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Singleness and Vocation and Comfort
By Keri Wolfmueller Dear Sisters, I have a question that I hope you can help me with. I know that marriage is a good gift from God, and so are children. But what does that mean for those of us who haven’t gotten married yet and might not? Hi Sister! Thanks for trusting us with your question, that’s a special place to be. First, know you will be in our prayers. We will pray that God will grant you His comfort, peace, joy, wisdom, and contentment with whatever your future may hold. I feel like everything I’m going to say you know. You are a student of the Scriptures. So,…
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What To Look For in a Husband
By Amanda Hinton I have been married for 16 years and have been blessed with six children. My oldest is 11 and, although marriage is not immediately on the horizon for her, she is already forming an idea of a husband in her mind. What do I want her to know about a husband? What do I want her to have in a husband? What does God want her to have in a husband? What should she be looking for? Find a man that puts God first in his life. When God is first in his life, He will be first in your life together. When God is first, all…
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To Love Your Spouse
By Allison Hull Recently there was a Facebook trend called “The Love Your Spouse Challenge”. You were supposed to post pictures every day of you and your spouse expounding on why you loved them and challenging others to post the same. I admit, when it first started I rolled my eyes and was quick to thank God I wasn’t challenged. And then I was. Oh, how cheesy and dramatic. But I shrugged and decided it wouldn’t be too much work and would be an easy task. I was wrong. Finding pictures of JUST my husband and myself was almost impossible. There was always a kid thrown in there, usually if…
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Notes From the Couch: Reflections of a Convalescent
By Jenna Thompson I am currently recovering from a surgery that will require three to six weeks of recovery. Six weeks is a long time! A brain like mine should not be allowed six minutes of reflection much less six weeks. So, instead of second-guessing and ruminating over every life choice I have ever made, or scrolling through Netflix for the thousandth time only to settle on … nothing, I have decided to channel my energy into reflection and put my keyboard to work. Here are four lessons I have learned so far: Eleven-year-old, youngest children are very capable of making a superb batch of chocolate chip cookies. Now, I…
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Unmerciful Servants: in Marriage and Life
By Mary Abrahamson Peter asked Jesus, “How many times do I have to forgive my brother?” Remember Jesus’ reply? Jesus answered with what is often called The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, which we can read in Matthew 18:21-35. A servant owed his master a great debt. In the parable, these represent God (master), and us (servant), and the debt of sin under which we live and which separates us from God (the debt). The master forgave the great debt. God, of course, forgives us our very great debt of sin, every one of our sins, and even the innate sin of our natures. For Jesus’ sake. Continuing on in the parable,…
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An open letter on Marrying Young
I HAVE BEEN VERY HAPPY in my marriage, thank God. I have a faithful wife, according to Solomon: “The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her” (Prov. 31:11). She spoils nothing for me. Ah, dear Lord God, marriage is not something natural and physical; but it is a gift of God, the sweetest, nay, the most chaste life; it is above all celibacy. ~ Martin Luther To my niece I read on your wedding website this phrase, “We know we are pretty young… But…” This gave me pause and here’s why. I don’t know how old your intended is, but I do know you are almost twenty-three. Your…
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Married with Friends
By Vanessa Rasanen My best friends in kindergarten were dudes. Twin boys, actually. Sure, I went on to have girl friends, but throughout school I usually felt more comfortable with the guys. Being an engineer certainly made it easier – if not a necessity – to befriend guys, and even after my husband and I were married, I still remained friends with the guys at work. Now most of my friends are on social media – no judging, please – and I have a nice mix of men and women in my friend pool, most of whom are not mutual friends with my husband. Many have warned me about this – especially as my blog garnered…
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Why buy the cow? Thoughts on marriage
By Mary Abrahamson In talking to an older mom awhile back, discussing the trend among young people to delay marriage, my friend said, “Why by the cow when you can get the milk for free?” I understood, of course, her metaphor. She was expressing that with extra-marital sexual activity dominating our cultural norm, there was no compelling impetus for a young person to assume the commitment and responsibilities that come with marriage. This line of thought appeals to our sinful condition. And to our humanity, in a sense. We are biologically inclined to want to engage in sexual behaviors. This is a natural and good thing, in its…
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The Many Interwoven Seasons of Womanhood
By Mary Abrahamson Often when we talk about seasons of life, we talk about things like young adulthood, which might include college or single life. Adulthood might include being a wife or mother or being single. It might include being a homemaker and/or having a paying career outside the home. And then perhaps later our children might leave our next empty, but give us grandchildren. And finally retirement. Old age. Perhaps assisted living or full nursing care. And the deathbed. The seasons I’m going to describe are less linear and more universal. My seasons are the kind that occur constantly and repeat throughout our lives regardless of the particular work…
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Miss Mary’s Rules for Love and Marriage
By Mary Abrahamson Much has been written within (and without) our Confessional Lutheran circles on the topic of dating and finding a Christian spouse. So, let me cut to the chase. There is no Mr Right. That said, here are the words of wisdom on the topic that I try to implant into my daughters as they approach the age to begin thinking of marriage. Do you and your guy share the same life foundation (aka RELIGION!)? Yes, we can all point to wonderfully strong Lutheran couples who did not start out sharing the same Lutheran vision. But we can also point to couples who did not start out…
