When Kids Ask Too Many Questions
“What is hair made from?”
“Do lizards go to heaven?”
“Why do we stop at red lights?”
“Who’s your mom’s mom?”
Dennis & Barbara's Personal Blog
We are on a journey of embracing a personal, moment-by-moment surrender to our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. We wish we could offer you a series of snapshots of how we achieved “perfection,” but alas, like you we are pilgrims who doubt, wander, question, and struggle with unbelief. We believe that we were divinely designed to have a relationship with God and experience His love, forgiveness, grace, and mercy on a daily basis. We also believe that some of the most important lessons we have to share come from our failures, not our successes. And we are confident God allows storms in our lives to test us, to purify us, and to help us pursue Him wholeheartedly.
So we invite you to journey with us as we share how we experience God and attempt to walk with Him on a daily basis. It’s our hope that we’ll be able to post our journey every week … lessons we’re learning as a couple and as individuals. Enjoy…
- Dennis and Barbara
Ephesians 2:10
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Barbara Rainey
- Oct 12
Do You Know What God Made You to Do?
One Wednesday morning our Bible study leader asked us to answer the same question: “What are you passionate about for God and His kingdom?"
Barbara Rainey
- Oct 7
Your. Marriage. Matters. (Part Two)
By Barbara Rainey First posted on EverThineHome.com If a vote were taken on the top cultural issues of our day, divisions and...
Barbara Rainey
- Oct 5
Your. Marriage. Matters. (Part One)
I was standing alone in our small master closet … stunned … unable to move. Feeling lost and alone
Barbara Rainey
- Sep 27
The Value of Together
Have you ever wondered where you belong? Looked for a place to fit in? Felt all alone right in the middle of all your people?
Barbara Rainey
- Sep 21
Dear Barbara: How Do I Convince My Husband to Change?
Dear Barbara: How do I convince my husband to change? There are certain areas we’ve been fighting about for years now. I really am right...
Barbara Rainey
- Sep 15
Welcome the Seasons, Surrender to the Seasons
September sunrises awaken with refreshingly cool air.
Barbara Rainey
- Sep 7
How Do I Know It’s the Holy Spirit? 5 Ways to Recognize God’s Voice
Do you know of Elijah, prophet of God, who challenged 950 idol worshipers to a contest to see whose God was best? With thousands of...
Barbara Rainey
- Aug 17
Avoid This Mistake When Praying for Grown Children
For years I avoided reading the book of Job because I was afraid I would contract some of his suffering. I knew enough about his story to...
Barbara Rainey
- Aug 10
Pestering God
Too often I’m in a hurry and end up using my driving time to talk to God. Conversing with my Heavenly Father throughout...
Barbara Rainey
- Jul 26
How Does the Holy Spirit Speak Personally to Me?
Keeping my two grandsons recently, ages 4 and 2 1/2, has reminded me of the perpetual dilemma I faced with my own children...
Barbara Rainey
- Jul 20
My Favorite Summer Treats
The lyrics, “These are a few of my favorite things” sunk deep roots into my memory when I first heard Maria sing the catchy song in...
Barbara Rainey
- Jul 13
Heart Identity Matters
My words sprawled over the pages, laced with emotion, with loss as a result of my children’s needs.
Even as I reread them—my children all..
Barbara Rainey
- Jul 6
Set Free to Free Others: The Bob Fu Story
He was born in China to a woman who was a street beggar in 1968. Extreme poverty and extreme...
Barbara Rainey
- Jun 28
How Long Is an Age?
Spoken before death or by a soldier leaving for deployment, parting words are memorable. Often those words keep the left-behind ones...
Barbara Rainey
- Jun 21
50 Character Qualities We Hoped to Teach Our Children
Dennis and I made a list of 50 qualities we hoped to teach our children before they left home at 18. We worked on our list over many years..
Barbara Rainey
- Jun 14
Dear Barbara: Do Second Marriages Matter?
Dear Barbara: Do second marriages matter? You talk so much about staying together and making marriage work...
Barbara Rainey
- Jun 7
Surprised by George
Though he was not cloaked in a coarse brown friar’s habit, the old man’s short cropped grey hair, ancient spectacles, wide girth, and...
Barbara Rainey
- Jun 1
May Friends & Family
Today I want to share a few highlights and photos from May that contained lots of family time.
Dennis Rainey
- May 25
The Delight of Reading with Your Kids + What’s in My Mimi Bag!
While I have given many of our shelves full of children’s books to our kids to read to their own, I kept some of my favorites to populate...
Dennis Rainey
- May 20
What Your Adult Child Needs From You
Okay, I want to ask you to pull back and out of the weeds … let’s say to 40,000 feet, where you can see some of the greatest needs your...
Barbara Rainey
- May 18
My Life with Elisabeth Elliot, a Mentor Worth Following
A couple of weeks ago I had the great privilege to meet a New York Times best-selling author. While I was in Washington, D.C., for a board..
Barbara Rainey
- May 10
6 Easy Ideas for an Ascension Day Celebration
Have you thought about doing something special for this overlooked day in the church calendar? Ascension Day is Thursday, May 13 this year.
Barbara Rainey
- May 4
Looking Forward to the Real Mother’s Day
My first memories of Mother’s Day are sitting in church as a child while the minister recognized all the mothers. I remember them standing..
Barbara Rainey
- Apr 27
When Following is Dangerous: Refusing Bad Marital Dance Steps
Dear Barbara: What am I supposed to do when my husband is leading me into territory that I don’t think is healthy or holy?
Dennis Rainey
- Apr 22
The Forgotten (And Sometimes Forsaken) Commandment: The Greatest Gift You Will Ever Give To Your Dad
Our culture knows how to honor the victor, the successful, those whose performance exceeds expectations, But moms? Dads? Not so much.
Barbara Rainey
- Apr 20
“Becoming Small” in the Lives of Your Adult Children
As Dennis and I watch our children struggle with different issues as adults, or express surprisingly different opinions on how they...
Dennis Rainey
- Apr 15
The Forgotten Commandment (Part 2): She’s More than Somebody’s Mom—She’s My Mom
Whether your parents are living or have passed away, it may be time to take honor home to your parents...
Dennis Rainey
- Apr 8
The Most Important Gift You’ll Ever Give to Your Parents
Many of us go our entire lives without fully understanding the “spiritual” connection we have with our parents. Whether you want to...
Barbara Rainey
- Apr 6
In the Days After Easter
Yesterday we marked the anniversary of the most miraculous moment since the dawn of time. Today, though, are we changed by the remembrance?
Dennis Rainey
- Apr 1
Easter and the Three Most Important Trees in the Bible …
Do you know the three most important trees in the Scriptures? The Easter season and its message are masterfully woven around these trees...
Dennis Rainey
- Mar 25
Rainey’s Dew Drop Inn
Spring has sprung, “Spring Break” has set up residence in our home and, as a result, Barbara and I are SPRINGING INTO ACTION BIG TIME!
Barbara Rainey
- Mar 23
When Life Feels Impossible…Can God Still Work?
During the years our children were teens—a long season for Dennis and me—I remember a time when our marriage felt impossibly difficult.
Dennis Rainey
- Mar 18
3 Lessons from Mr. March Madness
In more than 27 years of interviewing over 1,000 guests for FamilyLife Today, Coach John Wooden was one of my top five favorites...
Barbara Rainey
- Mar 16
20 Ways to Celebrate Easter
Two weeks till Palm Sunday and Holy Week! How much time have you spent preparing?
Dennis Rainey
- Mar 11
Different Isn’t Wrong, It’s Just Different
When Barbara and I first dated it was like she transported me from a world of black and white to full blown ultra high definition...
Barbara Rainey
- Mar 9
The “Savior Names” of Jesus Christ
In the beginning God created and He named. He called the darkness night and the light day. He named the dry land earth and the...
Barbara Rainey
- Mar 2
Dear Barbara: I’m an Overwhelmed Mom!
Dear Barbara:
As a 40-year-old with a baby and a 6-year-old, I often feel overwhelmed with all my responsibilities.
Dennis Rainey
- Feb 25
How to Make Lifestyle Choices as a Married Couple
For many reasons I’m really glad my mom and dad were my parents. Oh, they weren’t perfect, but they modeled a lifestyle that honored God...
Barbara Rainey
- Feb 23
Why Easter Matters to Marriage
One of my great faults, which shows up regularly in our marriage, is my first-born perfectionism turned on my husband as ‘helping’.
Dennis Rainey
- Feb 18
Life in a Snow Globe
It’s been about a decade since we had a major snow storm here. Our friend Scott says it’s like living in a “Snow Globe!” Our journey over...
Barbara Rainey
- Feb 16
When Sex is at the Bottom of Your List
Dennis always said he’d be a millionaire if he had a dollar bill for all the times I said how tired I was! And sex was at the bottom of my..
Dennis Rainey
- Feb 11
6 Ways that Wives Can Romance Their Husbands
Ok, let’s get this out of the way from the start: Valentine’s Day has been totally commercialized. But as we edge closer to it...
Barbara Rainey
- Feb 9
3 Reasons Why Lent Matters, and 3 Ways to Observe the Season
The season of Lent begins next week on Wednesday, February 17.
Here are three reasons why Lent matters this year more than ever.
Dennis Rainey
- Feb 4
What Wives or Girlfriends Wish Their Husbands/Boyfriends Would Give Them for Valentine’s Day
I just spent some time online looking at the best of the best gifts for Valentines. A select few were luxurious, others were lame, and ...
Barbara Rainey
- Feb 2
Dear Barbara: How Do I Not Resent My Husband?
Dear Barbara: I got into a fight with my husband last night because I feel he does not appreciate all that I do and gives no help at all...
Dennis Rainey
- Jan 28
40 Lessons From 48 Years of Marriage and Family (Part Two)
In last week’s blog I shared 20 of the most important lessons I’ve “learned” about marriage and family. Here's part two...
Barbara Rainey
- Jan 26
In This World We Will Have Trouble … but There is Hope
Fear about our future is everywhere. Though I try hard to avoid hearing or reading too much bad or sad news, it still creeps in.
Dennis Rainey
- Jan 21
40 Lessons From 48 Years of Marriage and Family (Part One)
Forty-eight years ago I married Barbara Ann Peterson. Looking back now on the first 12 months of our marriage, I’d have to describe my...
Barbara Rainey
- Jan 19
God Has Given Us Everything We Need … for Every Circumstance
I’ve always wondered how did these people survive the upheaval of their times? How did the millions in the 20th century continue to live...