Ask a Mixed Faith Couple

May 21, 2013 by 3 Comments
atheist husband

I have been a big fan of Rachel Held Evans's "Ask A..." series since its inception. I always enjoy reading through the questions and I have been consistently impressed by the answers given. So I'm really excited and a little bit nervous to be participating in the series with my atheist husband Jason (Because that's his primary job, right? Being an atheist?)! Excited because it's always an honor to talk about our marriage, nervous because there have been some pretty stellar entries in that series and it's kind of intimidating. Today you can head over to Rachel's blog and ask us the pressing questions that you've always wanted to know about being married to someone who doesn't share your belief system. The way this works is that you can ask questions and vote for your favorite questions … [Read more...]

Filed Under: interfaith, interview, marriage

Equality Not to be Grasped

November 7, 2012 by 28 Comments

For as long as I can remember, I've loved the passage Philippians 2:5-11, most likely thanks to Michael Card's Carmen Christi. It has always struck me as a beautiful picture of service to one another. But these verses have also been used regularly to put women in their place. In churches and in homes, I have often seen this passage used to suggest that hierarchy exists within the Trinity and therefore must exist within the home and the Church. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: feminism, giveaway, marriage

I’m a Slut

March 7, 2012 by 4 Comments

In November of 1996, I began taking oral contraceptives. And in December of that same year, I started having sex. I don't remember the exact date, but I do know that it was the first of many times.I'd messed around a lot the two and a half years prior. Lots of pushing the envelope as far as it could go without crossing over to sex, and at least a little bit of pushing beyond even that. The only thing that kept me from just going ahead having intercourse was a deathly fear of pregnancy. I was not going to be an unwed mother, so I didn't have sex. But I was sure as hell sexual, and I got as good as I gave.I've had one sexual partner in my life. And I'm married to him. In the two and a half years before we were married, we were completely faithful to one another. He was the first and only … [Read more...]

Filed Under: feminism, Life Unmasked, marriage, sex

Guest post at LeighKramer.com

February 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I know that everyone things that they have the best "how we met" story, but the truth is, Jason and I win. I absolutely love our story, so when Leigh Kramer asked me to participate in her This is How We Met blog series, I was all over it. (And by all over it, I mean, turned it in a week late - sorry Leigh!)Here's a short excerpt from my piece:For my entire life, I’ve hated the heat. I am absolutely miserable when I’m hot and most people don’t want to be around me. It’s certainly not when you’d want to meet me because I am not at my most charming when I’m sweaty and gross. It was a hot Friday afternoon in June of 1992.  I had just graduated from high school and was just days away from celebrating my 18th birthday, officially marking my journey to becoming an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: guest post, marriage

Quotes from Judge Reinhardt’s Majority Opinion on Prop 8

February 8, 2012 by Leave a Comment

"We do not celebrate when two people merge their bank accounts; we celebrate when a couple marries." ~page 39 "The court found, among other things, that (1) marriage benefits society by organizing individuals into cohesive family units, developing a realm of liberty for intimacy and free decision making, creating stable households, legitimating children, assigning individuals to care for one another, and facilitating property ownership; (2) marriage benefits spouses and their children physically, psychologically, and economically, whether the spouses are of the same or opposite sexes; (3) domestic partnerships lack the social meaning associated with marriage; (4) permitting same-sex couple to marry would not affect the number or stability of opposite-sex marriages; (5) the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: LGBT issues, marriage

You Romance Me

February 7, 2012 by 1 Comment

You know how to romance.Sure, there are the easy things,like flowers picked up at the grocery storewhen I ask you to stop and get the eggs that I forgot to buy.Or the gold earrings you chose for me that I wear almost every day.You say the obligatoryI love you'sandYou're beautiful'sthat make me smile and blush, even after 15 years.You know how to romance according to the books.You compliment, you serve, you defer.You follow the rules of romance.But you color outside of those heart-shaped boxes.You shower me with laptop batteriesand ninja t-shirtsand Terminator DVDs.You whisper sweet nothings likeThat's terrific bassandHey baby. I'm, like, pretty tallthat make me laugh and love you more deeply than I could imagine.You know things that the books could never tell you,not in a million … [Read more...]

Filed Under: interfaith, love, marriage, One Word at a Time Blog Carnival

15 Reasons Why I’d Do It Again

January 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Today Jason and I celebrate fifteen years of marriage! To each other! Consecutively! Exclamation points!All joking aside (for the record, it is never, ever aside in our house), I am ridiculously happy to be married to Jason. He is my most favorite person and I consider myself lucky beyond words to get to spend my life with him.After fifteen years, I would, without hesitation, marry this man again. Here are just a few of those reasons:He makes me laugh harder than anyone else. He knows how to play.He is the most honest person I've ever met.He has a killer ass.We never run out of things to talk about.He is smart, but never gets tired of learning more.He is generous, even when he doesn't have much to give.***censored***He is passionate.He has always treated me with respect, even when we … [Read more...]

Filed Under: love, marriage

Repost: Lessons Learned

December 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment

This was a post that didn't get a lot of play when it first ran, but it was an important one to me. It was good for me to think back of the season we had just been through and evaluate what I had learned from it. Jon Acuff is promoting that Finish Year at his blog. I encourage you to go check it out and share what you want to do with others. But while we keep our eyes on the goal, don't forget to enjoy the journey as well and take as much from that as you do from the result.++++++++++++++photo © 2007 Michel Filion | more info (via: Wylio)I intended to blog yesterday. I had a topic picked out and was starting to work on a post (I know, I'm supposed to be ahead here. I get it.). I got a few paragraphs in and got a call from Jason.About a month ago, he applied for a new job and we've been … [Read more...]

Filed Under: friends, marriage, repost, significance

My Favorite

December 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment

I don't use the word favorite the way that it's supposed to be used. It's supposed to mean "preferred before all others of the same kind." But I tend to be a lot more generous in my use.My favorite book is John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany. Unless it's E. B. White's Charlotte's Web. Or maybe The Stand by Stephen King.I probably have 20 favorite movies. Not favorite movies for a particular mood or favorites in different genres. No, even within those, I still have more than one favorite.Same with foods, television shows, holidays, bands. If you ask me for my favorite song off of a CD, I'll give you three. If you ask me for my favorite time of day, I'll give you a choice. If you ask me my favorite hair coloring product, I'll list the last half a dozen colors that I've used. I'll make … [Read more...]

Filed Under: love, marriage

I Kissed Dating (My Husband) Goodbye

November 21, 2011 by 1 Comment

Jason and I have never been very much for dating. When we first got together, we were a long-distance couple. We didn't see each other very often (about every four to six weeks), so when we were together, we chose to stay in. When we married, we were on completely different shifts, me student teaching bright and early in the morning and him working retail until late at night. We then moved, got pregnant, moved again, got pregnant three more times in under three years, and found that staying home was way easier (and cheaper) than trying to find a babysitter for four young kids.One of our best datesBut finding babysitters and time are just excuses. The real reason that we don't date is because we are very bad at it. We will occasionally have a nice time out with just the two of us, but those … [Read more...]

Filed Under: family, humor, marriage