Marriage Archives | The Sparrow's Home

Winning in marriage starts with knowing it’s a team event

April 2, 2018 by Susan

Once every four years, we find ourselves using phrases like “Lutz” and “triple Salchow” …during the Winter Olympics when we all become experts in sports we watch exactly once every four years.

Imagine if figure skating pairs got on the ice and each did their own routine. It would never work. Not only would they never medal, but they’d be laughed off the ice. Everyone knows, that’s not how paired figure skating works.

It’s not how marriage works either, friends.

And yet day after day we pursue our own agendas and wonder why our marriages are not all that we’d hoped they would be.

Marriage is Hard

Marriage can be difficult. No doubt. But ask someone who’s been married into the decades (plural) and they will overwhelmingly tell you that it’s worth it.

The other side of difficult is worth it.

Food for Thought #30

November 9, 2017 by Susan

I went to a blogging conference a few weeks ago. I LOVE conferences. Workshops. Key note speakers. Break-out sessions. {Swoon} And the thing about conferences is that it’s almost never totally new information that you’re getting. It’s the reminders that I love. Renewing convictions and re-lighting fires.

And that’s kind of how these articles are. Probably nothing you’ve never heard. But enjoy the reminders.

100 Ways to Show Your Wife She’s the Apple of Your Eye

November 6, 2017 by Susan

Your wife knows you love her.

She also knows that finding ways to show that to her is not always easy for you. But the thing about marriage is that it’s really easy to drift apart if you’re not consciously working to draw together.

So to help the fellas out, I put the word out to my fantastic readers and compiled a list of 100 ways that you can make sure that your lady knows that she’s your one and only. And even if you’re already doing a GREAT job of showing your love, more ideas are always helpful!

Hugh Hefner, Dennis Prager, and the Destructive Nature of Pornography

October 2, 2017 by Susan

I was so disappointed to hear Dennis Prager’s views on pornography recently, and equally pleased to see other men speaking truth on this important issue.

Hugh Hefner died last week. While I don’t revel in his death, the phrase ‘good riddance’ did cross my mind. Hefner contributed heavily to bringing pornography to the mainstream, making it more easily accessible and normalized. Grieving his death never entered my mind.

What did make me sad was hearing Dennis Prager speak about his father subscribing to Playboy. He said that he felt no shame over it. After all, his dad had been faithful to his mother for seventy-some years.

Have we disconnected the fruit from the seeds when it comes to a Biblical worldview?

August 28, 2017 by Susan

Teaching a Biblical worldview matters! Kids are leaving their faith at astounding rates. How long is it going to take for us to recognize the seeds that produce this fruit & start planting something different?

I heard a story recently about a young man who was out in his father’s watermelon field working, with strict instructions not to eat any of the fruit. Giving in to temptation, he attempted to hide the evidence by burying the remains off in another part of the field. He was sure he’d gotten away with it until his father noticed watermelons growing where they didn’t belong. The evidence was irrefutable. Undeniable. Once the fruit appeared, the son could not hide that he had buried the seeds in just that place.

Communication Tips to Improve Every Area of Your Life

November 14, 2016 by Susan

I have said for years that 99% of problems could be avoided or solved quickly with better communication. That very scientific assessment is reinforced to me when I see the breakdown of society in being able to disagree civilly.

I am always on the lookout for resources that can teach, encourage, or help create better communication skills. And please don’t read that and think that I’m putting myself on some kind of communication-skills-high-horse. I happen to come from a long line of abrasive women. (I’m pretty sure it was women like us that caused the early church to forbid women from speaking in church.) Speaking respectfully and kindly is something that I have worked on, with many failures, over the years. My gracious husband has been my biggest help in this endeavor.