By Ashley McIlwain Everyone is talking about the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. The nation was left in shock as we witnessed a display of pure horror and evil. A community was left stunned and brokenhearted as their members were left picking up the pieces in the moments following their worst nightmare. Parents have found
By Ashley McIlwain One of the greatest parts of Christmas is the generosity that seems to so prevalently accompany it. People are more aware of the needs of others, and they are more willing and receptive to meeting those needs. It’s a wonderful part of this time of year, which got me to thinking a
By Ashley McIlwain Thanksgiving has just passed, and Christmas is approaching. It’s the most wonderful time of year with so much to be thankful for and celebrate. But sometimes, it can be stressful, frustrating, and overwhelming too. With all of the parties, packages, problems to solve, and places to be, there are times when the
If I could please have 10 minutes of your time to read this note in its entirety, I would really appreciate it … As you’ve probably noticed by now, we are in the middle of our Marriage Matters Matching Challenge. As a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization, we rely on the generosity of our audience, friends,
By Ricinda Perry Anyone feeling a bit run down these days? I would not change the pace I am moving at during this wonderful time of the year, but I definitely find myself wearing down some. As attorneys, my husband and I find ourselves in rapid fire mode, churning out our work projects during this
By Ashley McIlwain There you are feeling hurt, frustrated, confused, and most of all disappointed. Once again, you’ve been let down by someone, and the sting of the disappointment leaves you stunned. What now? How do you move forward? How do you trust? Questions whirl as you retreat inwardly to a safer place where you
By Ricinda Perry Ok, so to be honest, yummy food has overtaken me this past week. Stress from preparations has taken a toll on my marriage. Perfect planning and memory making with my daughter has resulted in stressful rather than fun projects … and all of my activities have squeezed out much of my Bible
By Carol McIlwain Sometimes, living in California, it’s hard to really appreciate the change of seasons. Our weather is mild, and we usually don’t experience the dramatic changes that other areas in the country enjoy. We also don’t have snow, bugs, hurricanes or lots of leaves to rake, but that is another story for another
By Ashley McIlwain One of the most debated over and misunderstood concepts in marriage is submission. At the mention of the word, people get up in arms. Everyone seems to have such a strongly formulated view of what submission is and how it plays out in marriage. Yet, there’s a lot of confusion, frustration, and
By Steve McIlwain Hubs here. The holiday season has begun. Thanksgiving is almost here. Decorations are going up all over the place. Yet this holiday season has begun with a bit of a somber tone for us. A good friend of the family (a wife, mom, and grandmother) recently passed away from cancer. Other friends
