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WATCH: Sisters Sing Bone-Chilling Easter Rendition of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’

The young sisters from Fort Frances, Ontario sing an Easter rendition of Leonard Cohen's famous "Hallelujah," that is so beautiful, it'll bring tears to your eyes.

What Is Maundy Thursday?—How to Celebrate During Holy Week

As we celebrate Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter, you may start to wonder, what is Maundy Thursday? Three days before Easter, we come to Maundy Thursday. "Maundy" comes from the Latin word "mandatum," meaning command, order, or commission.

Abby & Brittany: Conjoined Twin Abby Hensel is Married!

They’re the most famous conjoined twins in the world, and now Abby Hensel, of the duo Abby and Brittany, is now married! 

Why I Felt Relieved When My Husband Lost His Job

Recently a family member I respect very much asked me a question I didn’t expect.

He said, “do you think your marriage is strong enough for you to be the primary breadwinner now?”

I laughed. I got it, though. It was a big change, after all. Since my firstborn was six months old I had been working part-time. In fact, for the past year and a half, I hadn’t worked more than a day a week. So for roughly six years or more I hadn’t worked a full-time job. Well, actually I had. Being a stay-at-home mom is definitely a full-time job. Overtime even. What I meant was I had not worked full-time outside of the home since I realized that motherhood was my calling in life. I loved being home with my babies! But sometimes often times motherhood means providing for your babies.

My husband has been holding the role of provider very well for many years now, and for the past few he had owned his own business in the way of a local, small restaurant. When he first was afforded the opportunity to switch from head cook to owner I was ecstatic. In retrospect, I know I probably wanted him to own the store more than he did. I often feel guilt over that. I wanted to have a husband who owned a restaurant, not just one who cooked there. I’m ashamed to admit that, but it’s true. The problem was I didn’t realize the toll it would take on him.

It started out well enough, but fairly quickly I saw the stress he was under. He ran a popular business, but even a popular business in a small town struggles. I watched stores in our rural town go out of business all the time and I could see why. Customers are fickle, and times are hard for everyone. The string of business wasn’t always what it needed to be. I watched my spouse take out numerous small business loans over the years to keep things afloat when business was slow, and many, many times I watched him work 60 hour weeks and not bring home a dime to our family. He’d pay his workers but not himself. I know that my Rodan + Field’s business kept us going, but much more it was the Lord providing when he didn’t pay himself a salary.

It’s not that I wish to air our laundry for all the world to see, but it becomes important in where we now stand to share how hard he tried to make things work. I am proud of him. He felt like he was failing us and failing his employees. He held on for that reason much longer than he should have. In the end, we were losing money, going in the hole, and he had to close the doors. Even when he finally did we still found ourselves in multiple debts to the business that couldn’t even feed our family. My breadwinning, hardworking husband found himself without a job. You might wonder how I felt about that?

Brie Gowen
Brie Gowenhttp://briegowen.com/
Brie Gowen is a 30-something (sliding ever closer to 40-something) wife and mother. When she’s not loving on her hubby, chasing after the toddler or playing princess with her four-year-old, she enjoys cooking, reading and writing down her thoughts to share with others. Brie is also a huge lover of Jesus. She finds immense joy in the peace a relationship with her Savior provides, and she might just tell you about it sometime. She’d love for you to check out her blog at BrieGowen.com.

WATCH: Sisters Sing Bone-Chilling Easter Rendition of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’

The young sisters from Fort Frances, Ontario sing an Easter rendition of Leonard Cohen's famous "Hallelujah," that is so beautiful, it'll bring tears to your eyes.

What Is Maundy Thursday?—How to Celebrate During Holy Week

As we celebrate Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter, you may start to wonder, what is Maundy Thursday? Three days before Easter, we come to Maundy Thursday. "Maundy" comes from the Latin word "mandatum," meaning command, order, or commission.

Abby & Brittany: Conjoined Twin Abby Hensel is Married!

They’re the most famous conjoined twins in the world, and now Abby Hensel, of the duo Abby and Brittany, is now married!