~~~ SO TOOTSIE ~~~

My husband and I have loads of experience with long distance love. We have been hundreds of miles apart on the same continent, as well as being on two completely different continents for months at a time. It is not easy but we are survivors. Below are some tips that we follow that help us keep our love intact. Hopefully they will work for you too! Pray together over the phone and for each other throughout the day. Exchange pictures of each other via text or the web daily. Let him or her know how much you miss and love them daily. Keep positive thoughts: This is important because the mind, I believe, has a tendency towards making negative assumptions.

When is the right time to say I love you?  Before getting into that, I have to first tell you when not to say I love you? At the age of 18, I was single, sulking, and the prime host at my own pity party. It was a rainy Valentines' Day and I honestly just wanted to sleep the day away. I was invited on a double date with my cousin and a guy friend that she was not attracted to. This guy friend of hers was best friends with a guy that I knew had a crush on me. My cousin begged me to go because she did not want to spend Valentines' Day stuck in our dorm room. I only agreed to go on the date because I did not want her to go alone. What could possibly happen right?

Adultery is defined as having voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a person who is not his or her spouse. So I guess couples into swinging are technically committing adultery voluntarily; that will be another post.  I want to know what makes a person willing to take the risk of committing adultery?  Is it the rush they get from doing something forbidden? Are they justifying their actions because they feel emotionally deprived from their spouse? Or are they doing it because they have the opportunity? I am interested in your thoughts so let me know what you believe and why! Also be on the lookout for "And Then There was Adultery (2).

As I write, I am reflecting on my mother's comment to me when I asked her, "How do you know when you are in love?" She replied, "Baby you just know." I can count the number of boyfriends on one had that I had in my entire life, prior to my husband. I remember them all as just good friends. They were really nice, hard working and very entertaining but I never loved any of them enough to be labeled my husband. Just to be fair to them, I never truly opened myself up to them, I was always suspicious of their motives. This stemmed from my personal distorted view of what I thought a marriage was. I knew I had to modify my thinking and ultimately my reasoning, so I had a "come to Jesus" meeting with none other than,"me, myself and I". I begin to diligently search my bible, read inspirational books, as well as explore many forms of media and social networking sites.

I never thought that I would fall in love and I definitely never really thought about the possibility of marriage until I met my husband. I grew up in a family that was plagued with divorce and I never thought that marriage would be something that I would ever (...EVER....) consider. When I watch those wedding shows on TV there are always women who say,