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Leslie and I are celebrating our 32nd wedding anniversary on the 28th, so I thought I would share with you 32 lessons learned in 32 years of marriage.

Love your spouse. (Use 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 as a guide.)

Marriage is different than what I expected.

Marriage is better than what I expected.

Being a parent can be the hardest job on the planet. (So work together.)

Be strong when your partner is weak.

Spend time together. 

Have a TV show you enjoy and watch together. (And share the remote.)

Sarcasm is not your friend.

Encourage each other.

Have a regular date night.

Embrace your differences. (Don’t try to change each other.)

Marriage is difficult, but totally worth it.

Go to counseling.

Use fun nicknames.

Remember you’re on the same team.

Be generous. 

Make memories. 

Eat ice cream together.

Figure out what is important and let the little things go.

You won’t always win.

Sometimes things don’t work out like you planned.

Honor and respect each other.

Submit to one another in love.

Talk it out.

Pray out loud together. 

Have fun together.

Laugh together.

Don’t give up.

Stay close. Watch for drift.

Kiss when you head out for the day. Kiss when you get home.

Be present and enjoy the moment, because one day these will be the “good old days.”

An empty nest is really quiet.

“...you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…” Genesis 50:20

It’s simple.

The Bible is God’s story—and in it, He reveals His heart.

From the very beginning, we meet a God who is good. A God who creates, who loves, who calls His creation good, and who stays faithful even when we are not.

Joseph’s life reminds us of something we often forget:

God is not only good when life is good. God is good—always.

Joseph was betrayed, thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, and forgotten in prison. And yet, God was with him every step of the way.

In the pit. In the prison. In the process.

And at the end of it all, Joseph could say, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.”

What a perspective.

He didn’t deny the pain. He didn’t ignore the injustice. But he trusted something deeper:

God was working the whole time.

And He still is.

No matter where you find yourself today— No matter what’s been done to you, No matter how confusing the situation—

God is with you. God is for you. And God is working for your good.

Nothing is wasted in His hands.

It’s simple:

God is good. God is faithful. God is not finished.

And one day, you’ll look back and say: