Welcome

This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased (Matthew 3:17) What does it means to be beloved? How does it feel to be fully known, fully accepted, and fully cherished? These are questions this Sunday's Gospel calls on us to ask about our marriages. Beyond Affection to Deep Knowing Being beloved is not simply being liked or even loved in a general sense. When your spouse is your beloved, you hold them in a place of unique honor and affection. You see them not just as th

The trip from Ohio to visit our grandchildren in Virginia is a long one, made longer by the fact that we stop and treat ourselves to a decent meal, and stop at a state park to get in a good walk on our way. It gives us a lot of time to talk, and it was January so a central question was: Where do we want our marriage to be in a year? Where do we want our marriage to be in five years? What's our plan? As we begin a new year, our thoughts naturally turn to the future. We make re

It was the middle of the work week when Dawna called Mark. "I just texted you the URL for a house listing. Please make an offer on it right away." We'd been looking for a house. We'd sold our old house in advance of an 18 month excursion overseas, and returned to an apartment. We had a plan to build a retirement house several states away near our grandchildren, but in the meantime we were pouring money down the drain in rent rather than building equity. After visiting a half-