Jubilee Lipsey

Anyone who's said, "I do" will get it. We've all either been part of a wedding or watched marriages unfold from there. We've all experienced the roller-coaster pitching and tossing of giddy romantic excitement and resentful criticism from disappointed hopes. The media's portrayal of marriage keeps us thirsting for unattainable, contrived perfection or ready to throw out the whole institution in disgust. Looking back at my wedding pictures after seven years, I can testify. The

It’s late September in northern Illinois and we are slowly dipping toes into Autumn. A few trees are adding yellow caps and red tassels to their branches, while others are waiting for a real cold snap to signal their surrender. I recently heard a brief online message by worship leader and songwriter Melissa Helser about the trees and how they lose their leaves and surrender to barrenness for a long, dark season. She talked about how she sat staring at the bare hardwood trees