My Dearest Granville,
It has been so hard since I have lost you. There were so many days at the hospital I cried hoping you would pull through and get to come home to me and our kids. You fought so hard to do that. That day I knew that something was different you could not get warm for anything and they told us you needed that test and you told them to get er done so you could go home. You told me you loved me and your babies, something told me that would be my last time seeing you and it was your time. I went home and had to go to school for bubs party. I came home and called the hospital and they told me to come quick. By the time I got there you were gone. It broke my heart the LOVE OF MY LIFE gone. I know you are not suffering no more. But I miss holding you and you just telling me it was going to be alright. I do not how to go on without you. I will always love love you. Til I see you again my love watch over our kids and I.
Love,
Dorothy
When the movie The Vow hit theaters recently, I could not wait to go and see it. In fact, my girlfriends and I somehow managed to get a large group together to go see the film, including our husbands! There were 14 couples in all!
I could not imagine experiencing something so tragic! The two main characters are married for 5 years when a car accident wipes the memory of the wife, Paige, played by Rachel McAdams. The husband, Leo, played by Channing Tatum, then tries desperately to convince her of their love. I thought that the movie would resolve the love between the characters a bit more, but the last image at the end does help with closure; revealing a photograph of the real couple who inspired the film, along with their two children.
After the movie, all 14 of us stood in the lobby of the theaters, discussing what we would do if we had encountered a similar situation. Even after we had all dispersed for the day, my husband and I continued the conversation. My husband affirmed his love for me, assuring me that if anything like that ever happened, he would do everything he could to keep me as his wife! 
A few days after watching The Vow, I stumbled across an interview of the couple who inspired the movie, Kim and Krickett Carpenter. As I viewed the clip I heard a few things stand out to me that added an even deeper meaning to the whole story!
Krickett mentions, “The Lord is the great physician.” Indeed He is! She trusted the Lord to reconcile their relationship and He did! She never regained her memory leading up to the accident, but she did fall back in love with husband Kim, and the two even remarried.
When Kim is asked, “Why didn’t you give up?” he responded,
“We live in a society where vows are constantly broken… and forty years ago ’til death do us part’ was the death of a soul mate and today its the death of a marriage that society has accepted.”
When Kim said those words my heart sank! It is so true! The vows that people are committing to are being weakened and disregarded, and our society is accepting that. I believe that is a dangerous place to be.
Kim also added, “With faith you do the right thing.” I loved that he and his wife are sharing their faith, and how their faith brought them back together, making their relationship stronger than ever.
Krickett said, “I chose to love Kim out of obedience to God. You need to stay committed… you have trials in your life and you have to keep persevering.”
These are powerful words to live by in marriage. I pray that more and more faithful couples would set an example for our society and the generations being raised up. People need to see how a marriage can withstand hardships when God is in the center!
Although the film did not reveal a Christian theme, I was thrilled to find out the truth that inspired the movie! I hope that the interest in The Vow gets directed to Kim and Krickett’s real life love story and how God brought them through it!
Foxnews.com posted an article which included this excerpt:
“In my opinion, God is a huge part of ‘The Vow,’ albeit metaphorically,” said Shawn McEvoy, the managing editor of the Christian website Crosswalk.com. “The love with which Leo pursues Paige, even after she no longer really remembers or even wants him, is the tireless love with which God pursues His people.”
What would you do if your spouse suffered an injury that took away any memory of you?
To see the interview of Kim and Krickett click HERE!
This interview of the truth behind The Vow added to the quality of the film for me. I must note that movies like this can stir up emotions and even expectations of what a relationship should be, and as wives we need to be careful that we do not become ungrateful for our own love stories! (Movies that portray very romantic ideas, including dates and romantic gestures) We need to make sure that we hold our marriages in high esteem, without comparing the qualities, especially of a Hollywood made film. I have a horrible pattern of seeing movies like this, comparing my marriage, and then projecting negative attitudes onto my husband due to his seemingly lack of romance abilities, making him feel inadequate. Every love story is unique and personal. The best thing to do, if inspired by a film, is to gently communicate things to your husband that you would be interested in, and both of you can incorporate those things over time. I am learning how to do this.
(Also side note: Although I enjoyed this movie, please be cautious for there is a bit of nudity, in one scene exposing Channing’s rear end.)
This month the Unveiled Wife Community will be encouraging Heidi Klum!
Think about the impact we could make in other marriages if we responded to celebrities with letters of encouragement and prayer for their marriages?
Wives influencing, comforting, and loving other wives! I think it would be powerful and I believe God is calling us to take action!
Heidi Klum has been married to singer Seal for 6 years and they have four beautiful children. Unfortunately, the couple released a statement last Sunday revealing that they will be getting a divorce. As much as my heart broke for them over the news, I can only imagine the devastation that they are personally experiencing.
This high profile couple has publicly displayed their affection for each other over the years, portraying genuine love and respect for each other. I hope that no matter what happens they continue to love and respect each other, especially for their children’s sake!
A few of you have suggested that we write letters to Heidi Klum and I believe God has placed them on our hearts because He wants to use us to let Heidi Klum know how much He loves her, no matter what! Let us empower Heidi Klum in this tragic season of her life by sending words of encouragement and hope!
As many of you know, Heidi Klum reached a supermodel stardom through her success modeling as a Victoria Secret Angel. Let’s pray that Kylie Bisutti, former Victoria Secret model who is a Christian, would also be an encouragement to Heidi Klum during this time.
*Update: On Friday, February 10th Kylie tweeted at Heidi Klum!
God is so awesome using Kylie and all the wives from the Unveiled Wife Community to comfort Heidi Klum!
If you are interested in joining this love movement and feel like God is inspiring you to encourage Heidi Klum please take some time to follow the steps below:
- Pray and ask God to anoint your letter. Ask him to use you to encourage Heidi Klum and ask him to inspire the words to write!
- Write Heidi Klum a brief, personal letter, including words of encouragement and a prayer for her and for Seal (Please do not criticize or judge anywhere in your letter, remember this is about reflecting God’s love for them!)
- Note specifically in your letter that the wives at Unveiled Wife are praying for her.
- Take a picture of the letter and post it to Twitter or Facebook tagging Unveiled Wife and Heidi Klum (Twitter: heidiklum).
- Seal your letter to Heidi Klum in an envelope and use the address below
Heidi Klum
IMG Models N.Y.
304 Park Avenue South
Penthouse North
New York, NY 10010-4301
USA
- Somewhere on the front of the envelope write boldly “unveiledwife.com/heidi-klum”
- Stamp it and send it!
- Be an advocate and encourage other wives you know to do the same! (via word-of-mouth, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
Thank you for taking the time to be a part of this! Please be in continued prayer for Heidi Klum and Seal! Also be praying that God uses all of these letters to move mightily in both of their lives and that HIS will is done!
Here is my letter!
To see who we have written to in the past and to write letters to other celebrities click HERE!
“Model Kylie Bisutti, 21, has decided to leave Victoria’s Secret because it clashes with her Christian beliefs.” – ABC News
Although Kylie desired to be a Victoria Secret angel which led to reaching her goal in 2009, she recently revealed publicly that the Lord convicted her heart on the matter. As her faith grew in God, she decided to refuse modeling lingerie. Kylie recently posted on Twitter,
“I have decided not to model lingerie Because I personally feel that I am not honoring God or my husband by doing it. My marriage is very important & with divorce rates rising I want to do everything I can to protect my marriage and be respectful to my husband. God graciously gave me this marriage and this life and my desire is to live a Godly faithful life, I don’t however judge others for what they do. Everyone is convicted on different levels.”
Kylie’s faith has been an inspiration to many. Even though the majority of us may not relate to specifically modeling lingerie, we can be encouraged to honor our husbands with our body by how we dress every day and how we view our self-image. I hope and pray that Kylie is blessed by this choice to stand in her faith and that she will not receive any negative judgement. I pray that God uses her to impact millions of women’s lives all around the world, including other models in the industry. I pray that her marriage is blessed and that Kylie and her husband continue to honor God.
Let us continue to pray for Kylie during the attention she is getting for her public declaration of faith and pray for her marriage!
PS. It is also awesome to hear that she has a very supportive, encouraging husband! Praise God for good men!
For more information on the news article and to see a video of Kylie’s interview click HERE!
There was a time in my marriage that I was angry with God. I felt entitled to a miracle that didn’t seem to be coming my way. Drowning in hopelessness and fantasizing about life after divorce consumed my days. I was angry at God for not stepping in on my time. The seed of anger planted roots in my heart and from it grew unthankfulness. Without being thankful for anything I lost joy and happiness. Depression sank in even more.
During that dark time in my life I avoided God. I justified my anger towards Him, somehow blaming Him for the circumstances in my marriage. With my continuing negative attitude and unthankful heart, my husband found it difficult to enjoy himself around me. He encouraged me often, trying to get me to smile more and find genuine joy. My fake smiles never quite masked my true feelings, and my husband grew weary of my rebellious heart.
There was a point in our marriage when things did start turning around for us, but it wasn’t until after I set my pride aside, apologized to God for my anger, and submitted myself to Him. Once I did that I began seeing things in a different light, and I found things that I was thankful for. As my heart grew appreciative for all that I had, I praised God, making known to Him my thankfulness. That is when I experienced true joy, amidst the pain that I endured in my marriage.
With thankfulness leading my life, I sought after God more consistently, and God was able to reveal things to me, including the miracle I was waiting for.
It is so important that wives have a heart of thankfulness, where they can experience true joy in life. With a thankful heart, problems, issues, trials, and hardships do not seem so burdening, and marriage will be more of a delight.
Find time today to be thankful and make known your thankfulness to God. No matter how BIG and especially no matter how small, thank God today… and thank your husband too!
Colossians 3:15
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18
“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
2 Corinthians 9:15
“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”
Psalm 107:1
“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.”
Psalm 75:1
“We praise you, God,
we praise you, for your Name is near;
people tell of your wonderful deeds.”
There are plenty more characteristics God calls us to! He desires us and gives us the tools to be virtuous women who uphold biblical standards of truths! Before we allow society or even marriage pressure us into being a woman we need to fully KNOW what God calls us to be!
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I really need to take a moment to brag about my home church! I attend Crossroads Church in Southern California and I am so proud to be a member of such an incredible body of believers. To start the New Year of 2012 off right, my husband and I enjoyed a delicious french toast breakfast with family, and then we headed to church.
In the beginning of the service, Chuck, the head pastor, was welcoming everyone, when his wife appeared on stage to surprise him! His wife Pam is such a sweetheart, a true depiction of a Proverbs 31 woman! It happened to be Chuck’s 55th birthday and she was there to give him a special gift. Directing his attention to the big screen behind him, his twin granddaughters, who live in New York, sang him Happy Birthday! You could see Chuck’s face light up with joy, as he always mentions his love for his grand kids.
As he thanked Pam, they gave each other a kiss, and then she walked off stage. Chuck mentioned that at every service so far he has been surprised by his wife in different ways, and with different gifts, including her rappelling down from the catwalk above the congregation. It sounded too dramatic to have been real, until I saw this picture circulating Facebook of her extravagant gesture!
I really admire Chuck and Pam’s marriage. They interact with such great love and respect for each other, something I hope to attain in my marriage. As they lead our church, they are setting a great example for every marriage that witnesses how they love each other.
Thank you Chuck and Pam for having such a solid marriage, and being willing to express your love for each other in front of the rest of us. We admire your relationship! Pam, thank you for showing us wives how to give good gifts to our husbands, how to be confident in our husbands, how to respect our husbands, and how to be willing to creatively express all of that in front of others! You inspire us to be better wives! And to Chuck, Happy Birthday!
God,
I thank you for guiding Chuck and Pam to our church, where they serve and lead in such great ways. Thank you for all that they have experienced, which has added to who they are. Thank you for the love that they share, that inspires other marriages. I pray that you would protect Chuck and Pam, guarding their marriage. Send them encouragements daily, and give them the strength to endure each day. I pray that you would continue to move through them as they are obedient to you and that you continue to use them to change lives. Bless their love, their family, and their ministry in Jesus name AMEN!
To read Chuck’s blog about his special birthday surprises and the love he has for Pam visit crossroadschurch.com/blog!
When I was visiting my brother and his wife up in Oregon I fell in love with the hand soap in their kitchen. It was a beautiful scent that I thought was rare in hand soap. I checked the ingredients list, desperately hoping that this treasure was paraben-free. YUP! It is paraben-free, as well as all of the other Mrs. Meyers products, which vary from household cleaners to laundry detergents. To check them out on the web click HERE. 
As soon as I returned home I went and bought the Lavender Hand Soap which seems to be a tie for my favorite with the Basil scented Dish Washing Soap. This product leaves everything smelling fresh without drying out my hands!
What brand of soaps are you a fan of and why?
Taking a glance back at 2011 in hindsight blows my mind. I am overwhelmed with joy to see all that I experienced in the last 12 months! As you time-travel with me, reflecting my journey, please note that there are a few archived posts linked in the text, just in case you felt inclined to check them out
In January, my husband and I found a cute little apartment that feels bigger than it really is. And we celebrated our 4 year anniversary!
In February we reached a goal that was driving us for nearly two years and we made a video to share the good news with our family and friends!
That’s right! We are officially debt free and it feels so good! This video sort of went viral in our local community and we even heard from Dave Ramsey’s team at Financial Peace University where they interviewed us in regards to being debt free. In February we also stood in front of the cameras to do a “trash the dress” photoshoot in our wedding attire, photographed by Amanda Rachelle Photography!
In March, Aaron’s grandmother passed away, the same weekend the Tsunami destroyed Japan. It was a very emotional weekend. Also in March, with the help of my husband, we launched Unveiled Wife! This has been one of the biggest blessings in our life! I love to write and I have a passion to encourage other married couples! God was so gracious to give us the idea for Unveiled Wife, as well as the growth in the Unveiled Wife community.
In April we had the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua with a missionary team from our church. It was extremely hot and humid, but the joy we experienced was amazing. I love serving God alongside my husband! That was also our first time looking down into an active volcano! Scary! While there we celebrated Aaron’s 28th birthday! YAY!
In May I resigned my position at the preschool to focus on Unveiled Wife, as well as pursue my goal of writing a book.
In June, Aaron and I were gifted “A Weekend To Remember” through Family Life. It was an awesome marriage seminar that provided us tools to grow in our marriage. There was quite a bit of emotional bonding with us during those few days! We both loved it and highly recommend it for EVERY married couple! Here is a snapshot of Aaron and I after we committed vows to passionately pursue each other at the end of the retreat!
My grandpa passed away in the beginning of July and my nephew was born at the end of July. During that month I published two post that really touched my heart. One was in reflection of losing my grandpa and the other was a devotional challenging wives to be committed to their husbands.
In August I had the opportunity to travel to Oregon to see my brother, his wife, and their newborn baby. I fell in love with Oregon (but more so I fell in Love with Baby Lennon!) and I could not wait to come back and visit with Aaron.
During that same trip I also decided to commit to growing my hair color out naturally, and I spontaneously chopped it short The Intimacy Crisis also came out in August, which many wives related to.
In September Unveiled Wife’s community on Facebook hit 10,000! I was so excited to see Unveiled Wife growing and the positive encouragements I received for creating such a purpose driven page! I also had a unique opportunity to model for an organization called Anza Tena, which give women in Africa a chance to produce jewelry for profit. Photographed by Logan Cole, Make-up by Amy Clarke
October was crazy. I continued to write my book, along with a few other articles for the blog. One such post included How to find Encouraging Words For Your Husband. My husband and I were staying busy leading a table at FUSE, the marriage ministry at church, and I wrapped up a women’s bible study with some friends of mine, one of which just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl!
November started off with a bang when I wrote my first guest blog featured at I WANT AN AWESOME MARRIAGE. Then Aaron and I traveled North to Oregon to see my growing-up-too-fast nephew. It was a short trip, but thrilling none the less. We were also really excited to see Unveiled Wife’s community exceed 30,000! Let’s keep it growing
And good ole December! This month always passes quickly if I dare to blink. Just before celebrating Christmas I finished my book!!! AHHH… I feel so blessed to have had the time and energy to pour into this book and I cannot wait to share it with the Unveiled Wife community. All in due time I will be turning 26 soon, and as I ring in the New Year I have made a few commitments to better my character in my Marriage Resolution 2012!
Whew! What a year!
I want to thank every one of you who have supported Unveiled Wife, following me on this marital journey, and thank you for being an integral part of the community by encouraging and praying for one another! Wives coming together to bless other wives has been a beautiful thing to see. I am praying that 2012 is a life-changing year for all of us! I pray that Unveiled Wife will reach a million wives! I pray that marriages that are broken or are being oppressed in any way would receive healing and freedom! I pray that husbands and wives would find a passionate love for each other and that they center their relationship around God! And I pray for JOY in Jesus Name Amen!
Thank you God! Thank you Aaron! And Thank you Unveiled Wives! I was truly blessed this last year!
I forgot to mention, somewhere in there I enjoyed hanging out with my nieces and nephew playing with iPhone apps! Other victims that appear below are my 80 year old grandmother, a cute little puppy, and Brad, my brother-in-law!
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
New Year’s Eve has always been a joyous celebration in my family. As kids we tried desperately to stay awake long enough to see the famous ball drop, and if indeed we made it to midnight, my mom encouraged us to bang on pots and pans in a chaotic manner. More than just the excitement of entering into a New Year, it happens to also be mine, my twin brother, and my 11-year younger brother’s birthday! I never minded to share my birthday with my siblings, in fact, I have always been proud to know that people all around the world celebrate on my birthday, whether they are all aware or not!
This year I will be turning 26. Although physically aging is not as fun as I hoped it would be as a child, gaining more years of knowledge and experience increases my maturity, which I am enjoying. Usually when I ring in the New Year, I dedicate myself to change, along with thousands of others. I establish a resolution, which I am convinced will make my life better. Most of my resolutions revolve around self-focused goals, including changing things I consume, exercising for weight loss, having a tight reign on the budget, etc. However, my perseverance to remain committed to my resolution typically drops drastically between the 3rd -4th week of trying. Pathetic, I know.
I have decided to challenge myself this New Year, 2012, to a Marriage Resolution. I love my husband beyond what words could describe, but I also know that there will always be room for more. I believe there is no full-to-capacity when it comes to love, rather it is an ebb and flow we experience as we give and receive. I want to dedicate this New Year resolution to bettering my marriage, along with a few other’s-oriented goals. However, these are not just over zealous declarations that will only last a few weeks… these are life-changing characteristics that I am hoping to attain. I pray that God would transform me and help me to live these out for the rest of my life and I hope that you will join me!
I resolute to:
- Love my husband more extravagantly
- Find creative ways to cherish my husband on a daily basis
- Initiate intimacy in my marriage more often
- Look appealing to my husband, even if we don’t have plans or if it’s just us
- Learn more how to have a God-centered marriage and apply my findings
- Spend more quality time with family
- Keep my phone put away while in the presence of others
- Find ways to bless my friends
- Laugh with others more
- Place more value on my relationships
- Indulge in random acts of kindness, especially for strangers
- Smile more
