Journey to Surrender

I’m long overdue in bringing to your attention another great marriage blog that I’ve been reading almost since I started blogging. I am speaking of Tom and Debi Walters and their blog The Romantic Vineyard, a “Top Ten 2010 Marriage Blog.”

Jenni and I were blessed to share dinner with Tom and Debi last night. They are in the Atlanta area doing grandparent duty to provide for a getaway opportunity for their daughter and son-in-law. Sadly, we were so busy sharing our stories and hearts that we neglected to capture the event with a photo, so I can only share the photo from their website.

Tom and Debi share a common devotion to encouraging and building marriages from a biblical perspective. Even though Jenni and I haven’t yet hit the completely empty nest or grandparent stage yet, it’s great to observe another couple past the 30 year mark (which we will hit next summer) who still obviously love and care for each other deeply.

I often find myself reading the stuff at The Romantic Vineyard and silently nodding to myself, “They really get it!” Besides being kindred spirits in the Christian marriage blog space, what I find so delightful about The Romantic Vineyard is the sense of absolute genuineness in what they write. They freely share their both their triumphs and foibles, but always in a way that points to truth and hope.

In addition they also provide some great practical help through a few of their regular features. Regular “Happy Hour”  posts point us to other notable marriage blogs, including some Journey to Surrender posts. They often include great romantic and creative date ideas, both some specific “Mark Your Calendar” events in their native Orlando area and many that are more generally applicable. Their “Water into Wine”  series offers insights from the book of Proverbs. There are a bunch of tabs to different vineyard-themed resources on the website too, such as "The Tasting Room," which links to a bunch of marriage related books.  There are also separate tabs for husbands and wives full of great tips. 

I've added The Romantic Vineyard to my blog roll, so you can follow what Debi and Tom are posting about from here, but you’ll definitely want to bookmark, subscribe by email or put The Romantic Vineyard in your RSS feed. You can follow them on twitter at @TheRomanticVine and check out their Facebook page

Thanks to Tom and Debi for a wonderful night of fellowship and food, and, of course, wine.