The Rock Camp & Outreach Center

04/13/2026

It's only by understanding the weight of the gospel that we grasp the depths possible of love. This is why Christ must be the center of your marriage.

Love aside from Christ is elusive; its definition is subjective, self-gratifying, and soft. Christ's example of love is pure and steady, it never changes and it never will change. "...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

WHILE we were sinners. Note that it doesn't say, "even though we once sinned." This passage is all about Jesus, his love, and his sacrifice.

When we're called to love each other like Christ, we're called to love each other "while" we're still sinners. This is true love. This means we choose love even when we're offended. It means we choose love even when we don't feel it.

May you and your spouse keep Christ at the absolute center of your marriage; and by doing so, may you experience the depths and joys that come from loving and being loved like Christ himself loves.

Stay fierce,
Ryan & Selena Frederick

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12/11/2025

This may strike you as a radical statement—perhaps even as one that overreaches.

Let me explain. Note: the below can definitely apply to women as well!

As a man, a husband, and a father, I've experienced a consistent connection between how well I love my family and how submitted (consumed) I am to the love of God. The further I drift from an active, devoted relationship with my Creator, the further I drift from loving my wife with patience, understanding, compassion, and grace. The same is true for my relationship with our daughters.

In other words, if I'm not consistently disciplined to get into God's word, talk to him, remind myself of the gospel, and center my day, thoughts, and desires on him, I'm more likely to rely on my own strength to love my family well. The problem with that is that I'm actually a pretty weak person... I grow impatient and selfish quicker than I think I will. I need God's help—I need his grace.

Maybe you can relate: it's easy to have a great week with your relationship with God and then try to use that momentum to coast through the next week. But that's not how we're built to live.

One reason for this drift (when it happens, which thankfully is becoming less and less frequent) may be because I take the work and presence of the Holy Spirit for granted. It's amazing—yes, amazing!—how the Holy Spirit supernaturally enables us to love like Christ. It's otherworldly.

May God be our first and ultimate desire! May we constantly rely on his power to love our families with love and truth that are out of this world.

May God fuel our marriages and make them beacons of Christ's hope, joy, peace, and love for our families, our communities, and the far reaches of the world.

Stay fierce,
Ryan

10/27/2025

The purpose of parental correction is not to produce perfect kids. Even if we could do that, we would be unwise to try. The objective is to take the raw material with which our babies arrive on this earth, and gradually mold them into mature, responsible, and God-fearing adults. It is a 20-year process that will bring progress, setbacks, successes, and failures.

10/27/2025

Selfishness is the antithesis of love. Love says "how can I help and serve you" while selfishness says, "how can you help and serve me". But most real-life selfishness isn't that blatant. It's much more subtle.

I've been reading and thinking quite a bit lately about classical ethics and the philosophies of morality. What makes an action, attitude, or thought truly "good" or moral? (Bear with me.) This has led me to think much more critically about my motivations for how I love Selena. Am I showing her "love" most when I want something from her? Am I "thinking of her" only when I'm actually thinking of myself and seeking to gain something from the transaction. Do I "serve" her when it's really a subtle form of serving myself?

In all my studies of the great moral philosophers (Kant, Aristotle, and the like), it seems that they circle around and touch on a truth that is clear in Scripture: "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves." (Phil 2:3) In a sentence, Paul settled the morality debate. But how can we possibly have pure motives all the time?

There's only one answer: Jesus.

Later in the same passage, Paul talks about Jesus, who had every right to be served by us (you know, as the Son of God, a perfect man, and the King of Kings, etc), but instead, in love, he did the opposite: "he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." (Phil 2:8) That's love.

The only way we can possibly love our spouses with unselfish motives is by being transformed by the unselfish love of God in Christ. When we see him for who he truly is and we see ourselves for who we truly are, there is only one response: worship!! From that point on, every pure action, deed, and motive now has a source from which to flow. May your love for your wife or husband flow from the love you've experienced in Christ. May your marriage road be one of selflessness instead of selfishness. And may you find all you need in Christ himself!

Stay fierce,
Ryan

10/22/2025

10/21/2025

Welcome to Marriage Monday—a time to pause, reflect, and pray together for stronger, Christ-centered marriages.

Choosing Forgiveness Daily - Today's Marriage Prayer

Dear heavenly Father,
We thank You for the forgiveness we’ve received through Christ—complete, undeserved, and freely given. We ask that You help us to extend that same forgiveness to one another, not only in words but in the quiet decisions of the heart. Teach us to let go of resentment and to guard against bitterness that can so easily take root.

When we are hurt or misunderstood, may Your Spirit remind us of the cross—the place where mercy triumphed over justice and love covered our sin. Help us to remember that forgiveness is not a feeling but a choice, one that restores peace and reflects Your grace.

We ask that You give us strength to forgive quickly and fully, even when it’s difficult. Soften our hearts, Lord, and make us eager to reconcile. May our marriage bear witness to the healing power of grace—a love that endures, a mercy that renews, and a unity that only You can sustain.

Let forgiveness be the rhythm of our days and the banner over our home, so that Your love may reign in all we do.

In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Today’s Bible Verse
And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. — Mark 11:25, KJV

Looking for more marriage prayers? Visit us at https://marriageprayers.today for fresh encouragement every day.

10/15/2025

No, he doesn't want to eat his cereal. No, he doesn't want to play with his dump truck. No, he doesn't want to take his bath. And you can be sure, no, he doesn't want to go to bed. Toddlerhood is challenging, but it is also a wonderful time of life. It will last but a brief moment in time. Try to enjoy these years to the full!

10/09/2025

09/28/2025

08/04/2025

07/29/2025

Love and truth must go together. One cannot truly love without being lovingly truthful. But often, we act lovingly without fighting for truth or we fight for truth without being loving... both have damaging effects.

Love without truth is weak. It's shallow and ungrounded. Those who are most concerned with 'getting along' at all costs will sacrifice truth in the name of love. This looks like compromising on what you know to be true and usually results in enabling hurtful and/or sinful behavior.

Here's the thing: love without truth isn't actually love, but rather, it's a mixture of insecurity, selfishness, and fear. (Ouch.) We're not just called to be peacekeepers, we're called to be peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). Sometimes the most loving thing you can do for someone is to tell them the hard truth. The key is doing so in a LOVING way. Which, coincidentally, is the second part of the conversation.

When we're truthful, we MUST also be loving! This is especially true when having hard conversations or confrontations. Some will too-often sacrifice love on the altar of truth for all the wrong reasons. "Saying it how it is" is usually the excuse used to justify what is actually unloving, impatient, disingenuous, and unsympathetic communication. Jesus always told the truth—even when it was hard—but he did so in ways infused with love and compassion.

Let your love be strengthened by truth, and let your truth be tempered with love. Wield both truth and love together, and in doing so, get about the true work of actually loving each other well.

Stay fierce,
Ryan & Selena

06/16/2025