Once upon a time, after I had served as a missionary in the U.S., the Virgin Islands and Mexico, I flew from my home in California to a conference where I would interview participants from all over the world. Our first morning in Washington, D.C., we introduced ourselves around the conference room table. I was…
What Name Do You Want to Be Known By? A (No) Rags to Riches Story
I would never want to be called any kind of harlot, especially one like this one — a wife who loathed her husband and left his embrace for many lovers. A wife who paid her lovers to help themselves. A mother who hated her children and put them to death for foreign gods. With this…
Dear Lovely Girl, Why You Should Wait to Wear White, and Who Cares?
First, God cares. God, who created you, lovely girl, is the one who said: “Wait!” Wait for marriage to have sex — your white wedding dress the traditional symbol that you did. Doesn’t that make God a killjoy? Well, because He cares so much for you, and if marriage is part of His best plan…
Healthy Ingredients for a Marriage: Are We Stirring up a Feast?
“It would be worth a thousand dollars,” my friend and mentor said when I told her what I wanted. That sounded like way more than I was used to spending for anything. I had told her I had long-standing questions about my marriage, but didn’t know if I could afford counseling. Ed and I loved…
It’s the Little Things That Make You Blue
It's the Little Things for Ed It’s the little things that just won’t wait. It’s the little things that make us late. It’s the little things that I must do, It’s the little things that make you blue. I’ll dye my roots; I’ll bake some bread. I must put clean sheets on the bed. This…
Fortune Cookies, A Conference, and A Romance
“Will it ever be my turn?” I wondered as my plane winged its way to Washington, D.C. that July. Would I ever marry? Most of my friends had married by then. I longed for someone to lavish my love on, but had never met that someone who was just right for me. The five-day planning…
A 3,000-Year-Old Conversation Taught Me About Holding My Husband in Weighty Esteem
My marriage has had its ups and downs, like any. But God has had His finger on one area for a while now: RESPECT. Where women crave love, men crave respect. God designed us that way. To make the deal sweeter, He commanded spouses to give each other the very thing they crave. Men are…
