The Saturday Six

One.

I don't know if you've been following Davey Blackburn's story the last couple of years, but if you've not seen his latest news, you won't want to miss it!! (If you are not familiar, Davey is a pastor in Indianapolis, and two years ago, his wife was murdered during a home invasion. She was pregnant with their second child at the time, and their first child, a son, was home but unharmed during the break-in. He's written a book that hasn't released yet.)


Two.

 Perhaps you read the Putting Me Together blog, but if you don't, or you missed this post, she has a great list of gift ideas for people who like to travel!

Three.

Last minute table setting idea for Thanksgiving, if you need one. Super easy AND super cute! 

Four.

If you're having trouble being thankful this season, read these comforting words from Barbara Rainey! (And it's no judgment from me if you're feeling that way. I've had those Thanksgivings before...when I just couldn't. I get it!) 

Five.

If you're an online Black Friday shopper, here's a sneak peek of at least some of Amazon's deals.  Less than a week away, you know! ;)

Six.

Source

If you want to scare your husband, leave your book of the week on the couch, and have this book-of-the-week be about hurting wives. That's what happened here in Shafferland this week!


One of my friends gave me Hope for the Hurting Wife, a new book co-written by Rebekah Hallberg and Jen Stults, because Jen is her relative, and she wanted to help spread the word of their book! I wanted to read it because I'm always trying to find ways to walk in the shoes of those whose lives look different than mine. (Hence my whole Wednesday series right now!)

This book is a 30 day reading for wives who are in places of deep, deep hurt in their marriages. Women who aren't sure they will get through this season and still be married. Women who aren't just having a bad day, but who are living through hard, painful seasons where everything from communication to trust comes into question. And I know there are many of you out there living in that very place. I wanted to learn more of how you feel and how I can help encourage you.

Though it appears the book is self-published, I thought it was well written and was full of excellent points that apply not only to marriage, but to other hard places of life, too.

I do want to say there were a couple of points in the book I did not agree with, and I don't want to belabor the point of them and drag the whole book down. But there were a couple of times that I just couldn't agree with the points made. Aside from that, I appreciated so much that the authors focused on the importance of prayer, dependence on the Lord, and ultimate restoration of marriage.

Though they did not spell out all details, both authors were clear that their own marriages have not been easy or perfect, and they come into the writing of this book with firsthand understanding of the muddy trenches where some marriages seem to camp. From there, they acknowledged that above all else, a person's relationship with God should be the main focus. Communication with Him, obedience to Him, and living for Him are what this life is all about.

They also taught important truths about learning to understand that for as hard as marriage troubles can be, they are but a small portion of our life here on this earth and certainly our life with eternity attached. The problems seem long, hard, and never-ending when you're going through them, but God has been faithful before the problems arrived, He'll be faithful long after they're gone, and therefore we can all trust Him to be faithful in the middle of them.

They cover hard topics, like how to survive when your husband says he's leaving, how to love when you feel unloved, how to control your emotions, how to handle temptation, what to do when you don't want to pray for your husband, how to let your husband lead, and how to be a warrior wife.

I do have some friends whose marriages are in such precarious places right now, and I kept these girls in my mind as I read. I found insights that will help me as I relate to them, and also an understanding of how to further guard my own heart in my own marriage while it is in a healthy place.

Marriage is sacred, and while it's easy to talk about the good and fun parts of it, it's hard to vulnerably admit the areas where disappointment and even failure have dominated. I applaud Rebekah and Jen for sharing so openly with the clear goal of coming alongside hurting wives and encouraging them!

* Thanks to Jen and my friend Sandee for providing a copy of this book to me! *