GPS to a Joyful Marriage

Often times, when I have no clue what to write on my weekly blog, I search through my notes and papers to find a great Bible verse that particularly touched me or a saying I may have heard from another source.  God always leads me to just the right one.  As I frantically searched for this week’s topic, uninspired by my own thoughts, I came upon a lone piece of paper with these words scratched on it. “Church is supposed to be a transformational tool to grow closer to the Father – not a substitute.” Hmmm.  How true, how true.  But how many regard their relationship with God to be their time spent at church? We are subtly led to believe that we should be at church as much as possible throughout the week for whatever class, service, or activity that is presented. (Not a bad thing, by any means.)  Too many people hold their time in church, though, as their standard of Christianity, their justification for being called a follower of Christ.  They are mor...

An idol is anything you have to check with before you say yes to God. ~ Kris Valotton The bottom line, when it comes to busyness, is what takes priority in our lives.  Is it the “things” that we are doing, or is it a relationship with God?  And then should come our relationship with our spouse followed by our children.  Any activity that gets in the way of those relationships is too much – too much busyness. James 4:4– “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?  Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” This verse very clearly tells us how God feels about friendship with the world.  How friendly are you with the world?  Is it keeping you so busy that you’re missing God’s plan for you?  Do you follow worldly advice over Godly advice?  That’s why God considers friendship with the world hatred towards Him. Hatred towards God and becoming an enemy of Go...

If we, especially as women, only listened to our feelings, we would be in and out of relationships, in and out of jobs, and disown our children one day, only to welcome them with reckless abandon the next.  Maybe this does not include ALL women, but most of them I’ve known would tend to agree with my perception.  We women are usually running on emotional roller coasters powered by our female hormones.  I KNOW that we try very hard to be children of God, led by His grace, and striving to live prayerfully ABOVE the worldly “pull” we deal with every day.  But let’s be honest here and face the facts – we are only human and we have these hormones that wreak havoc on our bodies and our minds. We are not 100% successful all the time in our holy walk. I would like to think that I spend a lot of time with God, attempt to live completely according to His will, and try my best to turn over every area of my life to Him that is not totally right with Him, yet, I STI...

Marriage - a union God intended for man and woman because He said it was not good for man to be alone.  Therefore, He created a suitable helpmate. How we have corrupted the original intention God had for marriage in the Bible.  We’ve come to believe that marriage should be this fairy-tale, problem-free, continuous romance with the person who makes our heart flutter.  (Hollywood has brainwashed us.) I think a major problem is that most of us try to pretend we have that kind of a marriage and resist sharing the true struggles and rewards with others.  I'm talking about Christians here.  Many non-Christians have no problem bad-mouthing their spouses to anyone who will listen.  This attitude ultimately leads to the death of a marriage.  (Okay, I have seen Christian couples behave like this, so we're not immune.) In a healthy marriage, a couple will seek Godly advice or help without condemning their spouse. I look at people who go to church.  W...

A few weeks ago, I wrote about hearing those precious words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” For the record, I highly admire those people who boldly walk into a mall or a crowded street and easily approach strangers to ask where they stand with Christ.  I merely stated in my article that I didn’t believe everyone had that gifting or calling.  Some of us reach out to unbelievers in different ways, preparing their hearts to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. I took an evangelist training course a number of years ago, and they actually took us to a mall to witness to people.  The head of my group was amazing.  He had great passion for the lost and didn’t hesitate to stop everyone that passed him.  A pastor I worked for in Australia was the same way.  That was his mission in life, to reach out to the lost.  He didn’t want to waste any time doing it, so he talked to everyone he met about Jesus. That same pastor recently sent me the following...

I hope you all had a blessed Easter weekend.  I did watch “Jesus of Nazareth” which is an excellent portrayal of the life of Jesus - my favorite.  It came out as a mini-series in the 70’s and always aired on Easter weekend.  I haven’t seen it shown in awhile, but fortunately, I bought a video tape version a few years ago for my mother that we watched. Robert Powell plays the part of Jesus and he is phenomenal.  Apparently, when that series was filmed, many stars wanted to be a part of it and fought for roles. Numerous great actors from the 70’s appear in this production.  I wonder how many Hollywood celebrities would actively fight for a movie about Jesus in these days? I’ve always loved Easter and Christmas, my two favorite holidays.  I’m finding, as I get older, the joy is becoming overwhelmed by all the commercialism.  No longer quite the religious holidays, both Easter and Christmas are now a day that merchants capitalize on and people look for...