October 14, 2022

Best Friends

“We will be friends until forever, just you wait and see.” – Winnie the Pooh I did not marry my best friend. Did you? For many of my couples, yes. They happily say they are marrying their best friend. I love that. I think it is likely more common to…

September 15, 2022

Everything is hard, so now what?

A week or so ago I shared my current mantra: “everything is hard.” I know it maybe isn’t the best mantra. On the other hand, there is power in truth (imagine that!) So, perhaps it’s not the most sunshiney statement, but we all know that the perpetual…

January 21, 2022

White Cup, Silver Cup

I have spent the past few weeks laser-focused on rituals – what they are, why we have them, the whole nine yards. Why? Well, I am teaching a workshop on “non-churchy” rituals for colleagues at Phillips Seminary in Tulsa next week, and I sure want…

October 7, 2021

A Tale of Two Ways

When I was in high school, we had to read “A Tale of Two Cities.” Upon completing the book, I was angry. I mean really, really mad. I’d just spent a week reading an entire book only to have **spoiler alert** the hero die at the end. In fact, I was so upset,…

February 12, 2021

Valentine’s Day as a Diving Board

OK, so there are two camps on V-Day . . . the one willing, and even happy to overspend on restaurants, make excuses for all of the extra chocolate (since it’s covering fruit), and pay for proposals in skywriting. Then there is Camp Cynic. The camp…

Marriage Guarantee Sticker
March 28, 2019

The Guaranteed Marriage

“How do we guarantee that our marriage will be ok?” It’s a question often asked of Central Ceremonies, and the answer isn’t exactly what you want to hear.  There isn’t a guarantee. There is no such thing. In…