Welcome to the CMBA Newsletter!

Are you taking time to celebrate your marriage? When we are in marriage ministry, it is especially important to nurture our own marriages. What are you doing to grow? How do you and your spouse spend time with each other. Are you making sure to have fun together?
In this issue of our monthly newsletter, you will find more information about our October CMBA Blog Challenge, a list of writing ideas for your marriage blog, and an opportunity to work with a non-profit organization that supports healthy marriages in Iowa.
New Members
The following blogs joined CMBA since our last issue. Please visit their sites and share an encouraging word.
Amanda Davison – Amanda Davison
The Blog of a Forgiven Cheater – Anonymous
Blog Thoughts of Pastor Dave Barringer – Dave Barringer
The reBranded Life – Alex Colón
Please check your listing on the member’s page to make sure that it is accurate and up to date. If it needs to be changed, send an email to Chris at chris@forgivenwife.com.
October Blog Challenge!
The blog challenge this fall is to write a post related to the picture below during the month of October.

The rules are:
- Your post should relate to the image above.
- You must give credit to Kate Aldrich Photography, along with a link to her site: http://katealdrichphotography.blogspot.com/. Kate and her husband Brad blog at One Flesh Marriage.
- When you’ve published your post, add a link in the comments on this newsletter. Participants will be entered into a drawing to win a marriage, writing, or blogging resource from The Marriage Bed. Meanwhile, be sure to visit the other posts and leave a comment!
If you’d like to add a button to let your readers know that you participated in CMBA blog challenge, you can use this picture:
How Do I . . . ?
A Month of Marriage Blogging Ideas
By Chris Taylor, The Forgiven Wife
Sometimes it seems that half the battle of blogging is just coming up with a topic to write about. When you’re stuck, do a search for “blog writing prompts,” and you’ll hit the jackpot. Much of what you find can be adapted for writing about marriage.
To make it easier on you, here is one month’s worth of daily blog post ideas.
- A food that reminds you of your marriage
- Write a love poem for your spouse
- Write a post inspired by one of these words: love, faith, hope, freedom
- Your favorite spouse in the bible
- Your first argument
- Your first date
- A list of helpful marriage resources
- A time you encouraged your spouse
- A time you stood together as a team
- A time you were encouraged by your spouse
- Setting and keeping marriage goals
- Something you’ve observed in someone else’s marriage
- Something you’ve seen a couple get right in their marriage
- Supporting your spouse’s growth
- Apply a bible verse to marriage
- Dealing with temptation in your marriage
- How marriage is like a ____ (tree, truck, mailbox, fork, lamp, highway, etc.)
- How to recharge with your spouse
- How you and your spouse met
- Interview with a newly married couple
- 3 steps to take when you encounter ___ in your marriage (jealousy, breach of trust, infidelity, refusal to be intimate)
- 3 things you can do to make ____ better (sex, prayers, dates, parenting, mornings, etc.)
- 5 ways you can apologize to your spouse
- 6 ways you can serve others in your marriage
- Interview with a seasoned married couple
- One thing you regret that you’ve done in your marriage
- Review of a marriage book
- The best gift you gave your spouse
- The best gift your spouse gave you
- What I would tell my married-seven-years self about marriage at 25 years
- Working on yourself as a spouse
Social Media
Are you on social media? Follow CMBA!
- Pinterest (If you would like to be added to CMBA’s collaborative Christian Marriage and Sex board, email Bonny at pearlmail3@gmail.com.)
Looking for Work in Iowa?
major healthy marriage and relationship education federal grant that serves
Des Moines (central), eastern, and southeastern Iowa. All this can be seen better at our website: www.healthyrelationshipsiowa.org.
(501(c)(3), but our project has been branded as: Healthy Relationships Iowa (HRI).
communities with evidence-based curricula, i.e. Prepare/Enrich Group Program
(5 couples) featuring its internationally-acclaimed Couples Assessment (for dating,
engaged and married couples) and “How to Avoid Falling for a Jerk(ette)” for single
and single-again individuals, plus mature high school students. This curriculum
was developed by Pastor/Dr. John Van Epp.
My CMBA challenge post is here.
http://www.the-generous-wife.com/2016/10/05/wheres-your-marriage-umbrella/
Love it, Lori! We had a similar take on the photo. I loved this challenge.
Debi
My CMBA challenge post is up and available to read and comment.
https://theromanticvineyard.com/2016/10/10/dissecting-the-romantic-umbrella/
My post is up: http://forgivenwife.com/red-umbrella/
Our CMBA Challenge post is up: https://awaken-love.net/2016/10/27/sensuous-shadows/
Thanks for the fun challenge!
http://www.oysterbed7.com/set-backs-arent-stop-signs/
I enjoyed the motivation and the beautiful photograph! Thanks, Kate and Chris!!
My take is a little different.
http://www.surrenderedmarriage.org/2016/10/pda-how-much-is-too-much.html
Scott recently posted…PDA: How Much is Too Much?
I faield to list mine when it went up:
Is Your Intimate Life Properly Covered? – http://www.the-generous-husband.com/2016/10/19/is-your-intimate-life-properly-covered/