GPS to a Joyful Marriage

Do you ever wonder if God is listening to you?  We all go through stages where we feel as though He is nowhere near us.  We wonder if He hears us as we pray our long list of requests to Him.  We easily get frustrated when our prayers go unanswered and time slips by.  Is He really there for us? But let me ask you, are you listening to Him?  John 10: 27-28 says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” - as spoken by Jesus. Many of us forget that our relationship with God is a two-way relationship.  Yes, He will answer our prayers, but He wants to know us, and He also expects us to follow His plan for our lives.  We can’t do that unless we spend quiet time listening for His voice. Think about your relationship with your children.  When they listen to you, behave accordingly and do what you ask, you are ready to ...

I drove to Atlanta last week for a speaking engagement.  I do not like driving on Interstates, but the back roads would have added at least an hour to my trip, and I just wanted to get there.  I dislike Interstates because I become a different person behind the wheel.  I start out with every intention of going the speed limit and staying in the far right lane.  That way I can relax and have a peaceful drive.  And then I have to pass someone. That’s when my alter ego takes over.  Suddenly, passing only one car is not enough.  Driving becomes a competition, and I have to get ahead of everyone.  I become Speed Racer.  I push my speed to the limit as I weave in and out of the passing lanes to get in front.  There is no relaxing when I drive this way. As I fought through traffic in Atlanta, I realized how tense I felt.  It reminded me of my life, a number of years ago, when I was always on the go, staying busy every moment and r...

Do you ever feel inadequate in the amount of faith you have?  Do you often compare yourself to other Christians and wonder why their faith seems more concrete than your own?  We all have moments, even seasons, that we wonder where our faith went. What exactly is faith?  Hebrews 11: 1 tells us,  “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” One definition of faith in my computer dictionary says: 1.  Belief or trust: belief in, devotion to, or trust in somebody or something, especially without logical proof   Without logical proof .  That is often the stumbling block that gets in the way of our faith in God -- a stumbling block that the old devil will use to initiate doubt.  It is very difficult to keep a strong faith when we live in a world of instant gratification.  The fruit of our faith is not always revealed in the time frame we would like.  We want to see results…yesterday. The devil pla...

In looking back at various trials in my life, it always amazes me at my lack of faith at certain times.  I know that I know that I know that God is real.  He has shown up many times in my life and changed it dramatically when I finally decided to turn to Him.  But yet, those moments occur that I’m overwhelmed by the world.  This is a part of our humanness that we all have to contend with at one time or another. Consider the Israelites when they left Egypt with Moses (Exodus 14).  They had been through some tremendous trials as slaves of Pharaoh. Before their departure, God had sent ten plagues upon Egypt that destroyed crops, livestock and the firstborn of every Egyptian family.  The Israelites were immune to the plagues; God protected them.  That should have been a huge boost in the faith of the Israelites. They leave Egypt, finally, after some intense negotiation, with the Lord leading them as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by...

So you would like to find some hope for your marriage even when you see no possible solutions.  Hang in there – there is always hope. Do you know that our thoughts are the beginning of our destiny, the birth or death of our hope?  That’s where it all starts. “Watch your thoughts, they become words; watch your words, they become actions; watch your actions, they become habits; watch your habits, they become character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”   - Author unknown The bible tells us to “ take your thoughts captive. ”   Contrary to what the world would have us think, we can have control of our thoughts.  Divorce all starts in someone’s mind, in their thinking.  It’s what you do with those thoughts that determine what will happen to your marriage.  If you take the negative thoughts and refuse to act on them, refuse to allow them to dominate your thinking, you can change the destructive path your marriage m...

Our thoughts are the center of our being. They ultimately determine the path we will take in our lives. They determine our success in work, family, and relationships. They can also affect our emotional and physical health. Taking our thoughts captive is a difficult process we must learn in order to live a peaceful life in obedience to Christ. We only need to read the newspaper, the Internet, or turn on the television to see the effect of wrong thinking. Sometimes, wrong thinking may seem right to us. For example, maybe your family taught you to speak your mind, or they may have taught you to hold everything inside. Either way could be so engraved into your thinking that you believe it is right. It isn’t until you face a crisis that you realize there may be a better way. We humans tend to resist making change until we reach a critical pain level caused by the behavior in need of change. As my husband always says, sometimes we need to be hit over the head with a two-by-four...

I don’t know about you, but sometimes, my thoughts can be my own worst enemy.  They take me places I shouldn’t go.  They hold on to offense and magnify it to consuming hurt.  They mislead my desires to worldly paths that take me nowhere.  They muffle the words that God intends for me to hear. Women usually struggle more with quieting their thoughts than men do.  One thought leads to another and then another and then another.  Men seem to be able to take an undesirable thought and lock it in a room until they are ready to deal with it.  In my quiet time this past week, one of the devotionals spoke distinctly to me. July 9, 2014 – Jesus Calling” “Stop worrying long enough to hear My voice.  I speak softly to you, in the depths of your being.  Your mind shuttles back and forth, hither and yon, weaving webs of anxious confusion.  As My thoughts rise up within you, they become entangled in those sticky webs of worry.  Thus...