November 6, 2025
Planting the Seeds of Peace in Marriage
Peace isn’t just a seed. It’s a strategy. It’s strength. It’s Spirit. And peace, just might be the generational tree where your legacy rests.
Marriage
Marriage provides biblically grounded encouragement and practical help for couples who want a Christ-centered relationship. Explore articles on communication, conflict resolution, intimacy, forgiveness, shared spiritual rhythms, and navigating seasons of joy and stress. You’ll find guidance for strengthening trust, serving one another with humility, and building a marriage that reflects the love of Jesus. Whether you’re newly married, rebuilding after hardship, or seeking long-term growth, these resources help you pursue a healthy, faithful covenant relationship.
May 2, 2025
Forgive. Forgive. Forgive. The Power of Spousal Forgiveness
Forgiveness is one of the most radical and transformative principles of Christian marriage.
March 2, 2025
From Conflict to Connection: Handing Over the Anger in Our Marriages
How anger is handled can either damage or strengthen intimacy in marriage. Thoughtfully and prayerfully approaching anger leads us to deeper understanding, trust, and connection.
February 27, 2025
Q&A With Brad Rhoads: Transforming Marriages Through Grace
Brian Bolton, senior pastor of Center Point Christian Church in Lexington, KY, interviews Brad Rhoads, cofounder of Grace Marraige.
December 31, 2024
A Wheel of Emotions: Finding Balance for Lasting Growth
Emotions are a natural part of marriage for both spouses. True growth and stability in marriage come from recognizing that each emotion has its place.
October 31, 2024
Navigating the Journey Toward Love and Respect
Marriage is often described as a journey; a journey two people embark on together, hoping to build a life filled with love, joy, and mutual fulfillment. One way to enhance the journey is to get to know one another well.
May 1, 2024
Mustard Seed Marriages
Every marriage begins as a mustard seed—a small, yet potent commitment between two souls. . . .
March 1, 2024
Marriage Happens Every Day!
The Significance of Happenings Leading to Happiness
January 1, 2024
The Practice and Art of Surprise: Marriage Practitioners
By Rudy Hagood My wife, the unbelievably beautiful Osharye, recently shared an article titled, “We’re Talking About (Marriage) Practice.” In it, she reminded us of the cultural phenomenon from 2002 when basketball star Allen Iverson famously said, “We’re talking about practice . . . not a game . . . we’re talking about practice.” (If you haven’t read it, you might enjoy doing so before reading this.) Osharye’s words got me to thinking about the areas of our marriages that are underdeveloped due to a lack of, well, practice. One area where we could become proficient is in the art
September 1, 2023
‘We’re Talking About (Marriage) Practice’
By Osharye Hagood Practice is a key principle to having a “winning” marriage. Back when we were learning to drive a car, or playing on a sports team, or perhaps learning to dance, we underwent the repetition of practice. This perspective has been extremely helpful for me in my marriage to Rudy. I wake up each day with the desire to have a great marriage, and I understand this can only happen over time, with practice, by the power of God. Please hear me when I say, the gift of love does not equate to a world-championship marriage. It takes practice.
May 1, 2023
Unity: God’s Beautiful Original Intent for Marriage
By Rudy Hagood God desires so much more for our marriages than just staying together. God’s original intent for marriage is found way back in Genesis—before sin came into the world, and well before “honey-do” lists and such sayings as “happy wife, happy life.” The secret sauce of Christian marital union is the power of God binding us together in an intimate union that includes Yahweh. And when two become one, the One (God) empowers the two. Marital unity is restoration of the paradise God created in the beginning. It’s part of the reconciling work of God. It is the
March 1, 2023
Good + Grace = Great (Marriages)
By Rudy and Osharye Hagood There is something wonderful about a perfect gift. When God created vegetation, day and night, wild animals, crawling things, he declared each of those things to be “good.” Yet God outdid himself when he gave us a spouse. God even got an “amen” from Adam, who said, “Now this is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh” (Genesis 2:23). In his own image, male and female, God created them, giving them dominion (care and management of, concern for, and rule over the earth), and God declared it “very good.” Husbands and wives are
January 1, 2023
Marriage Beings and Humans Being
By Osharye Hagood When it comes to marriage, the truth is we are humans being. (Yes, you read that correctly.) And when we get married, we become “marriage beings.” While our marriages are intended to be divine expressions of God’s perfect love, and while we may at times feel the goosebumps of love and the perfection of our loving commitment—please hear me—all marriages are unions between human beings, and all humans sin. So, our mistakes and missteps should be seen as, well, expected. Blunders are as natural as breathing, and errors are as common as ears. Why? Because we are
November 1, 2022
God’s Love Language in Our Unions
By Rudy Hagood Have you ever considered how unthinkable it is that we have intimacy with the Spirit of God within our marital unions? The prophet Malachi asked this simple rhetorical question: “Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union?” (Malachi 2:15, English Standard Version). Your marriage is not simply between two people, but three, since it includes the third person of the godhead. For this reason, I want to talk about the health of our marriages by talking about how we engage God. Since our marital unions consist of three people, knowing
September 1, 2022
Your Spouse Is Not the Main Thing
By Rudy Hagood I can hear it like I’m still sitting in her living room. My mother-in-law, Mama D., was saying, “Keep the main thang, the main thang!” Proverbs 18:22 says, “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord” (English Standard Version). Well, bless the name of the Lord and let the church say Amen! Yet, a word of caution for both husbands and wives: Your spouse is not the main thang! Yes, we should be “very married.” Yes, the best gift we can give our kids is a great marriage. And yes,
July 1, 2022
Very Married: The Gift to the Divine Gift
By Rudy Hagood (with Osharye Hagood) Long before Jeff Bezos launched Amazon, God was sending precious gift packages from heaven all over the globe. God delivers sparks of life we call children. Kids are “divine gifts” of the breath of life delivered to the living. Psalm 127:3 says, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward” (English Standard Version). Wow, what an unthinkable gift! In my gratitude, I want to be a blessing to God, the gift-giver, while also striving to give the best gift I possibly can to my kids. Yet, what
May 25, 2022
Lessons I Learned from Louise
After 55 years of marriage, pastor Andy Pryor reflects on what his late wife Louise taught him about life, ministry, and faithfulness.
May 1, 2022
A Caseload of One: Cracking the Case
By Osharye Hagood In the January/February issue, Rudy told husbands about the importance of their wives. He wrote, “For, after Christ, she is your life’s work. She is God’s holy daughter entrusted to you in like manner as the church has been entrusted to Christ. Don’t exegete the text and forget to study your wife.” As a wife, I don’t believe anything is more important than being loved and understood, especially when it comes through the intentionality of investigation. Co-investigate Merriam-Webster defines investigation as “a systematic search for the truth or facts about something.” Have you ever heard someone say,
March 1, 2022
Authentic Marriage: The Relationship Between Intimacy and Conflict
Our definition of marital authenticity is “the pursuit of marriage as it existed before the fall while also acknowledging that we, as individuals, are flawed and fallen.” We live in a culture that models and promotes inauthentic relationships. The inability to be authentic causes many marriage issues and creates anemic intimacy in our unions. As a result, issues fester and eventually explode. We believe deep relationship comes from learning to navigate conflict and tension. Compliments matter as much as conflict, but in this article we will focus on the correlation between intimacy and conflict. When a couple leaves intimacy and
January 1, 2022
A Caseload of One: Keep Seeking to Know Her
When I was being trained as a minister, one of the primary points of emphasis was expositional preaching. I remember the concept “context is king” being drilled into my head like it was yesterday. It went a little like this: “Rudy, we must know what it meant to them to know how it applies to us today. Rudy, what’s the historical distance? Exegete the text, Rudy! Think exegetically, Rudy! Preach expositional sermons, Rudy!” OK, OK, OK, I got it. When it comes to our marriages, however, we are not taught to seek to understand our spouses to the same degree.
