Time flies when you're having fun!

And fun is exactly what we've been having around here. We are exactly 10 days away from our very first anniversary. I really can't believe it went by so fast. I still feel like our wedding was only weeks ago! There have been so many twists and turns throughout our marriage so far that I don't think I can recall all of them here. Some of those twists and turns have not been pleasant ones (like having bedbugs and getting my tooth pulled), but God has been very good to us in our relationship with each other. We face the challenges together as a team, not as opponents. Or, at least, that is our goal.

One of our greatest hopes as a married couple is to break the cycle of broken marriages and encourage others to love their spouses like Jesus loves us. The idea of marriage these days has become so ruined by our culture. And instead of learning to communicate with each other and work through things, couples are giving up.

I noticed during our engagement that those who had been hurt or angered by marriage in someway only had negative things to say to Adam and I as we prepared for our own marriage. Things like, "You don't know what you're getting yourselves into." Even now I can imagine them saying, "Just you wait. You haven't been married long enough to understand how awful it is." But where's the help in that? Statements like that show no self-reflection or wisdom. Does anyone do that anymore? Do we analyze the situation afterward and ask ourselves why it went down the way it did? Or do we focus so much on how other people wrong us that we forget, or are unwilling to admit, our own faults in the matter? Imagine what it would be like if newly weds received encouragement instead of discouragement and judgement. What if we shared our bad experiences in a way that helped them learn what not to do in a marriage? Like, "This is how we screwed up. Don't do what we did." Or, "Try this. It works every time for us." If we want to make the world a better, more peaceful place, we must stop blaming everything and everyone else. Change starts with me.

That attitude is a long way off for our culture I think, but something Adam and I want to work toward.

Anyway, we've been loving marriage! It's wonderful having someone to do life with. Making difficult decisions, facing health challenges, doing ministry together, lifestyle changes, dealing with family emergencies, planning travel arrangements, learning to budget, encouraging each other through tough stuff, learning to communicate, and doing every aspect of life together. And yes, we also love being able to kiss now, among other things...