Your. Marriage. Matters. (Part One)

By Barbara Rainey | October 4, 2021 | 2 Comments

  I was standing alone in our small master closet … stunned … unable to move. Feeling lost and alone and burdened, as if an old heavy wool coat had just been thrown on my shoulders. The weight of the heated words my husband and I had just exchanged felt impossible to bear. I wondered […]

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The Value of Together

By Barbara Rainey | September 27, 2021 | 5 Comments

  Have you ever wondered where you belong? Looked for a place to fit in? Felt all alone right in the middle of all your people? It’s okay. I have too. We all have. Together matters even when we don’t feel the connections as we’d like. Home matters, too, because that’s where belonging begins. You’ve […]

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Dear Barbara: How Do I Convince My Husband to Change?

By Barbara Rainey | September 20, 2021 | 2 Comments

    Dear Barbara: How do I convince my husband to change? There are certain areas we’ve been fighting about for years now. And I really am right. How can I get him to see it?  The moment I married Dennis, I knew I was in for an adventure. He wasn’t just different in his […]

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Heart Identity Matters

By Barbara Rainey | July 12, 2021 | 28 Comments

Opening an old journal I read some words I had written many years before: “I really wanted to go to the meetings this morning, but here I am in our apartment being a mother. Mothering doesn’t stop. Children’s needs don’t stop. Sick kids can’t be delegated. So once again I’m isolated and he, my husband, […]

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“Can You Fix My Spouse?” (And Why That Prayer Doesn’t Work)

By Jodie Berndt | June 7, 2021 | 1 Comment

  When Jodie Berndt asked if I would consider endorsing her new book, Praying the Scriptures for Your Life, I gladly agreed. Like Jodie, I appreciate the power of prayer—particularly as it shapes our friendships, our parenting, and our marriages. One of the things I love about Jodie’s writing is her honesty. She doesn’t hold […]

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