A Moment of Hope

Begin your day with a "Moment of Hope." This podcast is a compliment to David and Marilynn's weekday devotional - providing deeper insights and encouragement. Featuring Jenn Houston.

The Madness of Unforgiveness: Avoiding Slander 03/06/2025

The Madness of Unforgiveness: Avoiding Slander by David Chadwick Forgiveness can only truly happen when Jesus is your source. Without his strength, bitterness will inevitably take root in your heart, defiling your soul. Have you ever thought about what springs up from a bitter heart? Slander! When given the chance to speak ill of someone who has hurt you, we seldom turn down the chance, do we? We all struggle with this temptation. Somehow, we think we are punishing them for what they did to us and at the end of the day, we don’t want our enemy to be admired. Do you know why I think it is so easy to keep slandering someone? Because they hurt you! Hurt people hurt people. It can also be hard to speak well of someone who brought so much pain and devastation into our lives. If you’re not careful, the pain of your situation can create a stronghold over your life that drives you into deeper sin instead of holiness. Once you truly forgive someone, you won’t gossip about them. You won’t have the desire to slander them or put them down to someone else. Now, let me say this. It is okay to find a Christ-centered pastor, counselor or trusted friend to help you work through your pain. Sometimes you have to share your heart with another in order to get free. This is acceptable. But slander is not. Make sure that as you share something with another person that your end goal is forgiveness and becoming more free. Not aimless chatter simply intended to do harm to another. Ephesians 4:32 reminds us how to be kind and forgive just as God in Christ forgave us. After receiving Jesus, remember that God will never punish you for your sins. His grace covers you rather than exposes you. And he will never hold our sins against us again. When I fill my heart with Jesus’s love for me - his cross, his mercy, his kindness - I can release my offender and continue to have an abundant life. That is God’s desire. For you and for me to be free. /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/35368210

The Madness of Unforgiveness: The Result of Unforgiveness 03/05/2025

The Madness of Unforgiveness: What is the Source of Forgiveness? 03/04/2025

The Madness of Unforgiveness: What is the Source of Forgiveness? by David Chadwick Yesterday, we learned about what forgiveness is - releasing any offenders and offenses back to Jesus, knowing that bitterness will only hold you captive and destroy your life. But what is the source of forgiveness? Well, it’s supernatural. A strength that can only come from a love outside of us. Within ourselves, in our own strength, it’s impossible to forgive. We can only love because Jesus first loved us (1 John 4:19). We can only forgive because God first forgave us. God’s forgiveness is the source. Our ability to forgive is rooted in God’s forgiveness of us and our sin. We owe him a billion dollar debt. One we can’t repay. The debt to God for all our sins is far too great. And his love lavished over us through forgiveness becomes the source from which we can pull to forgive others. Remember the parable of the forgiving king and the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18:21-35? If not, take a moment and go read it. The king mercifully forgave his servant of a massive, unpayable debt. You would think this would prompt the servant to do the same for other people, but it did not. The servant would not forgive someone of the smallest debt that was owed to him. Because the unforgiving servant wouldn’t forgive, he was thrown into a prison and not allowed to leave until every penny of his debt to the king was repaid. The unforgiving servant’s decision to not extend forgiveness left him in a literal prison of bitterness, which we will learn more about tomorrow. Jesus used this parable to teach a very important lesson. If God’s forgiving love extended a billion dollar debt repayment to us, we must not be unwilling to forgive someone who has hurt us. Paul reiterated Jesus’s teachings in Ephesians 4:32 and Colossians 3:13 urging people to be kind and compassionate and to forgive just as Jesus forgave us and to bear with one another, forgiving grievances. Use the one, true Source named Jesus as your strength to forgive. It will be a supernatural display! /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/35368155

The Madness of Unforgiveness: What is Forgiveness? 03/03/2025

Hidden Insights into God’s Word: Cornelius the Gentile 02/28/2025

Hidden Insights into God’s Word: The Book of Wars 02/27/2025

Hidden Insights into God’s Word: The Book of Wars by David Chadwick How many of you have ever played a game of hide and seek? It is one of the most commonly played childhood games. There’s something exhilarating about little kids counting to twenty and then searching around to find their hiding friends. I believe that God, the Creator of the universe, knows the beauty and wonder of childlike faith and appreciates hiding things for us to search out. Numbers 21:14 says, “Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord, ‘Waheb in Suphah, and the valleys of the Arnon…’” This verse is where you will find today’s hidden insight. Book of the Wars? What is that, you might ask? Evidently, it was an extra biblical book written by various different Jewish authors. The way it is mentioned in Numbers 21 seems to suggest that it was a rather well known book among the Jewish people. Apparently, it was a book that described Israel’s many victories over enemies and how the Lord repeatedly rescued his people from their adversaries. They most assuredly took account of these testimonies to be able to read them again and again. Perhaps all of us should write a book that lists out God’s victories in our lives. We can then go back and read it repeatedly to remind us of God’s victorious power in the past. And if God did it once, he can do it again! Revelation 12:11 says, “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives unto death.” Testimony is one of the best ways to keep moving forward in faith in the midst of a broken world. For if God did it once, he can do it again. Seeing that there were other books outside of what we know to be God’s Word also speaks to the miracle that there were 66 books that were preserved by the Holy Spirit to make it into the canon of Scripture! Now you know how to answer someone if you are ever asked about the Book of Wars that is mentioned in the Bible. That book did not last. It was not preserved, but God’s Word is. Another hidden insight for you! /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/35368080

Hidden Insights into God’s Word: The Book of Jashar 02/26/2025

Hidden Insights into God’s Word: Men of Courage 02/25/2025

Hidden Insights into God’s Word: Men of Courage by David Chadwick In a world full of cowards, God’s courageous ones stand out! We are drawn to men and women of courage. Today, let’s talk about what it means to be a man of courage. There are so many stories that give us keys and principles for how to live godly, courageous lives. If yesterday’s insight displayed what happens when faithless, wimpy men release fear and lack of courage over situations, today’s insight will show what happens when men of courage step up to the plate. The ten spies were so scared of the giants and of the walled cities in the land. They were told the land they were being given was God’s PROMISED land and yet they let their fear overtake them. This fear led to 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. But wait a minute. There were 12 spies, right? Not ten? Exactly! Yesterday I only mentioned ten names. Ten names who have been forgotten due to their cowardice. But there were two more men I didn’t mention. Men of courage. Let’s look at them now. Joshua and Caleb. Two men of courage who remained faithful in spite of the bad reports. Unlike the other ten spies, these are two commonly used names even today. In fact, two of my grandsons are named Joshua and Caleb. Caleb in the Bible was 85 when he entered the Promised Land and he wanted the area where the giants lived! He knew his God was greater than any giant. Joshua was around 75-80 years old and he replaced Moses as Israel’s leader. He is the one who said that as for he and his house, he would serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15). Here is your insight for today. Live like men of courage. With great faith. Fortitude. Passion. Men like Caleb and Joshua. Follow their character as they follow God’s heart! Nations are changed by men like this! And be sure to name your kids after men like this, honoring the great legacy of biblical men of courage! /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/35368025

Hidden Insights into God’s Word: Men of Cowardice 02/24/2025

A Legacy of Honor: No Matter What Comes Your Way, Finish Strong 02/21/2025

A Legacy of Honor: No Matter What Comes Your Way, Finish Strong by Marilynn Chadwick Live a life of sacrifice and honor. Give yourself for the larger good. Put others before yourself. Don’t give up. Family is worth it. No matter what comes your way, persevere. And always do the right thing. These were some of the messages my parents taught me by example over the years. Mom and Dad believed in dreaming big and always encouraged our dreams. Through the years, nothing brought them more joy than to watch their children and grandchildren (and now great-grandchildren) shine. But the last chapters of life can sometimes be hard. Honor can be an uphill climb. For Mom and Dad, doing the right thing day after day required endurance, faith, and sometimes a good sense of humor. I watched their courageous battle and I agree with whoever said “Old age is not for sissies.” I watched my mom’s quiet and uncomplaining spirit even when she was in pain. And I still see Daddy’s cheerful attitude as he perseveres day after day. “How did you do it, Dad?” I asked the other day, reflecting on how he loved mom until her last breath. “He just shrugged his shoulders and said matter of factly, “Your mom was worth it.” I look at their life in the light of the meaning of the word honor—to show a person respect and esteem. To treat someone as though they have great worth. Honor by its very nature is strong, solid, and above all, enduring. I’d have to say Mom and Dad are living examples of honor and a testimony to its high cost—not something you hear much in our “it’s all about me” culture. Toward the end of Mom’s life, they had an especially difficult morning, which stretched Daddy to practically the end of his strength. Some days were harder than others. Later that day, Daddy quietly beamed as he told me about how Mom had looked at him that morning for a minute or so and then spoke these words with perfect clarity: “You are so patient. I am so proud of you.” Just a few simple words from his wife who didn’t talk so much anymore. And yet Daddy wore those words like they were a medal of honor. And if you think about it, I guess that’s truly what they are. Honor. A concept so simple even a child can grasp it. God set the bar low so that even the youngest and weakest among us can practice honor. But God has also set the bar high. People defend freedom, fight, and die for honor. Believers around the world honor Jesus by suffering for their faith. And honor inspires husbands and wives to love each other for a lifetime. In good times and in hard ones. Honor guards our marriages and sets them on solid ground. Honor protects friendships. Honor guards a culture. No wonder it’s so important in our homes. By teaching us to treat each other with honor, God has set before us the most noble and enduring way to live together—with a love that never dies. So that we can finish strong. _____________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/35179900

A Legacy of Honor: Get an Education 02/20/2025

A Legacy of Honor: Get an Education by Marilynn Chadwick Education was very important in our home. Mom and Dad were both college graduates back in the day when that was not common. Mom had been the valedictorian of her small country high school and Dad was a campus leader and played basketball at his high school, finishing early to go into the navy. He qualified for submarine school and left for his tour of duty, then returned after the war to go to college on the GI Bill. Mom’s mother, my Grandmother Eunice, taught first grade for about 50 years. Sometimes when I would run errands with her in their small town in southern Virginia, grown-ups would stop and say proudly to me that my grandmother had been their favorite teacher and the one who taught them how to read. I found my grandmother fascinating. One of eight children, her parents had died when she was very young, back in the late 1800s. She left home at an early age and somehow managed to go to college and became a teacher. Then she hopped on a cross-country train trip going west and taught school in various places along the way. She made her way to Montana and eventually to Pasadena, California, where she taught for a few years, even attending one of the very first Rose Parades. She hopped on another train and made her way back across the country, stopping here and there to teach. I remember looking at photos from the time she rode by mule to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Finally, back in Virginia, my grandmother at age 38 married my granddaddy, a farmer. He had met the pretty young schoolteacher before her travels west, and I suppose he was holding out until her return. By this time, he was 48. They married and had my mom a year later—their only child. My dad’s mother, Grandmother Lois (the irony of a Eunice and a Lois will not be lost on some of you), was another special role model for me, and I adored her. Like my Grandmother Eunice, she also attended college back in the day when few women did and played on the very first women’s basketball team at William & Mary College in Williamsburg, Virginia. So you see why getting an education was its own “code of honor” in our family. My parents thought of education as noble. Even a responsibility, along with duty, sacrifice, and honor. A heart that seeks to learn, grow, and receive from others is another mark of honor and, I think, helps to establish a legacy of honor in marriages and in families that is so lasting and so important. ______________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/35179870

A Legacy of Honor: Telling Our Family Stories 02/19/2025

A Legacy of Honor: Telling Our Family Stories by Marilynn Chadwick Daddy happens to be one of the few remaining World War II submarine veterans. He and my mom vividly remember the war—they don’t take our freedoms for granted. So growing up, neither did we. One of the ways they helped us appreciate our heritage was to tell lots of stories—especially stories about our family. I grew up hearing about Daddy’s submarine adventures in the South China Sea. And about rations and blackouts, or brave young friends who lost their lives in the war. Mom and Dad were also proud of our family’s long history in this country dating back to before the Revolutionary War. Captain Simon Hunt, from Daddy’s mother’s side, was one of the original 80 minutemen who fought the British in the famous battle on the Old North Bridge in Concord, Massachusetts. It was on that bridge that the “shot heard round the world” signaled the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Our youngest, Michael Hunt Chadwick, loved hearing his grandparents’ stories of the Hunt family and his namesake. Looking back over my life, I can also see how Mom and Dad’s values quietly shaped my own. They grew up in the South back in the day before the Civil Rights movement had ushered in change. They didn’t talk much about racism, but they lived a life that spoke volumes to me. I watched how they lived. To them, all people mattered. Everyone had worth. Everyone was equal. And all were welcome in our home. Black. White. Old money, new money, or no money. They treated everybody the same, and their simple, as well as honorable, example spoke louder than any sermon. This is another telltale sign of honor. The quiet, unspoken, consistent lifestyle that points to prioritizing others above yourself. Honor is established through testimony. As you share stories of honor and examples of honor, it becomes real to other people and they are able to emulate it as well. I am thankful for my family’s stories that gave me a roadmap for how to continue to establish honor in my life as well, with my husband and with everyone around me. ______________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/35179845

A Legacy of Honor: How They Honored Each Other 02/18/2025

A Legacy of Honor: How They Honored Each Other by Marilynn Chadwick Mom and Dad suffered two especially hard losses as a young couple. When I was about two, Mom delivered a baby girl who died shortly after she was born a few weeks premature. Today’s neonatal technology could likely have saved the baby. I have no memories of this incident. Tragically, the very same thing happened again when I was five. This one I do remember. There were two of us kids at that point. My sister Susan and me. Mom went into premature labor again and delivered a baby—another girl who also died soon after birth. But Mom, just 28 at the time, somehow managed to keep life moving forward in our home. I know she had a deep faith, and I’m sure it was her faith and her courage that gave her the strength to persevere. She and Daddy kept hope alive, and two years later welcomed my youngest sister, Janice, whose name means “God’s gracious gift,” into our family. I’m a mother myself now, and a grandmother. So when I look back at those times in my mother’s life, I don’t know how she kept going. She and Daddy had to be grieving. Yet I’m amazed at how little she allowed those terrible losses to impact our lives as children. By that I mean that she and my dad didn’t retreat to fear or hold us back from a normal, active, and happy childhood. Mom kept moving forward for us—evidence, again, of her self-sacrificial nature and her servant’s heart. Mom had been an only child and always wanted to be part of a large family. So she especially loved Daddy’s large family. And Daddy loved hers. They were a team. Family was their priority. They also shared each other’s interests, like a love of the outdoors. They enjoyed camping. Some of my favorite childhood memories—even into my teen years—are of our family camping trips every summer. To the beach, to the mountains. To historic sites such as Colonial Williamsburg and Kitty Hawk. Mom and Dad both had keen minds. They loved good books and good movies, and made sure we had access to those things growing up. They appreciated education, patriotism, and the land. Our people were mostly a collection of educators, farmers, and those serving in the military. Being native Virginians, they especially loved all things Virginian. Honor was present in so many ways in our home, though typical of their generation, they didn’t flaunt it. I guess you could say Mom and Dad were good, solid, honorable people who came from a long line of good, solid, honorable people. They all had long-lasting marriages and were proud of their heritage. And they passed that legacy on to us. ______________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/35179810

A Legacy of Honor: Keep Calm and Carry On 02/17/2025

A Legacy of Honor: Keep Calm and Carry On by Marilynn Chadwick My dad honored my mom, but I also saw how my mom honored my dad. Looking back, I can see some of the reasons their marriage remained strong. Sometimes when we’re in the middle of daily life as it’s happening, we don’t fully realize the truly heroic nature of the people right in front of us. It all seems normal at the time. So it’s been special for me to take a look back at the life my parents lived and the legacy they left me. As I reflect, I feel enormous gratitude for their sacrifices that paved the way for the life I have today. We’ve been talking about the importance of how to create a legacy of honor. So it has helped me to think back about Mom and Dad’s life together with honor as my lens. How did Mom honor Dad? What are some ways they honored each other? And what kind of legacy have they left to those who come behind them? During our growing up years, Mom was Dad’s helper in the best sense of the word. She was a true ezer, the Hebrew word for “helper” as described in the Creation account (Genesis 2:18). Mom was strong and kind. And she was his rock of support. I remember how Mom built Dad up. She believed in him. Mom had stopped teaching school when the kids came—family was everything to Mom. She especially loved Dad’s parents and his three sisters and their families. She even took an interest in Dad’s sales force—“Daddy’s men,” as she called them—and sometimes we got together with their families. Dad’s job as a regional sales manager with a large company required quite a bit of travel. Mom never complained. She simply kept life going for her three daughters. But invariably, most of our life crises seemed to hit when Daddy was away. Like the time I tried to do a cannonball dive into three feet of water and didn’t tuck quite fast enough, hitting my head on the bottom of the swimming pool. After Mom and I took a fast trip to the emergency room and 27 stitches later, Dad finally made it home. Recently, when I asked Daddy to describe some ways Mom had honored him, he pointed back to that incident. “I never worried when I was traveling,” he said. “Even when you cracked your head open, I could always count on your mom to handle things. She was always so calm.” Daddy’s right. Mom honored him by her strong resolve and her ability to keep the family on track in his absence. The popular World War II expression “Keep Calm and Carry On” was originally created to inspire the Brits to keep their courage during the war. And I think it described my mom quite well. It is also a characteristic of honor we can all embrace. _____________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/35179790

A Legacy of Honor: What’s His Secret? 02/14/2025

A Legacy of Honor: What’s His Secret? by Marilynn Chadwick When people meet my now 97-year-old dad, they often ask me, “What’s his secret?” “How does your dad look so young and stay so sharp?” Daddy would be the first to tell you that part of his secret is that he had a great wife. He was married to my mom for nearly 70 years. My mother was nearly bedridden for the last ten or so years of her life. A ruptured appendix and complications from a subsequent surgery robbed a once robust grandmother of her ability to walk. Some of her ability to think and talk faded, but enough of her razor-sharp mind remained to make conversation possible, though difficult. Daddy insisted upon caring for her at home, with the help of nurses’ aids to help him with wheelchair transfers and daily care. If you asked them, Mom and Dad would each say they “married up.” Mom would always tell us three girls how lucky she was to find Daddy. And Dad said he was just glad his “turn in line” with the other young men who wanted to date Mom finally came. To which Mom would answer back, “Well I was hoping you would ask me out!” In her last years, Dad would look at my mom, lying in the bed after he had just brushed her hair, and say to me, “Doesn’t she look pretty?” Few could imagine the daunting challenges Mom and Dad faced on a daily basis just to live at home. Dad would do all of the grocery shopping, the cooking, the cleaning, the laundry. On top of that, he would perform medical procedures for her each day. Catheters, baths, diapers. There were also occasional trips to the emergency room and hospitalizations because of infections. Dad’s caregiver role began after Mom’s ruptured appendix. Even then, he managed the daily cleaning of Mom’s open abdominal wound for weeks after her emergency surgery. Sometimes, his bad back would flare up, but he would keep at it. In good times and hard times, Mom and Dad honored their wedding vows. That just by itself is a legacy of honor which they have passed on to David and me, to our children, and their children. A legacy of honor must be tended to and cared for so that it can grow and mature for generations to come. ___________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/35179760

A Legacy of Honor: Whatever Happened to Honor? (Part 4 of 4) 02/13/2025

A Legacy of Honor: Whatever Happened to Honor? (Part 4 of 4) by Marilynn Chadwick …continued from yesterday Honor is sorely lacking in many of our homes. Marriages are breaking up at an alarming rate. Sadly, the percentage of wives leaving their husbands has risen dramatically. I believe this topic of honor is timely. We’d first do well to remind ourselves that at its core, honor is a biblical concept, woven throughout the pages of Scripture to characterize our relationship with God and with each other. The Bible defines honor in the most precious of terms, conveying not only value and respect, but also extreme costliness. It’s sometimes used interchangeably with the word for wealth. So to honor someone is to treat that person as having the utmost worth. I, too, can use a refresher course myself in how to show my husband how special he is to me. You’d think that after over four decades of marriage, I’d have this one down. David and I have had a wonderful life together. We love and respect each other and we enjoy spending time together. We’ve always remained faithful to one another. But now and then, if I’m honest with myself, I’ve been guilty of taking my husband for granted. Maybe you have, too. The mystery and the wonder of marriage—we can let it slide past us if we’re not watching. We can forget to be thankful when the familiar becomes comfortable. To honor our husbands means to recapture a little of the awe. I want to explore how to become more mindful about how to honor my husband, but also how to reclaim honor in our culture in general. From men to women and women to men. From young to old and old to young. I will share some of the practical ways I’ve learned to communicate to David that I truly do honor him as the most special person in my life. I will also include some valuable tips from friends in my life. My husband’s father, the late Dr. Howard Chadwick, used to tell David, “The best gift you can give your children is a strong marriage.” And so I remind those of you who are moms: The best gift you can give your children is to love and honor your husband. Our husbands are not simply an afterthought sandwiched in between life with kids, chores, workouts, and activities. We need to be strong, faithful, and above all, intentional if we want our marriages not just to survive but to thrive. Our marriages are worth it. So are our husbands. It’s time to have an honest conversation about honor. Why does it seem to be in such short supply these days? The culture around us is groaning, desperately in need of honor. My hope is that together, we could spark a movement of honor that would spill over into a hurting and broken world. It’s hard work, but the rewards are worth it. I hope you’ll join me for this journey. _____________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/35179745

A Legacy of Honor: Whatever Happened to Honor? (Part 3 of 4) 02/12/2025

A Legacy of Honor: Whatever Happened to Honor? (Part 3 of 4) by Marilynn Chadwick …continued from yesterday I emphasized the importance of honoring men in an editorial I once wrote for our local newspaper after the passing of the legendary University of North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith. Along with great basketball, Coach Smith taught his players, including my husband, much about honor. David says that next to his own father, Smith was the most significant man in his life. Though the excerpt below is primarily about men as fathers, it begs the question as to why the lack of honor toward men today: Good dads these days are hard to find. Just watch any television show. Dads are spoofed, maligned, caricatured, and generally disrespected. The message? It’s just not cool to be a dad. If the same treatment were given to moms, you’d spark a revolt. But that’s the nature of dads. The good ones don’t whine. They don’t show off. They put the needs of their families ahead of their own. And as Coach Smith modeled for us all, good dads embody self-sacrifice. In short, good dads are that reservoir of safety and unconditional love for which all kids hunger. Quite likely, they’re a major factor in determining the outcome of a young person’s life. The statistics aren’t pretty. Kids without dads are more likely to end up pregnant out of wedlock, in prison, poor, or dead. And bad dads may be worse than no dads, leaving scars inside and outside that can last a lifetime. But I’m seeing a resurgence of dad-hunger out there. I think people today are literally dying for good dads. Perhaps Coach Smith’s legacy will inspire dads to be better. Smith knew it wasn’t simply about winning and losing but rather “how you play the game.” His life reminds us that good guys are very cool. And just maybe, more guys will want to become good dads. Lord knows we need them. The responses to my editorial surprised me. Had I touched a nerve? Handwritten notes and emails poured in from a variety of readers—male and female, young and old. A prominent defense attorney even shared the memory of his own father, now deceased, reminiscing about what an honorable man his dad was in his eyes. A federal judge, a bank president, the local head of a government agency, a former mayor. Each told me about the honorable men in their lives. One even confided his heart’s desire to be a man of honor within his own family. Several young moms, all who happened to be at home with small children, wrote in to praise their husbands for their hard work and for being such good husbands and fathers. Others posted on social media that they were challenged by my reminder to simply be thankful for the honorable men in their lives. The responses made me wonder. What has happened to honor these days? Are we a culture that’s thirsty for honor? It certainly made me think… …to be continued tomorrow. ____________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/35179720

A Legacy of Honor: Whatever Happened to Honor? (Part 2 of 4) 02/11/2025

A Legacy of Honor: Whatever Happened to Honor? (Part 2 of 4) by Marilynn Chadwick …continued from yesterday Whatever happened to honor? Honor is a topic that has either been grossly overvalued to the point where people are demanded to treat other humans as demi-gods or it has been undervalued to the point where disrespect and disdain is casual, flippant, and normalized. I don’t know about you, but I can tell when honor is missing. To be disrespected or dishonored in some cultures around the world is so insulting that it’s grounds for fighting. Some even justify the use of violence to defend one’s honor or the honor of one’s family. What started out as an urban slang expression for disrespect, “diss,” has become so common as to transcend culture or age. Most any child can tell you what it means to diss somebody, or worse yet, to be dissed. Sadly, we live in a time when dishonor is so common that it feels almost normal. Over the years, I’ve noticed that honor, especially in marriage, seems to be disappearing. More than once I’ve overheard a group of wives criticizing their husbands to each other. Sort of a group-gripe fest. And why not? It’s open season on men these days. You don’t have to watch television or movies too long before you see an example of “man bashing.” I find this trend disturbing. Maybe it’s because I live with a servant-hearted husband who is not only the love of my life, but also my best friend. Perhaps it’s because I have two grown sons and a son-in-law, all of whom are honorable young men. Or maybe it’s because I grew up with a wonderful dad. For whatever reason, I’m bothered by how trendy it has become over the years to diss men, especially husbands and fathers. Seems like we’ve gotten too cool to appreciate the good guys anymore. I want my life to help restore the legacy of honor… …to be continued tomorrow. ______________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/35179690

A Legacy of Honor: Whatever Happened to Honor? (Part 1 of 4) 02/10/2025

A Legacy of Honor: Whatever Happened to Honor? (Part 1 of 4) by Marilynn Chadwick My new friend began our conversation quite innocently by asking me to pray for her marriage. We were both young wives adjusting to life in a new city. I didn’t know her very well, but over the next few minutes, I would learn way more than I wanted to know about her personal life. And about her husband. She launched into a litany of all the ways he had disappointed her. She then proceeded to describe in detail how far short he fell in her eyes as a man. Before too many minutes had passed, this poor guy began to fall short in my eyes as well. Many years have come and gone since that conversation. So why do I still remember it so well? Well, for one thing, I never could quite look at that guy in the same way again. His reputation, at least from my end, had been damaged by his wife’s words. I made a mental note to myself to never, ever talk so casually to someone else about my husband’s shortcomings. And I tried not to be on the receiving end of that kind of toxic spill again. Now please don’t get me wrong. It’s not that David and I don’t have our own flaws or that we’ve never struggled in our marriage. We’re human too. Marriage is hard work and forces us to come to grips with our sin and selfishness like nothing else. No doubt, there are times in life when it may be appropriate to share your marriage struggles with a good friend or a wise counselor. But it was the disrespectful picture that my friend had painted of her husband that felt so wrong. So dishonoring. And because this is a series on honor, I’ve been taking a long, hard look at the whole concept of honor and its importance in marriage and in our culture in general. Honor can be defined as the “value or worth we give to someone because of their good quality or character.” Honor conveys dignity, honesty, and integrity. To honor someone is to treat that person with admiration or respect. Over the next two weeks, let’s dig into this important topic of honor together… …to be continued tomorrow. ____________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/35179675

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: The Training Wheels of Honor 02/07/2025

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: The Training Wheels of Honor By Marilynn Chadwick Honor is not a subject you hear much about these days. If anything, we've become much more accustomed to disrespect and dishonor. The urban slang for disrespect, or “dis,” has made its way into everyday language. Most any child can tell you what it means to “dis” someone. Or worse, to be “dissed.” Honor. Simply put, the word means to treat someone with respect or admiration. It has to do with qualities like honesty, integrity and dignity. The biblical version of honor is much weightier. Lofty. It speaks to the precious worth of the person being honored and is related to words like glory, worship or prize. Most of us yearn to be treated with respect. We benefit not only from receiving honor but also from giving it to others. God set the bar low so that even a child can show honor. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—“so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth” (Ephesians 6:2,3). You might call this the “the training wheels of honor” (Exodus 20:12). When children honor their earthly parents, they begin to grasp what it means to honor their heavenly Father. Perhaps it’s time to recapture this age-old virtue. We can start by honoring God. But let's do so with a sense of expectancy. For God Himself makes this bold promise: “Those who honor me, I will honor” (1 Samuel 2:30). In Genesis 2:18, God created us to be our husband’s helper, or ezer, a source of rock-like strength and support. But we can also choose to use that ezer strength to work against our husband, robbing him of strength and confidence. I’ve wondered whether we’ve lost sight of the importance of respect. Perhaps a lack of honor could be at the core of many divorces. Honor doesn’t just happen. It goes against the grain of our culture. Disrespect, on the other hand, takes very little energy. It’s the path of least resistance. Honor is a narrow road. It requires strength and intentionality. I’ve never forgotten this tidbit of common-sense wisdom from a dear friend who had been married for over sixty years. It went something like this: “Don’t be afraid to be the one who loves the most.” The same could be said of honor. Don’t be afraid to be the one who honors the most. As we have been learning to honor our husbands and restore honor in the home, I want to leave you with this challenge. Dare to take the first step by honoring your husband even before he honors you. ________________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/34983655

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: The Lost Art of Honor 02/06/2025

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: The Lost Art of Honor by Marilynn Chadwick “I don’t enjoy going to lunch with my work friends anymore,” my young friend confided over coffee. “The conversation always turns into husband bashing.” Her own marriage wasn’t perfect, she admitted. “I’m a very transparent person,” she smiled. “So I try to be real. But I don’t want to dishonor my husband. And I want my friends to know I truly love being married to him.” As we talked, she came to the conclusion that it was okay for her to be honest with her friends about some of her own marriage struggles. She could share a few of the positive ways she and her husband have discovered to work through their issues. But she resolved to do this in a manner that would honor both Christ and her husband. I loved my friend’s heart for her husband and for the Lord. Knowing her as I do, she’ll be a winsome witness to her friends about what it means to have a godly marriage. And more importantly, what it means to follow Christ. That conversation was just one of many I’ve had with women of all ages while writing Eight Great Ways to Honor Your Husband. I yearn to help wives reclaim the lost art of honoring their husbands. Perhaps it’s time to take a fresh look at this age-old virtue. We can start by honoring God. “Those who honor me, I will honor” (1 Samuel 2:30). Then, let’s explore practical ways to honor our husbands. Remember, the world is watching us. And deep down, I believe they’re thirsty for honor—especially honor in marriage. The tone I set in our home when I honor my husband inspires our children to honor him and each other. It feels good to get respect. To be honored. But it also feels incredibly good to honor someone else. We find that as we give honor, we get it back. But giving honor, especially in a world which has largely forgotten this concept, doesn’t come easy. It takes practice. I’ve learned that home is a wonderful laboratory for cultivating honor. My hope is that the culture of honor we create will spill over into the culture around us. I believe our world today is thirsty for honor. ________________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/34983635

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: Dream Big Together 02/05/2025

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: Dream Big Together by Marilynn Chadwick Dream big together! It’s the next tip for learning to honor our husbands. I honor my husband when I share his dreams. When I work to help him accomplish his dreams, my dreams are also fulfilled. Not too long into our marriage, I realized that God’s economy is different from mine. When doing things God’s way, I often get back the very thing I give away. I help David reach his goals and dreams. Then he helps me reach mine. A wonderful rhythm develops. A mutuality. Together, we’ve also learned that when we give our life away, especially to the lost and broken of this world, God pours grace and honor back into our own lives. As you dream big and pursue adventure together, you often find heroes in the most unlikely places. Ordinary people living quiet, faithful lives—in my book, these are the real heroes. A while back, David and I adventured to our nation’s capital. We met with influential men and women faithfully serving our country. We took tours of the capitol, awed by the courageous faith of our Founding Fathers. Their names are written in history—their impact will last for generations. But for me, the real hero showed up—of all places—in a taxi cab. Our driver was a gentle, friendly man with an east African accent. I noticed the prominent cross on his dashboard. He talked about his 33 years driving a cab. His three kids had all graduated from fine colleges, he boasted, with that dad-kind-of-pride. All had prestigious jobs working in DC. “You must have done some pretty good parenting,” I commented. “What’s your secret?” “My secret,” he laughed, “is America.” “In America, if you’re willing to work hard, you can reach your dream.” “There are some who might disagree,” I replied. “Hmmm,” he paused, “then they have never lived in another country.” See, he had fled the severe persecution of Christians in Eritrea. He went on to say quietly, “People here don’t know what it’s like to not have freedom.” When he was a much younger man, he had been educated as an accountant back in Eritrea. But since coming to America, he has worked as a cab driver. Day after day. Month after month. Year after year. He was well past his prime. As David and I were on our own adventure as a result of dreaming big together, I knew we'd been with a true hero that day. Someone who dreamed big and provided freedom for his family. And a man of honor. _____________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/34983625

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: Wage Peace 02/04/2025

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: Wage Peace by Marilynn Chadwick Peace is a priority in our home. A peaceful home refreshes and blesses the family. Today’s world is busy and noisy. How can I lighten my husband’s load and his heart? Help him have fun? I’ve learned that simple habits, like taking a day off together each week, honor him by allowing him to be refreshed. We’re also intentional about family vacations. Doing so has allowed us to sustain our busy schedules. We find we can then return to the fray strengthened and with renewed enthusiasm. But sometimes, peace doesn’t come without a fight. If I’m serious about “waging peace,” it helps to know my enemy. You know what I have found is the quickest way to rob peace in the home? Worry. Anxiety can drain my energy and quench calm faster than just about anything. What’s more, it’s contagious. When the kids were small, if I became worried, they seemed to absorb my anxiety and become fretful. Worry is also exhausting. I agree with a friend who coined this acronym for W-O-R-R-Y: Worry Only Robs Rest from You. Worry says loud and clear that I don’t trust God. But when I refuse to be anxious, when I trust God and remain peaceful, I create a climate of peace. I have to confess I grew up as a world-class worrier. There were times early in our marriage when fear held me in its grip. Fear of storms, fear of intruders, fear of illness, fear of flying. You name it—I probably wrestled with it. But I’ve learned to be ruthless. Through the promises in God’s Word, lots of prayer, and putting my faith into action, I have wrestled most of my fears to the ground. I’m not completely worry-free, but I can tell you I no longer feel like a prisoner to fear. These twin invaders, fear and anxiety, can wreak havoc on a home and a marriage. God doesn’t treat fear and worry as small things. He tells us to cast all your anxiety on him “because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). He commands us to “have no fear.” To “be anxious for nothing” (Philippians 4:6 NKJV). As with any stubborn problem, the first step is to confront anxiety head-on and call it out for the enemy that it is. We may find that our repentance is soon followed by times of refreshing and revival. And a peace that passes all understanding! Wage peace in the home! Don’t worry! Or as I would tell my daughter Bethany as she was growing up, “It’d be better to be dead than to live in dread.” I think this fight for peace honors our husbands, and makes life more fun in the process. ___________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/34983600

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: Pray Like You Mean It 02/03/2025

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: Pray Like You Mean It by Marilynn Chadwick If you were to ask me what’s the single most important thing you can do to honor your husband, I would simply say: Pray for him. Pray like you mean it. Pray like you believe God works through your prayers. And make prayer for your husband a priority. I have seen many wives’ prayers encourage husbands who are already following Jesus. And I have seen prayer soften the hearts of men who have rejected God. I am mystified as to why prayer works when words fall short. I just know it does. Prayer is a weapon that can be used to usher in powerful things for your husband’s life and for your life as well. Pray with confidence, knowing if you are asking for something according to his will, he hears us (1 John 5:14). My dear friend Jane prayed for years for her husband to accept Christ. He continued to resist the gospel. My friend was wise. She refused to nag. But she did set aside 15 minutes to pray for her husband every morning. I don’t know how long Jane prayed for him. But, some time later, I watched in amazement as her husband walked forward to accept Christ at a Billy Graham Crusade in our city. During the invitation, I happened to glance to my right. I was startled to see this man who had stiff-armed God! There he was, wife by his side, resolutely heading to the front of the arena where he gave his life to Jesus Christ once and for all. The ripple effect of that one influential man’s devotion to Christ was powerful. The impact he had on his family and community is evident to this day. All because of the quiet witness and faithful prayers of a strong wife. Like my husband always says, “If you don’t love Jesus and you have a praying wife or a praying mother, look out—you’re toast!” Pray consistently. Pray fervently. Pray like you mean it. Then watch as God moves in the heart of your husband and your home. __________________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/34983590

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: She Fights for Him 01/31/2025

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: She Fights for Him by Marilynn Chadwick Deep within the heart of every good woman lives a warrior. Her fierce love can make even the most timid woman do courageous things. Watch out for a woman who is fighting for someone she loves. I have discovered that honoring my husband in today’s culture requires me to fight for him. We have an enemy. Not just of our soul, but also of our marriage. In addition to waging a war with the devil, our battle for a strong marriage is also against our own selfish tendencies. Sometimes the best way to fight to honor our husbands is by going against the grain of our flesh. As I do this, I resist a worldly mindset that degrades and disrespects marriage. My friend Ange is from Rwanda. Gentle and soft-spoken, Ange is a shining example of a woman who honored her husband by fighting for him. Ange was in high school when the horrific Rwandan genocide broke out in 1994. She and Emanuel fled on foot. Soldiers attacked their refugee camp. Ange and Emanuel got separated as they ran for their lives. She searched frantically for him, hiding in the forest with no clean water, food, or shelter. Ange made her way to Kenya. She looked everywhere for Emanuel. Eventually she enrolled in Bible college while she continued her search. For eight years! Even her closest friends tried to persuade Ange to accept that Emanuel was dead—and to remarry. But Ange sensed the Holy Spirit was whispering to keep on fighting and to believe that Emanuel was still alive. Her lifeline became, “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame” (Romans 5:3-5). While listening to a radio program which helped find missing family members after the war, she heard the amazing news that Emanuel was alive. “It was like a dream!” she exclaimed. “I stayed up all night praising and thanking God!” After eight long years, Ange and Emanuel were finally reunited—all because of a wife who kept fighting for her husband. I can best fight for my husband and honor our marriage most powerfully by fighting my flesh and by interceding for him in prayer. Choose to do the same. The fight is worth it! ____________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/34983585

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: To Honor is to Give My Best 01/30/2025

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: To Honor is to Give My Best by Marilynn Chadwick “Let the wife see that she respects her husband” (Ephesians 5:33). I have been inspired by what the Bible teaches us about honor. As a result, I have tried to be more intentional about showing honor to David. However, I’ve come face to face with an important realization: Honor demands far more from me than simply submission. Please understand. I fully appreciate submission in marriage as part of the biblical framework of love and respect. But to truly honor my husband, I have to set the bar much higher than submission. Honor requires self-sacrifice. Humility. It challenges me to bridle not just my words, but also my thoughts. It makes me bite my tongue. Honor confronts me with my sin. It forces me to see everything that gets in the way of me giving my best. I can choose to build up my husband or to break him down. This plays out with the words I speak to him and the words I speak about him. I must use my words to encourage his leadership to flourish within our family. For example, the words I speak to our children influence what they think about their dad. Same with outsiders. Careless words can tarnish his reputation in the eyes of others. Proverbs 14:1 reminds us that a wise woman “builds her house,” but a foolish one “tears it down.” As wives, we sometimes forget the weight our words carry. Showing respect is vital to any healthy marriage. But when it comes to honoring our husbands, it helps to understand that no two marriages or men are exactly alike. Words and actions that make my husband feel honored and respected might go right over the head of your husband. But this truth is consistent, if I want to honor David, I have to become honorable myself. Same holds true for you. So in this way, honor conforms all of us to the image of Christ. Honor requires a strong walk with the Lord. I guess you could say that to truly honor my husband, I must give my best to cultivate a heart of honor. Honor, even more than submission, is an imposing benchmark. It’s a sublimely powerful target. For if I take aim and hit the bullseye of honor, I am probably covering all the other virtues that make for a strong marriage. Honor him by giving him your best! ____________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/34983560

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: Believe the Best 01/29/2025

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: Believe the Best by Marilynn Chadwick Honor may be best expressed through word and deed, but it begins in my mind. What I think about my husband determines whether my words and actions will honor him. In fact, what we believe about our husbands can make or break our marriages. We must believe the best. For me, this means that as a wife, I value and respect David, believing in him even more than he believes in himself. I can choose how I think about my husband. Either with a lens of criticism and cynicism or with a lens of respect and honor. Do I respect him? Appreciate him? Do I focus on his strengths and downplay his weaknesses? Do I take time to reflect on the many ways he sacrifices for our family? Am I there for him to support and strengthen him, especially when he feels weak? In short, am I thankful for him? Over the years, I’ve noticed a common theme in the marriages I’ve grown to admire. The spouses seem to be intentional about interpreting each other in a positive light. The wives speak about their husbands with respect. The husbands find ways to honor their wives. It’s clear they treasure and appreciate their partner. In short, they believe the best about each other, and it shows. Turns out there’s some research to back up this observation. Author and longtime Gallup poll associate Marcus Buckingham surveyed thousands of married couples to discover the traits at the core of good marriages. He found something intriguing. The common thread running through happy marriages was this: In the most successful marriages, each partner rated the other person higher than that person rated him or herself. Choose to honor. Make the intentional decision to be transformed by renewing your mind (Romans 12:2). Take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Believe the best about your husband and watch as honor increases in your marriage. ___________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/34983550

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: Are You an Ezer? 01/28/2025

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: Are You an Ezer? by Marilynn Chadwick It’s important to understand honor as a biblical concept, shedding light on our God-given roles as husband and wife. In college, I was an atheist with strong feminist leanings. After I became a follower of Christ, it was God’s Word which opened my eyes to His beautiful and somewhat mysterious plan for marriage. Everything God created was good. But He looked at Adam and said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.” Something was missing. So God said: "I will make a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18). God created woman from man—from his same substance: “So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs …Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man…” (Genesis 2:20-24). Marriage was God’s gift to humanity. Eve was Adam’s companion, but the Bible also calls her his helper. In Hebrew, “helper,” or ezer, means “to support.” It’s a combination of two roots: "to rescue, to save," and "to be strong." The word ezer in the Bible most often refers to God as the helper, usually in times of danger or battle. Are you an ezer to your husband? The word ezer is also closely related to the word for rock. I honor David when I’m strong like a rock in my walk with the Lord. Strengthen your heart with the Word of God, prayer, spiritual disciplines, and biblical community. In the process, I hope you’ll see that being a strong woman of God, while also submitting to your husband’s spiritual leadership, go hand in hand. As wives, we respond best to our husbands’ spiritual leadership when we trust God and his design for our marriage. When you grasp what it means to be an ezer, you begin to get an image of your role as a rock, not a doormat. Your challenge is to become strong so that you are a source of strength for a husband who will sometimes be weak. I’ve learned that an important part of showing honor to a strong husband like David is to be his “rock of support” when everything around him feels like it's crashing down. Think about what it means to be strong like a “rock” for our husbands, families, and communities. Lord knows we need more women who are willing to live strong as ezers in this hurting and broken world. ___________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/34983535

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: What is Honor? 01/27/2025

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband: What is Honor? by Marilynn Chadwick What is honor and why is it important? To honor someone is to treat them with admiration or respect. Honor conveys dignity, honesty, and integrity. Several years ago my husband’s beloved college basketball coach, North Carolina’s legendary Dean Smith, passed away. Next to his own father, David says Coach Smith was the most significant man in his life. Even superstar Michael Jordan called Coach Smith his “second father.” Why? Because along with great basketball, Coach Smith taught his players about life. When I first met my basketball player-turned-preacher husband, I was a University of Georgia girl and a die-hard football fan. Basketball, not so much. But I loved David, and I grew to love basketball. Soon after we got married, Coach Smith sent me a handwritten note welcoming me to the “Carolina Family.” He always remembered my alma mater and my college major. He knew our children by name. Seriously. Who does that? After Coach Smith’s passing, I was able to write an editorial honoring my husband’s legendary basketball coach. Responses to my article, some from well-known leaders in our community, caused me to wonder if our culture is thirsty for honor. Public reaction to Dean Smith’s passing seemed to convey a nostalgic yearning for role models, for dads, for men of honor. In fact, a prominent defense attorney in our community sent me a handwritten note sharing how his own dad had been such an honorable man. A federal judge and a bank president both weighed in on the subject of honor. Young moms wrote to tell me about their “amazing husbands” and vowed to be more intentional to honor them. Had I touched a nerve? Maybe it’s because honor is lacking in our homes. Families today are in trouble. Studies show that 70% of divorces are now initiated by women. Honor was God’s idea in the first place—especially in marriage. No wonder we’re thirsty for this sometimes-forgotten virtue. What would happen if we sparked a movement of honor in our homes, our communities, and our world? Over the next two weeks, we will explore honor from a biblical point of view; specifically addressing wives. I want to give every wife 8 practical tips on how you can begin to honor your husband and create a culture of honor in your home. My dream is that together, we really could see a movement of honor that would spill over into a hurting and broken world. ____________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Husband by Marilynn Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/34983520

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Wife: Becoming One 01/24/2025

8 Great Ways to Honor Your Wife: Becoming One by David Chadwick Remember the definition of honor: “to regard with great respect, to prize, to admire, to give special recognition, to demonstrate high respect or great esteem for someone.” What a rich and powerful word! I have spent the past two weeks giving husbands tools for how they can honor their wives. We wrap up our journey today. I pray these “8 Greats” give you practical ways to interact with your wife and bring honor into your marriage. By the way, next week Marilynn will do the same with you wives: 8 Great ways to honor your husbands. We see the theme of honor interwoven throughout the Bible (Exodus 20:12, Romans 12:10, 1 Peter 3:7). It is clearly important to the heart of the Father. Let’s look back on the “8 Great Ways to Honor Your Wife.” Trust Her Gut Be a Man of God Encourage Her Gifts Respect Her Opinion Ask This Question Often: “How is Your Heart?” Share Your Heart Be a Guardian and Gardener Use Words Wisely I believe that if you lead the way and start to put these tools into practice, you will see a culture of honor increase in your marriage and your family. Romans 12:10 says, “Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” It’s the one place in the Bible where we are called to compete with one another: in giving honor! Imagine what will happen if you and your wife begin to try and outdo one another in honor. Love will increase. The home will get healthier. Jesus will be glorified. The goal of marriage is to see two very different, unique, special individuals become one. As two become one, biblical marriage becomes the most beautiful reflection of the love between Jesus Christ and the bride. Let’s reclaim honor in our marriages! It is essential to accomplishing this goal of two becoming one and seeing the Gospel of Jesus displayed through our lives. _____________ This series is adapted from the book, 8 Great Ways to Honor Your Wife by David Chadwick. To download your free PDF copy of this book, please visit our website by /episode/index/show/a852a973-4adc-4299-bb53-caff7cbf2ba5/id/34789900

A Moment of Hope

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