Marriage and Family Cup
Join us in a transformative experience that will bring strength and joy to your relationship.
Strengthen Your Marriage in 14 Days
A 14-day devotional created to help couples grow closer, deepen connection, and restore intimacy through God’s Word.
OUR MISSION FOR COUPLES
The Marriage and Family Cup is a Marriage Ministry committed to helping couples rethink, reconnect, and restore their relationships. Our vision is rooted in biblical principles.
Dr. Dinah Akridge
Founder of the Marriage Cup
Dr. Dinah Akridge is an educator, author, ordained exhorter, marriage consultant, and founder of The Marriage Cup, a Christ-centered ministry devoted to strengthening marriages through biblical teaching, covenant understanding, and intentional relational growth.
With a lifelong foundation in church ministry and advanced academic training in education and religious studies, Dr. Akridge’s work bridges theological insight, educational structure, and practical application for couples seeking deeper connection and spiritual maturity.
Her approach is thoughtful, structured, and Scripture-centered, helping couples understand not only what the Bible says about marriage but also how to live it daily.
Academic and Professional Background
Dr. Akridge holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from Carthage College, a Master of Education from Concordia University in Portland, Oregon, and a Doctorate of Education from Concordia University in Mequon, Wisconsin. Her academic training reflects a disciplined commitment to understanding people across backgrounds, faith traditions, and educational contexts in order to communicate truth with clarity, structure, and theological integrity.
In addition to her ministry leadership, she serves as a Training Analyst for the federal government, where she designs and develops structured educational programs, policy-based training, and compliance frameworks.
This role requires analytical precision, curriculum development expertise, and the ability to translate complex systems into accessible instruction.
She is also a certified etiquette consultant, educational consultant, and marriage consultant, bringing intentional structure, order, and relational intelligence to both ministry and professional environments.
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Ministry Journey
Raised in the church, Dr. Akridge began serving in ministry at a young age through choir participation and later youth choir leadership. Her love for worship and teaching continued into adulthood through prison ministry, inspirational gatherings, and church leadership support.
In 2015, she and her husband entered active ministry leadership in Knoxville, Maryland. After relocating to West Virginia, they continued serving their local church and later devoted two years to nursing home ministry.
In 2024, she was ordained as an exhorter by the Church of God.
In 2025, she and her husband launched The Marriage Cup in Martinsburg, West Virginia, with a mission to restore biblical foundations for marriage and family.
Dr. Akridge is a published author and award-winning poet whose writing reflects her passion for covenant, character, and Christ-centered love. Her works include:
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Down and Out in Halfville, a children’s book centered on moral development and responsibility
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And My Heart Will Praise Him While I Live, a 365-day devotional
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Walking Through the Song of Songs, a 14-day devotional for married couples
She is also a songwriter, having written original songs including I Trust You Lord, Praise Ye the Lord, and My Beloved (A Letter for the Bride).
Additionally, she has a podcast, Godly Notes with Dr. Lizzie, which offers devotional reflections that encourage spiritual depth, relational growth, and courageous faith.
Dr. Akridge is also the founder of Distinguished Women Ministries, which focuses on restoring biblical etiquette, Titus 2 mentorship, and cultivating excellence in womanhood and marriage.
Marriage is not sustained by information alone. It is sustained by formation.
In a culture that often redefines commitment, minimizes covenant, and normalizes disconnection, biblical marriage requires intentional understanding, spiritual maturity, and disciplined love.
The Marriage Cup was created from a deep conviction that marriages deserve more than survival. They deserve structure, biblical guidance, wisdom, and seasons of renewal.
As a wife, mother, educator, and ministry leader, Dr. Akridge understands that marriages move through seasons of growth, stretching, joy, and refinement. Her work is not rooted in theory alone, but in lived experience, prayerful study, and years of observing how relationships strengthen or fracture.
The Marriage Cup exists to help couples:
• Recognize their current season
• Communicate with clarity and grace
• Rebuild covenant foundations
• Strengthen spiritual unity
• Walk forward with intentional love
The goal is not perfection, but that of covenant faithfulness, lived daily, strengthened intentionally, and rooted in Christ.