READ MORE: 10 Wedding Prayers and Blessings

1. A Devotion to Help Strengthen Your Marriage

By Ashley Wiersma

“Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.” Hebrews 13:15 (ESV)

Staring back at me from the bathroom floor is a pile of dirty clothes. Specifically, size-large gym shorts, one sweaty workout shirt, an undershirt, well-worn briefs and haphazardly balled-up socks. As usual, the mass of neglected garments sits not inside but beside the hamper, clear evidence that my husband has been on the scene.

Today, as I stare back at the messy mound, I fold my arms across my chest and smile. Laugh, even. I catch myself elbowing past annoyance and choosing gratitude instead.

I once heard a radio talk-show host doling out advice to a sourpuss bride who had called to tattle on her clutter-hound husband. “It sounds to me like you’ve got two options,” the host said. “You can live in happiness with a sometimes-frustrating husband or you can live in sparkling cleanliness alone.” The comment went deep, both for the caller and for me.

Besides the relationship between humankind and God, marriage is the only covenantal bond noted in Scripture. Which I assume means it’s a connection prized by God. I want my attitudes and my actions to show that I prize it as well, and I’m realizing more and more that part of how that gets worked out in my life is by knowing what things to focus on and what things can stand to be overlooked.

And so despite occasional golf clubs in the kitchen, spare sunflower seeds dotting the floorboard of the car, unwashed dishes left stacked in the home office and derelict duds strewn about the bathroom floor, I thank my heavenly Father for giving me a man to know and be known by, to love and be loved by, to serve and to be served by each day. My darling husband may be prone to untidiness, but untidy companionship carries a certain appeal when it involves such a magnificent human being.

Thank You, Lord, for eyes to see an abundance of blessings all around.

2. A Devotion About the True Meaning of Love

By Pablo Diaz

One of the most important relationships in my life is with my wife, Elba. We have been through a great deal together. We have raised two wonderful children and discovered the power of human love in its own unique way. And this week we celebrate 35 years of marriage. Of course just like all couples, we have had our ups and downs. Learn Pablo’s secrets to a long-lasting marriage in this touching devotion about marriage. 

3. Daily Devotion: Planning the Perfect Wedding

By Ashley Kappel

“Dear woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied, “My time has not yet come.” John 2:4 (NIV)

Mom and I were hard at work planning the finer details of my upcoming wedding. As we hurried around town orchestrating transportation for guests, finalizing the reception menu and making sure someone was at the church early to turn on the air-conditioning (the wedding was in May in Alabama, after all), I began to feel overwhelmed. Read this touching marriage devotion and see how Ashley found peace during the stress of planning her wedding. 

4. A Marriage Prayer

By Julia Attaway

Today Andrew and I celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. I’m happy, though we happen to be in the midst of one of those bumpy patches that plague almost every marriage.

I woke up, made coffee and sat down to pray. I pried out the words I’ve used almost daily for two decades. I pray this prayer when things are going well, and when they are rough. Learn more in this marriage devotion and read the prayer that Julia says to strengthen her marriage. 

5. Finding a Pause in Marriage

By Shawnelle Eliasen

The children are in bed and Lonny and I are in the schoolroom. He’s at one end of the boys’ school table, working on his computer. I’m on the other end, working on mine. I look up and see him there, work-face pulling his brows. The clickity-clack of his keyboard is the only sound. “Hey,” I say. “Can you stop? For just a sec?” See how a single moment taught Shawnelle an important lesson in this unique marriage devotion.

READ MORE ABOUT MARRIAGE:

• Advice for Newlyweds from Happily Married Couples
• 7 Ways to Improve Your Faith Habits in a New Marriage
• How to Increase Joy in Marriage

The post 5 Short Marriage Devotions appeared first on Guideposts.

How can we feel closer to God on Valentine’s Day? Here are five Valentine’s Day devotionals to remind you of God’s love for you, on February 14 and beyond:

Love on Valentine’s Day

“Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34

Last night I helped my grandsons get valentines ready for their preschool party. The cards, which featured a variety of bright characters, had to be pulled apart at perforated seams. Small heart stickers were included to hold the folded cards together.

We were pushing the bedtime limit, sitting at the kitchen table in a circle of overhead light. Drake, five, laboriously printed his name over and over. His brother, three, attached heart stickers, while his daddy wrote BROCK on all of his cards. My job was licking all 68 envelopes.

Brock finished his stack first, and as he was leaving to go up to bed, he came over to Drake and stuck a red heart sticker on his brother’s shirt. Drake stopped his printing and looked at the small bright spot of color on his sleeve. “Look, Nina,” he said, “Brock gave me this. He must love me.”

Sometimes we grown-ups make love way more complicated than it needs to be. A simple gesture, a kind touch, an unexpected card can all say, “I care about you.” And, of course, so can a bright red heart sticker.

Father, thank You for loving me unconditionally. Help me pass that love along today to someone who needs it.

Read even more Valentine’s Day devotionals below:

The Best Valentine’s Day Gift

Ginger wasn’t looking forward to Valentine’s Day. After fourteen years of marriage, she was going through a divorce and didn’t want any reminders of how happy other people were with their sweethearts. Until an unexpected gift arrived at her front door. Read how a kind gesture helped Ginger feel God’s love.

A Devotion to Help Strengthen Your Marriage

Staring back at Ashley from the bathroom floor is a pile of dirty clothes. Specifically, size-large gym shorts, one sweaty workout shirt, an undershirt, well-worn briefs and haphazardly balled-up socks. As usual, the mass of neglected garments sits not inside but beside the hamper, clear evidence that her husband has been on the scene. See the message that helped Ashley overlook her husband’s flaws and find gratitude.

The Perfect Wedding: A Valentine’s Day Devotional

Ashley and her mom were hard at work planning the finer details of her upcoming wedding. As they hurried around town orchestrating transportation for guests, finalizing the reception menu and making sure someone was at the church early to turn on the air-conditioning (the wedding was in May in Alabama), Ashley began to feel overwhelmed. “Are we doing the right thing?” she asked her mom, waving her hand over the to-do list, which seemed to grow each day. Learn how a Bible story helped an overwhelmed bride-to-be remember everything was worth it.

The Amazing Depth of Jesus’ Love

Sunrise at the beach is Katie’s favorite place to worship and fully experience Jesus; she is overwhelmed by His presence there. His majesty is displayed in the splendor of the sunrise as the rays paint the sky with beautiful shades of color. The roar of the waves proclaims His might. The smell of the salt in the air, the feel of the soft sand beneath her feet, and the cool mist all refresh her. Perhaps Jesus loved the beach also? This devotional about Jesus’ love can remind us of His love on Valentine’s Day and beyond. Read how the beach is the perfect place to remember Jesus’ love for us.

READ MORE ABOUT VALENTINES DAY AND FAITH:

• 8 Fun Valentine’s Day Traditions for Newlyweds
  
• 10 Amazing Quotes About God’s Love
• 7 Ways to Improve Your Faith Habits in a New Marriage
  
• How to Increase Joy in Marriage
  

The post 5 Heartwarming Valentine’s Day Devotionals appeared first on Guideposts.

To know the full story of this bestselling devotional, you need to go back to when Ann and Jean decided to write it. Ann was a senior acquisitions editor at Zondervan, the renowned Christian publishing company; Jean also worked there, as an associate publisher in their Bibles division. Ann, ever a studious editor, loved to go through the sheets and sheets of sales reports to see what their readers wanted. She noticed that “women of the Bible” was a topic many people were interested in, yet there just weren’t many new options that put the women of the Bible in a more modern lens.

“That got me interested in the topic,” said Ann, “and because of Jane’s experience with the Bible, I thought we should do this together.”

Thus, a beautiful friendship was born. But it wasn’t always easy. When the women first sent the manuscript around, it was turned down by a male associate editor. They were shocked. But when their agent sent it out again, this time to a woman, it was quickly accepted.

“Sometimes things get missed,” Ann said. “I might have been missing out on books that men would have liked to read because I was not perceiving the felt need. My colleagues didn’t get why this book would be interesting to women.”

And women were definitely interested. Women of the Bible went on to sell over one million copies. (The colleague who said it would never sell, said he was very happy that he had been so wrong.) The book takes readers on a weekly study of 52 women of the Bible. And not just the most prominent ones.

“We also wanted to include women characters that most women had never heard of,” said Jean. “Not just the shining stars, but also the women who were not so admirable and [focus on] what we could learn from them.”

For example, take Rizpah, one of Saul’s concubines. The book of Samuel recounts how, after her sons were killed by the Gibeonites, she sat by them for months in a form of public protest until she received justice for their murder. “When you think about people protesting and lamenting today because of injustices in our world,” said Ann, “it makes her an interesting person to study.”

Perhaps that is what makes these devotions for women so unique: they put the biblical story of women into a modern-day context. “That’s a beautiful thing for women of today to know,” said Jean. “That standing up for what’s right is an important trait.”

READ MORE: Daily Devotions for Women

Ann and Jean wanted to show every part of these women— both the good and the bad. How these women interact with God and approach their own faith makes them relatable and real. “These are ordinary people,” says Ann. “They are not that different, emotionally, from us. They respond to God. Sometimes with faith, sometimes with very little faith. For me, that makes scripture even more authentic.”

Whether it’s Rizpah having the courage to stand up for what is right,  Sarah becoming a mother later in life, or Abigail stepping out of her cultural role as wife, each of these women have something to teach us now. “I hope women see themselves in these characters,” Jean said. “God cared enough to put that story there so that they can receive what He has for them.”

Women of the Bible isn’t just for personal use. Ann, Jean and others have used the book in group devotional studies all over the world, from Florida to Mongolia. There was even a group of men who got together to study the stories and learn more about the women of the Bible they knew so little about. “This devotional has given me an opportunity to share and connect with people in a way I ordinarily wouldn’t,” said Jean. “There’s so much beauty in that.”

Read a free excerpt of Women of the Bible here!

Buy More and Save More. Perfect for group bible study!

The post A New Look at the Powerful Women of the Bible appeared first on Guideposts.

The annual fireworks display was rained out. So much for Independence Day. All that money the Firefighters Auxiliary paid for the planned fireworks—wasted. Now, there was nothing to see but storm clouds, and sheets of rain.

Families packed up picnic baskets and lawn chairs and high-tailed it for their vehicles, scanning weather channels to see if the storm and winds would pass so they could resume celebrating America’s freedom. Is it possible that the thunder and lightning, the rain and misery, the spoiled plans and disappointments were a more fitting tribute? Our country’s independence came at a high price. Lives were upended. Courage was tested. Battles were won and lost.

We’ve made Independence Day a celebration of excess with lavish displays in the sky and fun. It’s so easy to forget the price paid when a party is on our minds.

What about our soul’s freedom? We say we’re conscious of the price Jesus paid to set us free. But do we celebrate only with flashy experiences and fun stories about how Jesus freed a parking space for us just when we needed it? Or do we give the honor and reverence He deserves for what it cost Jesus emotionally, physically, and spiritually to win our freedom? Do we pause to imagine the moment when midday turned to the blackest night, when the air chilled as if all warmth had been sucked from earth’s atmosphere, when tremors unlike any a human has known coursed through Christ’s dying form? Do we ponder the torment of both body and soul that the King of glory endured so we could live free? Fireworks? Or sober silence?

Jesus, our hearts explode with gratitude. 

Faith Step: Sit in silence today and consider the high price tag of your freedom.

The post A Devotion for the Fourth of July appeared first on Guideposts.

Every spring, a flowering pink dogwood tree steals the show in my garden when blossoms cover its bare limbs. Next, leaf buds unfurl into fresh green foliage. As spring wind currents and rainstorms blow the flowers from the leafy boughs, fallen petals transform the lawn below into a carpet of pink confetti.

As I was enjoying my morning with Jesus today, something outside the window caught my eye: Although the dogwood flower show is over, a trio of blossoms remain securely attached to the trunk. While thousands of blossoms along the outstretched branches had been shaken, ruffled, blown about, and knocked down by the wind and rain, those three tenacious flowers prevailed, unaffected by outer circumstances.

I understood what Jesus was showing me. That was how I need to be clinging to Him amid the storms of life. Not fluttering out on a limb, being blown about by the changing winds of current events. Not hurrying to escape by complaining, consuming junk food, or pointlessly browsing the internet. Rather than being shaken, ruffled, and knocked down by circumstances outside my control, I need to snuggle up closer to the One called the Branch of Life, drawing close to Him through His Word. Jesus is my safe place when the winds of change and storms of life bluster around me.

FAITH STEP: Is something going on in the world that has you feeling shaken? Write it down. Then write, “Thank You Jesus for being my covering.”

The post Jesus Is Your Safe Place appeared first on Guideposts.