He Gave Me Away Posted: May 25, 2010 by Kara Johnson I tried to busy myself with the dirty countertops and listened with a knot in my throat. Jim, my soon-to-be husband, closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against the receiver. "I really think you should walk her down the aisle," he said. We looked at each other and I knew the silence on the other end of the phone was the answer. My chest tightened and I could feel my cheeks flush. The pressure behind my eyes threatened to pound a crack into the dam holding back my pooling tears. Jim looked at me with apology written on his face, and as he continued to plead with my dad, I slipped away. I went to my room and curled into a ball on the bed. The tears came. Quick and hot. "God!" I cried out. "What do I do? How could something so beautiful and blessed turn into something so painful and raw?" I buried my face farther into the pillow and wrapped my arms around my knees. I could feel my heart thudding into the mattress as a warm peace trickled through my body.  Read the full article…

Commitment in Marriage Posted: Mar 08, 2010 by Naomi Cassata James, my husband, and I became friends while on our way to prison. Yep, I said prison! Not many people can say they met their spouse in such a way. Before you jump to conclusions, let me explain. We were sitting across from each other in the back of a bus that was hauling us, along with approximately 30 other college-age students from our church, to a maximum security prison. He was the drummer in our young adults' worship band that would be performing, and I was on the drama team that would be acting out skits to minister to the prisoners. A very unlikely match, I know. One and a half years later, our friendship went from the prison doors to the church doors in holy matrimony.  Read the full article…

Four Huge Marriage Myths Posted: Mar 02, 2010 by Matt Appling My wife and I didn't go to pre-marital counseling. In a time when tons of people end their marriages, that may surprise some people. We just didn't make time for it. That's our fault. Everyone thinks that people who are about to get married need a ton of advice. When there's an engaged couple in the room, every married couple is suddenly licensed in relationship counseling. Heck, half the reason I got married was to give advice to more people who didn't ask for it. Most soon-to-be's get lots of advice from many different people. There's the pre-marital stuff that tries to get the nuts and bolts of relationships. Then you get the surly, salty "advice" about how relationships "really work" from the couple who've been married for twenty years...somehow. On the wedding day, the preacher usually tries to make sure the couple knows marriages are "hard work." Then you get a bit of intoxicated sagely advice from the best man at the reception. And yet, for all the wise counsel, it is inevitable that newlyweds will still find surprises. So today, I'm busting four big marriage myths. You, or your kids, or your best friend need to hear this before walking down the aisle. Maybe we should've made counseling a priority. You decide...  Read the full article…