Is being a good wife in conflict with being a good mom? And what does it look like to prioritize your marriage? Episode 270 of Bare Marriage!
All the Latest from "Family"
Why the Pastor Forcing the Pregnant Teen Girl to Apologize to the Church is Worse Than You Thought
Last Sunday, a disturbing video went viral of a teen girl apologizing for being pregnant in front of her church. It was an Apostolic church in Virginia. After her confession. The congregation applauded, but then the pastor got up and chastised them, saying that no one...
The One Thing I Can’t Remember About Christmas
When you think back to your Christmases as a child, what do you remember? Realizing what you remember–and what you don’t–can help you figure out what’s good to emphasize for your own kids! Rebecca wrote this a few years ago on the blog, when her first baby was just 1,...
Older posts from "Family"
10 Ways to Create Memories with Extended Family this Christmas!
ARE YOUR CHRISTMASES WITH EXTENDED FAMILY OFTEN, QUITE FRANKLY, BORING? When I was younger I loved Christmas. It brought family, which meant having other children to play with and to sleep over–it was the best part of my year. Unfortunately, my grandparents were both...
5 Ways to Deal with Disagreement Without Getting REACTIVE.
Every Friday, I (Rebecca) write an exclusive post for our newsletter subscribers. I work pretty hard at these, and I'm actually quite proud of them! What's been so encouraging, though, is seeing how they resonate with so many of our subscribers. Since we started...
10 Conversation Starters for Family Dinners During the Holidays
Sheila here! This is a post from Rebecca from a few years ago, and with the holiday season approaching, I thought it would be a good idea to revisit it!Ever wanted to make family dinners more meaningful? And I've got to say, if you want meaningful conversations, you...
How Purity Culture Can Affect Overweight Teen Girls
Today I want to talk about another aspect of purity culture: Its affect on overweight girls. I received an Instagram message recently from a woman telling her story, and it was so interesting I thought it deserved its own post so we could think about it and talk about...
No More Power Struggles! Parenting with Discipline that Connects
We know that parenting is the biggest responsibility we will ever have. But we've been told such different things about the nature of that responsibility. If you grew up in an evangelical church, chances are you were told that a parent's job is to teach them to obey,...
Is Purity Culture Trauma?
Welcome to a new season on the Bare Marriage blog! We're about to begin a new series, starting tomorrow, on obligation sex--how to understand it and get over it. But before we do that, I received this great article by Dr. Camden Morgante (known as Dr. Camden around...
The Iowa “Monster Study” and Every Man’s Battle
What if our advice actually triggers the behaviour we want to prevent? One of my favourite places on the internet is our private Patreon Facebook group, where the people who support us financially hang out. For just $5 a month people can join our Patreon group, and in...
The Double Standard for Boys and Girls in Brio Magazine
Let's use a real-life example of purity culture double standards: Brio Magazine Yesterday on the podcast Rebecca and I read excerpts from old copies of Focus on the Family's Brio magazine, aimed at teen girls 12-16. We wanted you to hear first hand what purity culture...
PODCAST: The Brio Magazine Pajama Party!
It's our 200th episode! And we wanted to celebrate by doing something that matters to Rebecca--and to so many of you. We wanted to read some back issues of Brio Magazine, the magazine for preteen and teen girls published by Focus on the Family that encapsulated purity...
Amazing She Should Know Merch Is Here!
She should know that Jesus is not a Jealous Boyfriend. In our book She Deserves Better, we have 32 headings that start "She Should Know..." 32 things that girls need to know, in the very fiber of their being, to dispel a lot of the harmful things we too often have...
Is Kissing Before Marriage a Good Litmus Test?
Are we missing something if we save kissing for marriage? One of the tenets of purity culture was that all physical contact--even kissing--should be saved for marriage. It wasn't just that sex is for marriage. It was that kissing was too. Some couples didn't even...
Are We Shaming Teens for Having Sexual Feelings?
When you're a teen, it's normal to have sexual feelings. In fact, sexual feelings are a normal part of life for adults too! We have sex dreams (the content of which can sometimes be quite alarming). We can feel attraction to people. We can feel "horny", for lack of a...