Covenantstrong.org

Love rooted in decision, not emotion , is what creates lasting joy and connection. Let's continue to explore God's model of love for you to experience happy, healthy marriages that last because your foundation is strong. Feelings change and can’t be trusted as a foundation of love. But God’s design for love is based on an act of will and sacrifice , not fleeting desire. The most important element of this concept is an intentional decision to love in contrast to automatic feelings that you can't control.  James and I know how important understanding this model is for couples to create lasting relationships. We both experienced the pain of divorce. I'm not trying to minimize any marital situation that has caused anyone to consider divorce. I just want to encourage couples never to use a permanent solution to resolve a temporary problem. Couples will have conflict, difficulty, and seasons of disconnect . This is when every decision we make can strengthen our bonds of co...

  Marriage and creating a family, even a blended family, should be like mixing two colors of paint — once you mix paint together, you can’t separate them again. Getting paint colors to blend evenly sometimes takes time and even patience. This is also true for couples bringing themselves and any children from another partner into a family. In fact, it not only takes time and patience, but a whole lot of grace as well. We know this because we lived it. When my first marriage ended, I never imagined I would experience love again. But God, in His mercy, forgave my divorce, healed my brokenness, and allowed me to experience love and covenant as He designed marriage. It is true. God is a God of healing, hope, and second chances. Blended families can be quite complex. There are schedules to manage, emotions to soothe, loyalties to balance, and hearts to heal. The truth is, every person in a blended family has experienced some form of hurt or loss — divorce, separation, time, space, and or...