About 365 days of marriage

I started this blog in April of 2011. At the time, Bret and I were wedding photographers and it was a way to share how marriage is more about the day to day and so much more than the wedding day itself. For about 5 years, I blogged about the joys and sorrows of the Christian walk, marriage, work, family and friends. I’ve blogged every day since a few weeks after I started. In May of 2015, we photographed our last wedding. Now, I have become passionate about simplicity, particularly in marriage, Christianity, business, travel and life. For a number of reasons, we have become minimalists. I’ve found that having simplicity makes life so much deeper, refreshing and joyful. I hope that this blog will help others see the benefits of living simply.

Day 1903 – Starting A New Journey

Posted on September 26, 2014 by 365 days of marriage

Today when Bret came home from school, we talked about a few things and we were freshly reminded of something that should be so obvious.

We HAVE to pray together. I’m being honest here and not saying we need to pray more. We are woefully failing in this regard.

As a Christian couple, we believe that our relationship with Christ, both individually and as a couple, is so important to the success of our marriage. We cannot do this “marriage thing” without God. With this fresh reminder, we have set a goal to pray and do devotions every morning and every evening. Tonight was such a sweet time of prayer about different things we’re walking through as well as some great reminders in the things we read.

We are going to read the Duck Commander devotional…um, how long have we owned that?! (Insert all knowing, forever preserved blog post proof – purchased on Day 1651, how many days have we read together? ummmm, yea…)
We are also going to read Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon.

I’m excited to see where this journey takes us! So what about you? What devotionals do you do with your spouse? Comment below and let us know what to read next!

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Day 1902 – A Trip To Harpers Ferry!

Posted on September 25, 2014 by 365 days of marriage

Bret had off work today, so we took a trip down to Harpers Ferry!

We got a ton of junk food and beer and stayed in Front Royal.

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We got lunch at a great Mexican restaurant.

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Margarita with lunch? Why not?!

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We got a beer with a view.

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I was so excited to show Bret the church…..and it was the only place closed! Doh!

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Bret didn’t mind, he found a cat to pet.

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Then we got another beer and some soup! We are so full right now, we’re planning on not eating for a few days. 🙂

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We’ve started taking more pictures of ourselves…..but they’ve been sillier and sillier.

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Day 1901 – Killing Time

Posted on September 24, 2014 by 365 days of marriage

I have a whole day to kill waiting for Bret to get off of work. We’re taking a little trip and it just made sense for me to drop him off. But I’m about 45 minutes from home and have a day of wandering ahead of me.

For now, I’m going to work on my book!

Day 1900 – Marriage Is Really Hard

Posted on September 23, 2014 by 365 days of marriage

One of my favorite analogies about the Christian walk is about a goldsmith/silversmith and how they prepare gold/silver. This will be a paraphrase of things I’ve learned over the years, so if anything is incorrect, I fully expect the goldsmiths and silversmiths to pipe in. From my understanding, they take the precious metal and put it over an extremely hot source. Boiling, forcing the impurities of the metal to the surface. Then the smith skims the surface to take the gunk and gross stuff, i.e. the dross, out of the metal. Then up goes the heat again….and again….and again. The process is not complete until the smith can see his reflection in the metal.

Now, how that applies to the Christian walk and marriage….first, my life verse:

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

To me, this verse means that life is hard. So. Very. Hard. We will walk through so many crappy things. But, the crappy things are bringing to the surface the crap in us. God takes us through them to sanctify us and make us more like Christ.

How does this apply to marriage and how hard it is? Well, I think THE best source of sanctification (i.e. dross burning) is your spouse. They will bring out things in yourself you didn’t even know were there. Over the years, I’ve realized how much has been brought to the surface because of Bret in my life. He’s pointed out things and has been soooooo patient as I’ve grown….and failed…and grown…and failed…and failed.

So, if you’re struggling with something (again) that your spouse has brought to your attention, remember they are put there by God to bring you to a deeper relationship with Him. God’s just working out the dross in your heart. Give your spouse an extra hug for dross burning today. 🙂

Here’s my dross burner!

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