Is the honeymoon all about the guy FINALLY getting sex? Nope. But too often evangelicals talk like this--and it has grave consequences. Licensed counselor Jay Stringer sent me a video a few weeks ago that he was really concerned about. SBC Megachurch pastor Josh...
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PODCAST: Jane Austen’s Advice on Choosing a Husband
Jane Austen has some great marriage advice! Or at least, some wonderful advice on HOW TO CHOOSE A SPOUSE. And for the last two podcasts of the season before we take a month off, we decided to record something that we wanted to talk about, something that we talk about...
Psychology Today Says Women Are Getting Higher Standards–and Men Are Left Lonely
What if men are finding it hard to find a mate because women are getting higher standards? That's the claim in a new article in Psychology Today that's going crazy on social media right now: And I checked out the references the post uses, and they appear to hold up! A...
She’s Someone–Plus Priming for Abuse
Can we talk about how our messages about a woman's role can actually undermine her safety? Just a quick catch-up for today's post! I want to share a few things I've seen on social media and then throw this open for discussion. I'm taking a bit of a downtime this week...
11 Dumb Things People Believe about Marriage
Lots of people believe a lot of dumb things about marriage! I'm in the middle of moving our site to our new Bare Marriage domain (we should be up and running by the end of the month!), and we're only taking posts from 2018 and forward with us, leaving over 1000 posts...
The 5 Love Styles and the Attachment Styles Dance
Our attachment style that we learn in childhood affects our "love styles" as adults. I'm a big fan of the book How We Love by Milan and Kay Yerkovich. It's one of the few Christian marriage books that I can recommend wholeheartedly. How We Love is based on...
On Kissing Before Marriage, Hilarious Reviews, and Horrifying Advice
On Fridays I like to take a look at what's been happening on social media this week, because often most of the writing/thoughts end up on Facebook or Instagram, and if you mostly read the blog you may miss them. So let's go: Let's talk Kissing Before Marriage! I...
Who is Safer to Date: Christian Men or Secular Men?
Do you feel safer in Christian spaces or non-Christian ones? That can be a hard one to answer because there are so many variables, but yesterday I set off a firestorm with my post that only 33.7% of married, evangelical men meet our four criteria for being sexually...
Is It “Better to Marry Than to Burn”?
I've often heard pastors say that the only explicit reason given for marriage in the Bible is that it is better to marry than to burn with passion. The context they're quoting is from 1 Corinthians 7:Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to...
How to Bless an Engaged Couple: The Best Approach to Support their Marriage
How best can you help a couple you know to start marriage well? I've got to tell you--I really want people to feel passion! And so I write all of these posts trying to help people unravel marriage problems and get back to the passion, but it's occurred to me over the...
Preparing for the Wedding Night: 4 Reasons Sex Often Goes Badly!
If you're a Christian preparing for your wedding night, likely sex is the biggest thing on your mind. I know it was for me. Like, seriously. That's the whole point, right? For couples who are saving sex until marriage, your first time on your wedding night is a very,...
10 Things to Know to Plan the Perfect Honeymoon
We're told our whole lives, "The honeymoon is the most glorious time of your life!" And so we want to have the perfect honeymoon. It's part of that whole perfect wedding package--you'll go off into the sunset with your beloved, and you'll make mad passionate love and...
Reader Question: What Do I Do If My Boyfriend Won’t Propose?
What do you do if your boyfriend just doesn't seem that interested in getting married? Last week was a big one--I spent the week tackling the idea that every man will lust, and I'm excited to get back to the regular swing of things! Today we're answering a reader...