It feels strange to be typing out a post for the first time in a year. Where do I begin?
In my last post, New Beginnings from January of 2022, I told you about my retirement from the company where I’d worked for 38 years and our move to the mountains from our suburban home of 28 years. With the help of some trusted advice, a few really good books, and prayerful consideration, we decided to take 2022 as a “sabbatical” year. As tempting as it was to jump right into everything, we knew this was a season to seek the Lord, to connect deeply with him and each other, and to do the inner work of transition and transformation that he had for us.
It was a surprisingly hard year. We’ve enjoyed the slower pace of retirement and love living in our dream home, but the Lord also used that time to reshape our foundations and do away with some shaky and unhealthy belief systems. As difficult as it sometimes seemed, it was just what we needed.
The sabbatical season was good for both of us individually and for our marriage.
Easing Back In
So what now?
For the past few months, we’ve been dreaming with God about the way forward for Heaven Made Marriage. We’re excited about stepping into some new things and revitalizing a few of the “old” things.
One of the major themes for us last year was slowing down and simplifying. These lessons were necessary for us to learn to integrate into our lives, and they’ll be part of our lifestyle from here on out. One thing is certain, when it comes to stepping back into marriage ministry, we are moving slowly and deliberately and want to only do the things we are called to do. We’ll be endeavoring to hold everything loosely and focusing on staying intimately connected to Jesus so we can hear his whispers.
Reconnect With Us
We’ve been away a while, so we want to remind you of the ways you can connect with us. Click the links below to keep up with what we’re doing as we move back into ministering to marriages:
- Monthly Newsletter – the best way to keep up to date on everything we’re up to is to join our revamped monthly newsletter. Toward the goal of “simplifying” we are combining our blog post mail list and newsletter mail list into a single list.
- We are offering all new subscribers a free download of our popular Intimate Connections for Couples conversation starters.
- YouTube Channel – We’ll be back shortly for Season 2 of the Heaven Made Marriage YouTube channel. Subscribe and turn on notifications to get all of our new quick marriage tips. While you’re there, check out our entire first season’s 20 episodes.
- [New Intro Video?]
- Facebook – Join more than 2500 others who are following the Heaven Made Marriage Facebook Page. There we share our own blog and video content as well as relevant and helpful content from others.
- Instagram – Follow us on Instagram for our posts, stories, and reels offering quick-hitting marriage tips.
- Shop all the Heaven Made Marriage resources in our HMM online store for marriage-strengthening books, downloads, retreats, games, and more. You can stay up to date on any new resources we release by joining our Resources mailing list. When you sign up, you get a free download of your choice from our store, plus we offer special discounts on new resources, as well as periodic sales exclusively for our subscribers.
- FYI – Despite having almost 6,000 followers on Twitter, we have never really seen much engagement there, so we’re dropping off Twitter for now.
Let Us Hear From You
We’re excited to begin afresh the joyful and rewarding work of strengthening and encouraging marriages. If you have a particular topic you’d like to see covered or if you have a marriage-related question, we hope you’ll let us know by leaving a comment below or sending us an email.