A Ministry of Woodland Community Church
Helping Married Couples connect with one another, and with God.
Since I (Jill) tend to be a “buck up” person, that means I’m a buck up mom and a buck up wife. That also means in the past, I was pretty low on compassion. This is one big place God has been growing me in a huge way. For years I claimed “this is just … Continue reading Choose To Show Compassion
Nobody comes into marriage knowing how to be married. We might think we know, but it doesn’t take long to realize “you don’t know what you don’t know.” Even if you had good role models growing up, there’s much you didn’t see that contributed to a lifelong marriage. Much of what happens in marriage are the little … Continue reading Seeking Wisdom in Marriage
Our human nature wants to do what we want to do. Pride so easily sneaks in and does a number on our marriage. It’s self-centered. Self-focused. Self-preserving. It’s all about “I” and “me.” Pride keeps us from apologizing when we’re wrong. It builds walls, crushes kindness, and kills intimacy. Pride is a thief. It robs us of … Continue reading Pride is a Thief
We get married because we fall in love. Many get divorced because they say they “fall out of love.” Because of this, we tend to think that love is a feeling. We don’t recognize it as a choice, a tool we desperately need to use when navigating our imperfect relationship. Love is a blend of … Continue reading Choose To Love
Mark loves his coffee. I love Mark, but I’m not particularly fond of his coffee. It seems I find coffee rings and coffee splotches everywhere. In the car. On the floor. On the table beside his chair (he takes the concept of “coffee table” to a whole new level!). After years of dealing with his … Continue reading God-tool of grace
Forgiveness is a term we’re all familiar with, but it’s likely the most underused tool in our toolbox. In fact, if you’re married, you probably need to be using your God-tool of forgiveness well over a dozen times a day! This multi-faceted tool is how we handle imperfections—our spouses and our own. It’s also how … Continue reading Forgiveness is not….
The first God-tool we need in our marriage toolbox is COURAGE. Doing things God’s way isn’t always the easiest thing to do, but it is always the right thing to do. Courage is not the absence of fear; it is determining something is more important than the fear. Your marriage is more important than your … Continue reading Take Courage
We’re Mark and Jill Savage. We’ve been married thirty-four years, twenty-four of them happily. While that seems like an odd way to start a devotional, it’s honest, and probably not so far off from what you’ve experienced in your imperfect marriage. The blending of two lives into one relationship is hard work. It’s complicated. At … Continue reading The Slow Fade
This verse comes in the middle of a lot of helpful advice for living, directly from Jesus. When I think about this verse in the context of marriage, I immediately think about the act of “keeping score.” Think about it: the goal of marriage is to remain lifelong partners. When you’re with someone almost every day, for … Continue reading Keeping Score
Do you feel like you're losing in marriage? I know I did, especially early on. Emotionally and mentally I felt Wynter wasn't meeting some expectation or wasn't fulfilling a need for me. I locked down my emotional energy on waiting for her to change and do what I wanted her to do. I wanted Wynter to … Continue reading Growing In Patience
A Ministry of Woodland Community Church 