Welcome to our very first Total Truth Thursday! Kelsea and I are so
excited to be starting this link-up and hope that it will be successful in
creating a safe environment for us to share our opinions, beliefs, and thoughts-
however strong, against-the-grain, mainstream, or out there they are! If this
is the first time you’re hearing about Total Truth Thursdays, head back to this
post and catch up on what it’s all about!
Before we dive in and link up, there are a few things that you need to
know:
1 // You can find the list of topics for each week
HERE.
2 // Kindness is key.Whether you follow the topics for each week or come up with something on
your own, please remember that others may or may not agree with you, and you
may or may not agree with them! Disagreements are natural, passionate opinions
are welcomed, and constructive feedback is fine. However, we won’t put up with
rudeness, ugliness, or name-calling. Just be nice!
3 // To link-up, please follow Hey Kelsea Rae &
These Moments Called Life on Bloglovin’ or GFC and copy and paste the button
code to your post somewhere!
We are so excited to get started!
Today’s topic is MARRIAGE!
Before we dive in, let me clarify on my title. I LOVE Pinterest. I have discovered so many awesome recipes, home decorating ideas, organizing tips, and fashion ideas. What I mean by my title is simply this, I believe Pinterest has women more focused on planning the perfect wedding rather than focusing on preparing our hearts for marriage. Being that I got married just 2 months after high school, you can imagine our wedding budget was small. Our wedding wasn't lavish to say the least, we didn't have an expensive caterer, outstanding venue, or 4 foot tall floral arrangements. What our wedding lacked in "frills", was compensated with love. My wedding was perfect to me. And our parents weren't in debt after!
Your wedding is at the top of the list of "most important days of your lives", but I have to say, I personally believe our divorce rates would drop if couples spent more time preparing their hearts and minds for marriage instead of investing it all on the wedding.
Your wedding day is only 24 hours. Your marriage's lifespan is much much more. The year or months leading up to your special day should be spent in deep thought and prayer. Marriage is a beautiful union of 2 becoming one. You can imagine that comes with some bumps and bruises along the way. I am so thankful Mr. J and I did marriage counseling which prompted many long talks and discussions. I'm glad we took time to pray together lots throughout our engagement about our life as a married couple. Don't you think marriages would be in much better condition if in the wedding budget, there was a slot for counseling, or marriage conference fees?
I am in no way telling you not to have the wedding of your dreams, all I am saying is invest some time preparing the foundation. A rushed, neglected foundation leads to instability. I remember vividly our marriage counseling, the truths we learned, what the Bible has to say about marriage, what my role as a wife is to look like. I think about those things often. I wish somewhere in Proverbs 31, there was a verse that said "And she shall be given chocolate as a reward for holding her tongue." Can I just get an amen there. Seriously, showing grace and forgiveness is super hard when you fall into the toilet in the middle of the night because someone, cough cough, left the seat up....again!
If you are a seasoned bride and never took the time to spiritually and emotionally prepare for marriage, it's NOT TOO LATE!! You have tons of resources available. Ask your Pastor if he would be willing to do a little marriage counseling with you, after all "Fireproof doesn't mean the fire will never come. It means when the fire comes that you will be able to withstand it." (IF you haven't already, go watch Fireproof) There are so many great books, even work books you can go through together. Talk to an older couple who have been together for 50+ years, you know they have some good advice.
Let's invest our hearts in the upkeep of our marriages, invest time in your spouse. Treat them like your hunk, not just the co-parent of your child. Remember y'all, our kids will get their idea of what marriage looks like by our example, are you showing them it's fun, so full of love, and only gets stronger, or are you showing them a naggy, miserable, "team" of people who just happen to be raising kids together?
Go give your guy a kiss, have fun, and enjoy each other. Marriage is a gift ladies, it isn't without hiccups but in the end, those hard times draw us closer to each other and closer to the Lord.
I LOVE this! I've thought about that so many times as I've heard stories from friends who have worked with brides- all wrapped up in the day and the event instead of focusing on the marriage relationship. I love that- treat your husband like your hunk, not just the co-parent- SO important! He's still the guy married and who gave you butterflies. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is the truth! I didn't find out about pinterest until two months after our wedding and at first I was so bummed! Now, looking back, I would have had even more of an unrealistic expectation on my wedding (being that we were paying for it on our own) than I already did.
ReplyDeletelove this!!! :) i tried to remind myself over & over while planning my wedding that our wedding is ONE DAY and our marriage is FOREVER! our motto was that our marriage would be more beautiful than our wedding! :)
ReplyDeleteJordan and I loved our pre-marital counseling! Definitely a must if you're engaged. We loved our pastor and had a great time of discussion. Thanks for hosting the linkup! I'm enjoying reading everyone's posts.
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