Determine to pray more words over your marriage than you speak about your marriage.

I'm an encourager at heart. I love to give words of encouragement and I love to receive words of encouragement. That's probably why words of discouragement affect me so deeply.

On the other end of the spectrum, we can't use this permission to sometimes say no and use it as a wand to wish away all our responsibilities. We also must remember not to use our "no" answers as a weapon. We can't turn into No! ninjas, karate-chopping anyone who even comes close to asking us for something.

Being uncertain and scared and riddled with doubt some days isn't a sign of bad things to come. It's actually quite the opposite. After all, if great things weren't on the horizon, I don't think the enemy would be so bent on attacking us.

Where there is a lack of rest, there is an abundance of stress.

The problem with saying yes all the time is that it won't make you Wonder Woman. It'll make you a worn-out woman. And soon you'll find the relationships you treasure most are constantly getting your 'less' instead of your 'best' because of your endless to-do list and overwhelming schedule.

What if God’s 'NO,’ is really a gift? His way to protect us from what we cannot see, provide something better than we can imagine, or be part of the process of growing us closer to Him.