Guest Blogger, Author at Better Than Newlyweds

Are you thinking of your spouse? Guest Blogger : Megan Reaux | Better Than Newlyweds

March 13, 2016 by Guest Blogger

This cup of coffee means so much more than just a cup of coffee.

Every morning and I mean every morning Jonathan gets up with whoever woke up first and makes me a cup of coffee for when I get up. He knows I’m not a good morning person and that this helps me transition better into the day. He’s done this since our first morning together. (Minus the kid part)

I never asked him to do it he never complains about it, it’s just one of those things he does for me that says I love you. I have never once made myself a cup of coffee… sounds crazy right. This is two fold, he doesn’t like to clean or do laundry. He’s only a handful of times done these things since we’ve been married not because he doesn’t want to, can’t do it or that he thinks its beneath him but because I love doing that for him. I enjoy doing the things he doesn’t. I do it before he gets the chance so he doesn’t have to. How cool would it be when we are all old and our kids are grown they can say I always saw my dad fix my mom a cup of coffee in the morning while she slept and usually was the last to get out of the bed and you know dad hated cleaning and mom always just did that for him so he didn’t have to!

I hope and pray that that is what my kids see about our marriage that we loved each other that much that they see we always tried to show love to the other by doing things for each other… especially the things that the other person didn’t like!

So are you doing things today to show your spouse you love them? Are your kids getting the right idea about love and how marriage can be such an amazing thing that’s it’s not 50/50 it’s 100%? I can’t wait to say on my last day on earth “thank you Jonathan for loving me everyday and that I never had to make myself a cup of coffee”! so cool so neat! Life is beautiful if you make it beautiful!

Love IS a Choice – A Marriage Restored

September 10, 2013 by Guest Blogger

This past weekend my husband and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. An anniversary we both did not think was going to happen. A death with no sign of resurrection. 13 years of doing life together gone forever…

Separated and headed onto the hard road to divorce I hit my ground zero. My life shattered into pieces. A pain I had never felt before. A pain I know my husband had never felt before. But there was no turning back. We hurt each other too bad to fix it. There had to be “greener grass” elsewhere. We made a mistake marrying each other in the first place… All of the thoughts you thought you’d never have on the day you say “I do” with great anticipation of living “happily ever after.”

I was not feeling the love anymore. He was not feeling the love anymore. A sure sign that it was time we both move on.

Or was it?

When you hit rock bottom you realize there is no place to go, but up. My up was learning that love IS a choice. My up was letting go of control—surrendering all that I thought once was and allowing Christ to rebuild my life piece by piece. Did that include my marriage? I did not know, but from that day forward I knew I was being called to stand for it. I was called to lead my heart back to my husband. My marriage was worth fighting for.

It certainly could not be done by my own strength. I was weak and inadequate. I knew I would not be the one to change my husband’s heart. It would be beyond anything I could ever do. And so the journey began. The narrow path of leading one’s heart. A road I never imagined myself walking. Choosing brokenness in order to shatter any self-will. Humility and obedience at a new level. Walking by faith not by sight.

Days went by. Months went by. My heart changing in ways I never thought possible. Miracles unfolding before my very eyes. The biggest miracle of all right around the bend. Not only was my heart changing, but unbeknownst to me my husband’s was too.

After nearly two years of turmoil and heartache and a year of physical separation—restoration came. What once we thought impossible flourished into possible. A beauty only He could paint out of ashes.

Rebuilding trust. Healing hurt. A renewed marriage. All well worth the road less traveled.

A road we still walk day by day. We don’t ever want to quit progressing. It is what leads to stagnant. Stagnant leads to a discontentment, which opens the door to allow big problems to walk through.

Reconciling is by no means easy. It is a lot of really hard work. Marriage is hard work. It is a fight. A fight worth fighting every minute of every day. Falling in love with the same person over and over. A choice worth making.

Only Christ can turn our messes into messages, tests into testimony, and trials into triumph!

If you are at a crossroads this very moment—embrace the journey He has called you to. Allow Him to work His unconditional love into your heart and spouse’s. No matter how far gone you think your marriage may be – He can restore it. He breathes LIFE into death.

SUBMIT YOUR STORY HERE: http://www.betterthannewlyweds.com/submit/

Grow Deeper Together | Better Than Newlyweds | Guest Blogger

April 26, 2013 by Guest Blogger

I want to encourage you today to Fight for your Marriage. Stay in. Don’t jump ship. Every marriage relationship will have mountains and valleys.

Every spouse is going to deserve banishment at some point, but if you tough it out together, God will do amazing and remarkable things in your heart and in the heart of your spouse. He will develop such deep roots in your oneness that you won’t see yourself as two individuals anymore.

I sit here with tears in my eyes as I read about the break up of yet another Christian couple. Most people will say, “I’m so glad you’re happy. I’m so glad you’ve found someone who makes you happy.” I cannot. Divorce is the wrong choice. “Moving on” is not the answer. “Feeling happy” is not enough. A family ripped apart permanently causes deep and painful ripples into the future. Followers of Christ, it should not be so among you.

Don’t think I’m piling on. If you are the victim of a spouse who left, I am not judging you. Allow God to heal your heart. It will take time and love and patience. If you are the one who left, there’s still time to repent and rebuild. It’s never too late.

If you are single, or are facing challenges in your marriage, let me encourage you. Never assume a “strong” marriage is perfect, or that those who have one “have never gone through what you have.” I guarantee you that their marriage is strong because they have had to develop strong roots. Roots take pain and labor.

A great, life long marriage is not built on fleeting beauty, short-term feelings or personal achievement. It is built on self-sacrifice, struggles, determination and sweat. An oak tree doesn’t grow from an acorn to a majestic beauty without these qualities. It is a mystery, but God uses pain to make us stronger.

Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Share your pain with your spouse and grow deeper together. You’ll either grow deeper together or you’ll grow apart. Determine, as far as it concerns you, to be there no matter what storms may come.

AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE