QUIZ TIME! 1.Are there occasions when all you need to do is look at each other…and you laugh?2.Do you have tickle/goose/poke wrestling matches in bed? When was the most recent time? 3.When’s the last time you had a water fight? 4.When did you last watch a funny movie together? 5.When the two of you were together, how many times did you LOL …
Ultimately, Is It Worth It?
Oh my. Just look at those two naïve, “we’ve got the tiger by the tail” youngsters. Move aside, everyone; Craig and Carolyn were out to save the world! Can I humbly admit that we had one huge learning curve? We recently celebrated 48 years of marital bliss. Um. Maybe not so much? A better (and considerably more truthful) description: We’re still …
The This-Is-Not-the-Typical-Couple-Devotions-Way-to-Grow-Closer-to-God Experiment
Nearly 40 years ago, Craig and I agreed to a fairly simple commitment: We would talk every Saturday morning. We had NO idea what that time would develop into, and how meaningful it would prove to be as the years went by. The following (plus our next newsletter, arriving in your email on June 17) tells our story from an …
The This-Is-Not-the-Typical-Couple-Devotions-Way-to-Grow-Closer-to-God Experiment, Part Two
Nearly 40 years ago, Craig and I agreed to a fairly simple commitment: We would talk every Saturday morning. We had NO idea what that time would develop into, and how meaningful it would prove to be as the years went by. This newsletter is Part Two of an article (our newsletter of June 3 was Part One) – a …
COVID and Its Consequences; FEAR: The Fuel for Anger, Part One
Fear Anger Two powerful emotions. Please hear my confession: As a result of this pandemic (and a few other excuses), I (Carolyn) am battling a nearly constant low-level anger. It’s a simmering mess that appears eager to erupt at any provocation. Sometimes I win the battle; other times, I don’t. I do have a process that helps—but only if I’m …
COVID – Weird Consequences from Its Merciless Stress, Part Two: Fuel for My Weaknesses
Weird things happen to us physically, emotionally, and intellectually when we’re subject to merciless stress. Which means like now. Because the “We’re NEVER going to get past this horrific, brutal pandemic” feeling does not bring out the best in us. On the contrary, you can count on just about every negative in your life showing up somewhere. Somehow. Eventually! This newsletter, …
COVID: Tired…Stressed…Lessed
Lessed? you’re wondering. We’ve invented a new word, courtesy of the many “benefits” of the COVID pandemic. Lessed: A state of being in which one who’s survived 2020-21 is so tired, weary, and stressed out that he/she often loses the ability to recall complex words (i.e., book, car, table, etc.); focus for a time period longer than a microsecond (that’s one-millionth of a …
COVID: I Feel Out of Control; Therefore, I Take Control (At Least, I Think I Am)
It was the icky used tissues right next to his waste can that started it. For a man who used to play basketball, he couldn’t open the cupboard and toss tissues into the trash right there? Less than an inch away? So I told him I resented that. I would choose to believe it wasn’t a statement about me and my worth and confuse the …
COVID: Deep Breath. Now How Do I Restore My Soul?
It was WAR Maybe you haven’t thought of COVID in these terms, but honestly. We truly have survived a war. It was not just a war against a powerful virus, but a war attempting to destroy our overall health – spiritual, physical, mental, emotional. Yes, it can indeed be classified as war. The similarities? We faced a very real enemy that could …
Hope
We had another newsletter all set to go—and I like that feeling. The pressure’s off, we’ve both edited and checked, and I can schedule the newsletter to land in your inboxes on Thursday morning. Done. And then this polar vortex surged south, plunging nearly the entire U.S. into a massive cold front with snow or ice. How to turn up the …