marriage Archives - The Sparrow's Home

The 5 best and worst things you’ll face with your empty nest

August 2, 2021 by Susan 4 Comments

Beginning the empty nest season of life can bring a lot of different emotions. But you might find it is more sweet than bitter.

I expected to be the mother who wept uncontrollably when my children left home.

Turns out… not so much. In fact, kind of the opposite.

My eldest son got married last summer, and my youngest just tied the knot in June.

Don’t get me wrong–there have been moments of deeply missing my children’s presence in my home and of questioning my role as a mother now that they’re gone.

But honestly, overall, this empty nesting business has been more sweet than bitter.

Proving that your repentance is real is a long road, not a one time deal.

March 4, 2019 by Susan 9 Comments

Have you ever had to rebuild trust? Whether you are the one who has done wrong and needs to make amends, or are the one who has been wronged and are looking for signs of true repentance…you know it doesn’t happen overnight. There are some important steps that you can take to work this process and cement the change that God has begun.

I’ve shared before that God’s grace is very real to me. That’s because I’ve made choices I wish I could take back and faced some steep consequences because of them. I’ve also had to extend grace in ways I wasn’t sure I could. One day I’ll tell you my whole story, but for today, know that when it comes to working through repentance and restoration, I have some experience…on both sides of the equation.

Everyone’s story will be different, of course. Still, these insights can be valuable for people walking the path to restoration, or those ministering to someone who is.

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

April 2, 2018 by Susan 6 Comments

Marriage simply doesn’t work if we don’t learn how to work together. Being intentional in building a strong and healthy marriage is the key. Helpful resources, and advice from long-married couples.

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, y’all.

And yet that’s kind of how we go about things day after day and then we wonder why things fall apart.

Marriage is Hard

Marriage can be difficult. No doubt. But most couples who have been married into the decades will tell you that it’s worth it.

The other side of difficult is worth it.

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

November 6, 2017 by Susan 9 Comments

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!

Food for Thought #11

December 15, 2016 by Susan 11 Comments

Marriage, parenting, homeschooling and faith…that kind of sums up the bulk of my online reading typically. Throw in some politics for good measure. What have you been reading?

I would love to hear what you think, and see what you’ve had open on your desktop this week.

Communication Tips to Improve Every Area of Your Life

November 14, 2016 by Susan 5 Comments

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.