Welcome to Inspired Marriage! We’re Chris & Sandy Benton, and as of October 5, 2024, we’ve been married for 22 amazing years. We’re honored to have you here, as this ministry is an extension of the journey God has led us through—a story of redemption, resilience, and unwavering faith.
Our story is one of both joy and hardship. The first five years of our marriage were marked by my (Chris’s) struggle with addiction, a battle that began at 17 and lasted for 19 years. By the end of 2007, I felt God telling me it was now or never; I could no longer risk bringing the baggage of my past into this marriage. On December 26, 2007, I cried out to Him, acknowledging I couldn’t break free without His help. Miraculously, from that moment, my desire for substances was completely taken away, and I haven’t looked back. While I know many others face a lifelong fight with addiction, I feel an overwhelming gratitude for this gift—and I believe it’s given to us so that we might share our journey.
Sandy stood by me, shouldering the difficult early years of our marriage, never giving up on us. We’ll dive deeper into our experiences in our upcoming book, Inspired Marriage, but for now, know that our hope is to be a source of encouragement for other couples facing their own struggles.
How We Met
In early 2001, I was going through a rough time and had a passion for sharing inspiration, so I created Inspiration 4 Everyone, a site that started with just a few pages of motivational quotes. But as people visited, the site grew beyond what I’d imagined. By September 2001, I found myself on a Christian singles website, testing it out on a free trial. After the trial, I negotiated a free membership in exchange for promoting their site on mine.
On February 2, 2002, I was on that site and came across Sandy’s profile. I usually only messaged profiles with photos, but she didn’t have one—and yet, I felt prompted to reach out. She was about to log off when my message came through! Two days later, we talked on the phone, and by February 18, we’d set a wedding date for October 5, 2002—before even meeting in person. On March 4, 2002, we met, and on October 5, we became husband and wife.
In so many ways, our journey has been fueled by faith and the unexpected, and today, we are parents to a wonderful 12-year-old son and a spunky 5-year-old daughter.
Thank you for being here with us. We pray that our story will encourage you to live a marriage inspired by love, purpose, and passion.
Living an Inspired Marriage,
Chris & Sandy Benton