Three years ago this February, Josh and I stood on a stage and committed to honor one another for life.
We said our vows.
We exchanged our rings.
We shared our first kiss.
And after our guests went home, the honeymoon ended, and real life began, I discovered something astonishing: I’m not cut out for this.
Three years later, I’m still not cut out for it – yet here we are.
This week on Uniquely Woman, Lisa and I are discussing a topic brought up at the podcast meetup we hosted in December. How do you acclimate to a new life after you move? Moving changes your whole life and it can take a while to find your footing.
Also, we had some sound issues with this recording and while we edited out as much as we could, this episode has a lower sound quality than our typical podcast. Thanks for your understanding and for listening!
I used to think if I stayed pretty enough, slim enough, “made an effort”, it would make up for my hot temper. It didn’t.
I used to think if I managed my house with the superwoman ability of June Cleaver, he wouldn’t notice the lash of tongue. But he did.
He once told me there was nothing that pushed him away more than an angry woman. Yet here he is, married to someone with all that potential, and he loves her anyway. He loves me anyway. It doesn’t make sense.
We’ve been taught to run from our sexuality.
Good Christian girls don’t talk about it; they aren’t even sure what to do with it. We know sex is for marriage, but what do you do before marriage? What do you do with these desires?
I can tell you one thing NOT to do: run from it. We need to stop running from our sexuality. I’m not talking about sexual sin or temptation; I’m talking about sexuality itself – our capacity for desire, the foundation of marital intimacy. Our sexual selves don’t suddenly “turn on” once we say “I do”. Our sexuality is part of our identities.
I used to think an atmosphere of worship required flickering candles, Bethel music, and hour-long prayer sessions. When I was single, that used to be my reality. I’d read my Bible, turn on worship music, and spend more than thirty minutes enjoying the presence of God. It felt like worship. It looked like worship.
Then I quit my job, moved to a new state, and had a baby – all in the span of one week. My life was upended for good, and in that transition I learned that worship is not a sequence of activities or a certain kind of music. It’s an attitude.