are too stressed out now for an intimate conversation or more. We think this will be temporary and that soon we will be "back on track" but it drags on and on. This leads to resentment, alienation, and loss of productivity. You will be worse than when you started, because now you need to take more time and emotional energy to restore the relationship and heal the hurts.
If your husband senses that the home school, hobbies, or ministries are replacing him as the love of your life (after God), he will resist you in your efforts. If you place him as the rightful priority, he can be inspired to lift some of your burdens and energize you to accomplish even more! We all need to carve out prime time for our marriages, even if it means laying aside other activities.
As you make your marriage a top priority, you will start to think about the very best ways to add zest to your relationship. You won't be content to get away with the bare minimum anymore. You will want to invest fully into bringing joy to your husband's life and building the kind of intimacy that is God's design for marriage. Be creative! Here is a list to get you started, inspired by ideas given at a workshop at our church:
-
Find out what he likes you to have finished around the house when he comes home from work, and then make it a regular practice to please him by doing this. Or do one of his chores for him as a surprise.
-
Go for a walk and hold hands. Or lie on a blanket in the backyard and look at the stars. Or take a picnic to the park.
-
Don't give up on date nights just because you have young children. Have a friend keep the children at their house and fix his favorite dinner, served by candle light. If your children are home, you can always put them to bed and then enjoy dinner at a card table in your bedroom. Dress it up with a fancy tablecloth, candles and flowers from the garden, put on some romantic music, and enjoy a gourmet meal or dessert. This doesn't have to be elaborate; it could be just a mug of hot chocolate and a plate of graham crackers.
-
You may need to use some of your date night time to plan your schedule and budget or to sort through your family dynamics, but try to focus on the blessing of your "just the two of us" relationship.
-
Try to get away for an occasional weekend without the children! We like to go to historic St. Augustine (where we honeymooned) and stroll through art galleries, living history museums, and antique shops.
-
Keep your bedroom tidy, smelling fresh, and tastefully decorated. It should be a haven of rest for him. If you can, set up two comfortable chairs so the two of you can sit and talk in privacy whenever you want.
-
Give him backrubs! Oh, this is a daily thing at our house for both of us. Not only does it relieve stress, but it gives us a chance to touch one another lovingly and show our affection in practical ways. After all these years of marriage, we know exactly where to press by feeling around for the tense muscle ripples. Or you can wash and massage his feet after a long day on them.
-
Ask if you can plan Valentine's Day this year, and let him plan your anniversary.
-
Buy a special treat for him at the grocery store, and make sure your kids don't break into it! Keep a secret stash of his favorite candies, and bring one out once in a while! (Thad hands me a chocolate truffle every now and then when I've done a great job at something or when I look like I need a little lift. I don't know where he hides them!)
-
Take time to write him a letter specifically telling him what you love and respect about him. You could cut out lots of hearts and pink and red construction paper. Write a reason you love him on each one and tape them all over the house. (The kids can do this too!)
-
Always have your "romantic feelers" out and pay attention to special events happening in the community, such as free concerts, art festivals, etc.
-
Hide a small cooler in his car with his favorite drink and snack to enjoy on his ride home. (Just remember to tell him it is there sometime during the day!)
-
Burn a CD with some of his favorite songs, or ones that are special to you as a couple. Put it in his car's CD player. Or buy him a little MP3 player and load it with his favorite music so he can take it wherever he goes. We did this for my husband for Father's Day, and since he doesn't have a CD player in his car, I bought a speaker for it.
-
Pray for ideas – God will answer you!
Safeguard #3: Respect Each Other!
"Let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband." Ephesians 5:33 (ESV)
"R-E-S-P-E-C-T." We all know how to spell it, but defining it is another thing altogether. What does it mean? Is it something that someone has to earn, or something that we grant another person based on their position in life? Well, both. But really, the best kind of respect is what is freely given out of our own hearts, not necessarily because someone is divine enough to deserve it or dominant enough to demand it. The sad truth is, respect between husbands and wives is sorely lacking in even Christian home school households. I think a lot of it has to do with pride. I know this has been the case in my heart. It is easy for me to develop a superior attitude toward my husband, thinking I know much more than he does because I read more about parenting, or because I spend more time with the kids, or because I have a more intuitive personality, or even because I know how to use the computer better than he does, or because I have written books, as if any of that proves anything. At the same time, even when I am not dishing out the respect that my husband needs, I can hypocritically resent it when I don't feel waves of admiration and appreciation flowing in my direction from him. So, I guess I have to admit that I'm selfish, too!
Yes, wives should be respected! We deserve credit for all of our smart ideas and hard work. We don't want "this guy" coming home and asking what we did all day! A home school mom can feel that her creative talents and nurturing care are unappreciated since they are hidden away amidst the drudgery of paperwork, laundry, dishes, and PBJ sandwiches. We can whip out all of the lists on what a housewife would be worth monetarily if you had to hire someone to do all of that domestic stuff. So I'm not letting the husbands off the hook here. But, on the other side, how many of us wives are really making a concerted effort to pour on the respect for our husbands and their masculine leadership? When did he become "this guy" and cease to be the hunk we were gushing over on our wedding day? Your husband wants to be more than just a breadwinner, and God's blessing flows through a home where he is honored by all. You want to be more than just a housewife, and what bliss in the family when your husband and children rise up and call you blessed!
So why is it so hard to respect each other? Part of it is burnout. Look, I know you're tired. I really do! I have 10 kids – need I say more? Like me, you're at very close quarters with active, curious children all day. To make it worse, your hubby probably faces the unrelenting drain of office politics, meetings, and phone calls. After trying to be patient with other people all day, it is easy to get irritable in the evening. It's easy to tune each other out. Moms, please don't get so "peopled out" that your husband, your precious partner, feels unwelcome and disrespected in his own home. If you need a little buffer time in order to be civil, arrange to lie down alone in a dark room and relax for a few minutes before Dad comes home. Try to make his home coming pleasant with a fresh appearance, a warm greeting, and a tidy house. Give him a chance to take his shoes off and peek at the mail before he gets bombarded with the burdens of the day. Get the children to tidy up and practice their best behavior, too. We can learn to treat each other royally.
Some wives struggle with disrespect because they do not understand the inherent differences between masculinity and femininity. Men are different! We should not expect them to be always soft, sensitive, tender, creative, and intuitive. I can get irritated with my husband for being so logical and meticulous in his thinking or for "coming on strong" when he thinks something needs to change in our home, but in all honesty, I need to appreciate how he balances me out. This is part of God's design for our family. We would be in huge trouble if he was just like me or if I was just like him.
Another thing that can hinder respect is that many of us did not have strong role models in this area while we were growing up. If you didn't have Christian parents, or even if you did, this might be a generational sin issue that's tripping you up. You're just relating the way that you saw your folks relate, because healthy or not, that's all you know! If this is true, acknowledge it, and then move on. You can do better than this. Don't use it as an excuse any more. It's got to stop sometime, so why not now, in your generation, before your kids starting using it as an excuse in their own marriages?
OK, so what do you do if this respect thing just isn't happening in your marriage? I'm not saying you should start gushing praise for your husband if the well has been running dry for quite some time. He'd probably get suspicious and wonder what kind of "nutritional supplements" you've been popping all day. You can start small. The first step is to at least get yourself up to the zero line, if you've dipped below. In other words, zap the disrespect! All of it! Cut the criticism, nix the nagging, and wipe out the whining. Or, as Francis de Sales said in the 17th century, "Have contempt for contempt." Expanding on this, Gary Thomas writes in Sacred Marriage, "Contempt is born when we fixate on our spouse's weaknesses. Every spouse has these sore points. If you want to find them, without a doubt you will. If you want to obsess about them, they'll grow, but you won't!"
The way you speak to your friends about your husband also reveals your own character as a wife. If you are grumbling and complaining to whomever will listen, it is likely that at least some of these folks will commiserate with you and agree with how bad you've got it. They might add in their own poisonous comments about "MEN!" that will not help your attitude or her attitude at all. Long after you have either forgotten the offense or learned to interpret it rightly, your friend might still remember your disparaging comments. This would not build the reputation of your husband among those who know him, and it might come back to bite you later. I find that I must train my tongue to be charitable when I am frustrated with something in my marriage. This doesn't mean that I pretend everything is perfect when it isn't, but that I want to be discrete and respectful to my husband, which in turn honors the Lord who gave him to me as my life partner.
As you start clearing away the clutter of disrespect that has trapped you in the negative realm, then you will be more motivated to move things on up to the positive side. Start simple with noticing and appreciating your husband for the way he already is – and tell him so! Pay attention! Nobody wants to be ignored. Even the little things really matter. He takes out the trash. He pays the bills. He locks the doors at night. He prays with the kids at bedtime. Whatever! Don't take it for granted!
When you are ready to bump things up a notch from there, you will want to start soliciting his advice and assistance more regularly. Many moms consider the home school as their own private domain of expertise. Without intending to, they can easily shut Dad out of his leadership in this important area of family life. Moms sometimes jokingly refer to their husbands as the "principal" of the home school, but few actually treat him as that. Dad often has perspective to guide you through a sticky problem if you are willing to listen. Even if he doesn't seem as "spiritual" as you, don't ignore his counsel (see 1 Peter 3). He is responsible as leader of the family, so let him lead. There are some really practical ways that you can cultivate respect for your husband in a home school setting. You can ask him for observations as you are trying to discern each child's preferred learning style. You can involve him in curriculum choice, and not brush him off if he objects to what you are already planning. Listen to him! If you are going to rearrange a room or the whole house to accommodate home schooling, seek his logistical input and his physical brawn. If he wants to tackle teaching math or science or history, let him! If he can take off time to chaperone field trips, glory be! Dad needs a sense of ownership in the home school. Now don't go and nag him if he doesn't want to do anything, but he should feel welcome to participate when he is able.
And finally, at the pinnacle of respect, learn to respond to your husband with your whole heart, beyond what he says or does. Start seeing him as the gift from God that he is, and treat him that way!
For more information on this book, click here: http://www.VirginiaKnowles.com/TheRealLifeHomeSchoolMom
When Sinners Say "I Do": Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage by Dave Harvey
Feminine Appeal: Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother by Carolyn Mahaney
Sacred Marriage: What if God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy by Gary Thomas
Devotions for a Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
Sacred Influence: What a Man Needs from His Wife to Be the Husband She Wants by Gary Thomas
The Beautiful Fight: Surrendering to the Transforming Presence of God Every Day of Your Life by Gary Thomas
Blessings,
Virginia Knowles
http://www.VirginiaKnowles.com
-- To subscribe, send ANY message to: hopechest-subscribe@welovegod.org To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: hopechest-unsubscribe@welovegod.org Visit my web site at www.VirginiaKnowles.com