By Graham Glover –
I met my wife 16 years ago this October. A couple of months later we were in love. A year and a half after that we were married, and for the past 14+ years our love for one another has sustained our marriage and our family.
marriage
By Paul Koch –
The past month has been one that I will not soon forget. My wife and I successfully hiked from Yosemite National Park to the top of Mount Whitney. All in all, our journey together in the mountains covered 245.7 miles over 24 days. We traversed everything from dense and beautiful forests to exposed and sometimes frightening mountain peaks. We hiked in the sun, the rain, and more than once in hail. We would eat our lunches beside lazy streams in the midst of meadows and set up camp in places of stunning beauty. We spent all our time together. We talked and encouraged one another along the way. We ate every meal together, set up camp and broke down camp together. We would talk about the trail, about what the next day would hold for us, how much elevation we would gain or how brutal the downhill grind would be. We talked about our life together, our children and our faith.
By Cindy Koch – Day 21. Out in the wilderness. Even though I wrote this weeks ago, before […]
By Cindy Koch –
I must be really tired right now. We are hiking the John Muir trail, and when you read this, we will be on day 14. I planned to leave you with some thoughts on marriage as Paul and I are taking our grand adventure away from kids, phones, and everyday life. But two weeks now, without my favorite pillow… I hope I’m doing ok out there.
By Cindy Koch –
If you are reading this, it means that Paul and I are still out hiking the John Muir Trail. I wanted to leave you with a few thoughts while we were out of touch this month. Yes, that’s right, 23 days on the trail—no phones. By now, we have been out of communication with the family for about a week. Writing this ahead of time, I predict I am somewhere absolutely beautiful, missing my kiddos a lot right about now. Even though they are a little older, it usually takes me about four days and then I need to talk to at least one of them. It’s strange, like a new mom who can’t sleep through the night because she just has to hear the baby breathing to be able to relax, my angst to know they are safe doesn’t really go away.
By Cindy Koch –
Well, friends, today we are off on a new adventure. My husband and I are all packed up and headed out to the John Muir Trail. We will begin in Yosemite National Park and end up on Mount Whitney, provided everything goes well. In the end, we hope to hike 217 miles in the next 23 days. If you happen to think of us, please pray for our safe return!
By Cindy Koch –
Well, that’s right. I’ve taken a long, lingering look over the last twenty years of marriage, and I’m actually going to go through with it. It’s been a long time coming, and I really can’t believe I’m brave enough to be doing this. This last month together, it has been an intense scramble of plans for this all to work out. But in one week—kids, minivan, dog, nice little neighborhood, cell phone, my favorite coffee cup—all of it will be left behind. I’m leaving.
By Cindy Koch –
His eyes were focused and nervous as he watched that beautiful woman brought to him from the back of the room. Her father held her arm, proudly and sadly, as she walked out her childhood into a new life with another man. Her heart was happy and scared as she slowly stepped closer to this defining moment of union. Quiet smiles, hopeful hearts, kind wishes surround the man and woman who have come here to be married.
By Tim Winterstein –
What would happen if an entire country took independence and individualism to their logical and extreme ends? We don’t have to wonder. We have Sweden. For the last 40+ years, Sweden has been engaged in a social experiment which now has borne its desiccated fruit. The Swedish Theory of Love is the documentary telling that story. (You can find it online here. If you don’t want to subscribe, you can simply share the movie—I shared it to be visible only to me on Facebook—and you can watch it for free.)
By Cindy Koch –
It was only the beginning of a fight. She said. He said. But it turned ugly when she said too much. His anger flared, and his voice got louder. She stood her ground and said so much more. They felt the pulse of the evening race out of control as their words fueled a fire. Anger prickled his neck. Tears choked in her throat. Panic and pain washed over their hearts deep in the middle of their broken conversation.
By Cindy Koch –
What a question. It has been pondered throughout the ages, and the arguments go back and forth. God gives his man and woman companionship at the beginning of creation, but soon after, as a result of sin, both man and woman feel the pain of this union. In Scripture, St. Paul responds to the Corinthians about sexual immorality questions, personally judging that it is better to not be anxious about pleasing a wife.
By Joel A. Hess –
In the sixteenth century, the time of the Reformation, the Church held celibacy as of greater value than marriage in terms of holiness before God. They required their priests to take vows of celibacy. Men and women were considered holy as they left the domestic life and pursued all church all the time. That was the religious life. On paper, I suppose it makes sense. Who wouldn’t admire someone if all they did was churchy stuff? Also, Paul encourages people not to get married if they are blessed with the ability not to want sex or the desire to cuddle while watching Downton Abbey (1 Corinthians 7).
By Joel A. Hess –
Every day, another sex scandal. For the past decade, we have been shocked by teacher sex scandals. Before that, it was priests. We have become used to politician sex scandals, the honorable Roy Moore and Anthony Wiener notwithstanding. Now, we are enjoying a flurry of Hollywood sexual assault tales. Of course, little do they know that most of America assumed sexual assault was how you got into Tinseltown in the first place.
By Tim Winterstein –
Want to start a war between husbands and wives or friends of opposite sexes? Watch Force Majeure together. My wife went to sleep, so we didn’t get to have the discussion. But this is a film that raises questions of the differences between men and women, fathers and mothers. I suspect that, like the characters in the film, the reactions of men and women will match the reactions of Ebba and Tomas, Swedes on vacation at a French skiing resort.
By Cindy Koch –
Our story of woman follows a storyline of love, the greatest virtue given by God. But even more, we were made to love, just as we were made to breathe. Wisdom has taught us we have been created to love one another. Wisdom moves our relationships express love to someone else. Wisdom has shaped our convictions and principles, emboldening us to love our neighbor, our spouse, our child, and our friend.
By Scott Keith –
*This week, I have given my spot over to my good friend and mentor Johan Hinderlie. Besides putting up with me as a friend, Johan has served as a radio preacher, Bible camp director, parish pastor, and tour leader. But he gets most of his fun pretending he is Martin Luther. Sometimes his wife acts alongside him as Katy von Bora. They live in Minnesota enjoying their three married sons and six grandchildren. Enjoy!*
By Paul Koch –
According to Genesis chapter 2, after man awakes from his slumber, he is greeted with a sight that changes everything. The creature that the Lord God presents to Adam is unlike any other creature God had made. Drawn from the very side of man, this is the perfect helpmate, the ultimate companion, the one thing that would complete the creation of humanity. He leaps to his feet and crafts the first poem, as the one given to name all the creatures says,
By Joel A. Hess –
Want to start a revolution? A coup? Overthrow the world? Raise your fist to the man? Get married and start a family!
This past week, I was so excited for this recently engaged couple sitting in my office that I charged them to do exactly that. We were talking about having kids. Of course, they expressed the typical desire to wait for a little bit. Oh, they had their little mundane dreams of going to the casino and not getting a babysitter, I guess.
By Ross Engel –
One of my favorite movies of all time is Rocky. I love the entire series (Minus the disappointment that was Rocky V). In the first film, Rocky is training hard for his shot at the champ He lands himself a girlfriend, the lovely and slightly awkward Adrian, who later becomes his wife. When his trainer Mick finds out that he’s involved with a woman, he grumbles at Rocky and tells him point blank, “Women. Weaken. Legs!” At that point, Rocky reluctantly agrees not to “fool around” anymore with Adrian.
By Cindy Koch –
I did something terrible this morning. I guess it happens all the time, but I am still ashamed even as I type these words. Like you, I am one who is shocked at the dreadful state of our world today, but then I go participate in their deadly games. A gentleman ran up to me today and offered to carry a heavy bag to my car, that was only a few feet away. Without thinking twice, I shot him down.