Posts with the category “the-talk”

DelightPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryIf you were to pull out (or pull up if it is on your phone) your weekly or monthly schedule, how often is time specifically set aside to spend with your spouse? So often our days and schedules get filled quickly with work, sports, exercise, driving, and a whole list of additional tasks, but one area that often gets neglected is our marriages. While we may delight ...  Read More

Public and PrivatePastor Ryan and Cathy StoryCan people tell you delight in your spouse? Can your spouse tell you delight in them? The beauty of the covenantal relationship of marriage is that it is more than lovemaking. Inside the marriage, there is service, sacrifice, commitment, loyalty, and friendship. A husband must understand that while privately he shows his wife tenderness, devotion, and f...  Read More

Vertical DelightPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryIt would be hard to imagine when two people choose to get married their desire is to have a marriage that is full of tension and strife. Sadly, almost every couple goes through a moment or a season where their marriage is not how God intended it to be. Gentle answers are replaced with snips and quips. Moments of admiring the beauty and uniqueness of our s...  Read More

Delight in ProtectionPastor Ryan and Cathy StorySong of Solomon chapter 3 is about the time many believe that the wedding between the bride and the bride groom is about to take place. In an amazing show of pomp the bridegroom, Solomon, sends a carriage and his personal guard to pick up his bride. Song of Solomon 3:7-8 reads, “Behold, it is the litter of Solomon! Around it are sixty mighty men, som...  Read More

Who You ArePastor Ryan and Cathy StorySong of Solomon leaves its readers with many questions. While there are thoughts and ideas about this book in Scripture, many answers just are not known. One aspect that is abundantly clear would be that the bride and bridegroom genuinely delight in the one they love. It seems pretty safe to say, you cannot read through these eight chapters and deny that fact!...  Read More

Remind ThemPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryPeople love to be told how well they are doing. You may like hearing how beautiful and clean your home is, how nice your outfit looks, how much great work you put into that task, or how amazing your children are turning out! We all love compliments! I have this habit of when I cook, I like to ask my family just how much they enjoyed the meal. I can ask multipl...  Read More

Danger of Picking Your CornerPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryThe other day my son said to me, “Mom, I made a new friend! We have something in common, so I think that means we are friends now.” In my mind I thought, exactly son, this is a true basic building block of having a friend. We find something we have in common with someone and we can build from there. While there are times we befriend others wh...  Read More

Danger of AssumingPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryThe whole book of Song of Solomon is so greatly expressive. Both the bride and the bridegroom, her beloved, go back and forth explicitly expressing their love and passion for one another. Their communication is clear to one another and nothing is left to assume. When we leave others to assume what we meant, or we assume that someone else understands, we...  Read More

The Beauty of HardshipPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryI have never met a married couple who has not had their fair share of hardships. It can be hardships that are self-induced or a Job-like storm the couple goes through together. I know I was under a fierce sense of denial of that before I got married and thought that my marriage would always be healthy. If I worked hard enough and planned well enough...  Read More

Danger of ThoughtsPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryHave you ever caught yourself in an out-of-control thought pattern? One word, one action, and one thought, can cause our thoughts to completely unwind. Sometimes all it takes is one statement from our spouse and we find ourselves pondering, analyzing, and fuming over that thought the rest of the day. In the same way, sometimes those statements are good,...  Read More

Danger of SuccessPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryThe opening statement of Song of Solomon is, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth” (Song of Solomon 1:2). This sets the tempo for the entire book. The bride, bridegroom, and townspeople (which is a bit weird that they were so invested in this relationship, but I digress) proceed to dote on the love that is between these two. After sweet talking ...  Read More

Danger of the GrandiosePastor Ryan and Cathy StoryRomantic comedy movies have created an unrealistic expectation of the world. In most romantic comedies there is one sweeping grandiose gesture and everything is happily ever after. As I have watched most of these movies, I have laughed at the unrealistic expectation that is created for men. The “moral of the story” for most of these movies is that ...  Read More

God’s Plan for YouPastor Ryan and Cathy StorySex is a topic that is very intimate and personal. Our culture wants people to think participating in a lifestyle full of sex is not a big deal. It is normal and sometimes even encouraged to be intimate with multiple people before you can really find “the one.” While we look at and talk about how God has designed sex to be for marriage, there are those ...  Read More

Bible Verse for the BedroomPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryWhen talking about sex, there is a razor-thin line between crass and profitable. I pray throughout these devotions I have not landed on the crass and offended, but I also hope I have been able to speak the truth in the reality we live in. This is a disclaimer. My heart for this devotion is strictly profitable and meant for building up.Hobby Lob...  Read More

InterchangeablePastor Ryan and Cathy StoryHave you ever thought about how interchangeably we use words? We can say, “This pizza is awesome!” the same way we will say, “God is awesome!” You may say, “I love this food!” the same way you might say, “I love my spouse!” A book can be good, but that does not even come close to the goodness of our God. Clearly, no one would go about believing that you lo...  Read More

Let’s Talk About ItPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryDifferences in our upbringings cause so many variations in thinking, conversing, and acting. Think for a second about the past few interactions you have had with people. Whether that person is a spouse, child, friend, co-worker, neighbor, or a random encounter in public, you can likely think of differences that you have compared to that other person. T...  Read More

“And God Saw it was Good”Pastor Ryan and Cathy StoryI mentioned last week about the Eden Hermeneutic. Hermeneutics is the theory and methods of interpreting the Bible. Now, it is always important to understand that God’s Word (the Bible) is infallible and without error, not man’s interpretation. Hermeneutics is amazing to dive deep into if you are looking for more understanding, engagement, apprec...  Read More

For MarriagePastor Ryan and Cathy StoryGod created marriage. That truth has to be known, understood, and lived out. Marriage is not an institution man came up with. Marriage was not created to put two people in a lifelong relationship of conflict, tension, and misunderstanding. Marriage is one of the most beautiful pictures we have to see God’s mercy, grace, and love. Adam was alone, God saw that ...  Read More

Just You and MePastor Ryan and Cathy StoryHave you noticed that in Song of Solomon there are very few people involved in the book? We see the bride, the bridegroom, and the “others.” The focus of the book is on the bride and her beloved, which mirrors what should be important in a marriage.One of the best pieces of marital advice, the advice I continue to share with others, was to not complain abo...  Read More

Lost InterestPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryCan you think of a time you lost interest in something you really wanted? As a child, maybe there was a toy or game you just had to have. How many days did it take for that interest to fade away after you got that item? Maybe you think about the job you were so certain was going to be so much better or just perfect, but a few months in you realize you do not...  Read More

The Way They ArePastor Ryan and Cathy StoryHave you ever looked at your spouse and thought (or said), “Why are you the way that you are?” While typically a rhetorical statement, sometimes we really do wonder why someone is acting the way that they are. What causes someone else, especially our spouse, to make the choices that they make? You may question why your spouse loads the dishwasher in the w...  Read More

The Standard of BeautyPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryTruth be told, I am a bit of an awkward guy. I love to think of myself as a conversational artist, but that is hardly the case. When I was first pursuing my wife, I was put in the dreaded “friend zone” about three times. I think it has to do with, instead of just asking her out for coffee, I asked her if she would want to “meet at a local establishm...  Read More

Worth the WaitPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryWe live in a hurried society that wants things now. We live in a world where if we are going to order something online, we choose Prime so we can get it overnight. If we are in a grocery store, we will leave a lane to get into the lane that is seemingly moving faster. We get aggravated when our cell phones take longer than a second to load a website or an a...  Read More

God’s WayPastor Ryan and Cathy StoryWho would you go to for marriage advice? Some answers I am going to assume will pop to your mind will include parents, grandparents, pastor, author, or that sweet couple who has been married for 60 plus years who you see every Sunday at a Gathering. All of these would be amazing answers. Odd that no one said a polygamous, idolator who had God-given wisdom beyond...  Read More