Secret to a Successful Marriage

 

 

October 13 Weekend

 

 Joy stands in the doorway to our little office and leaning on the doorframe she says, "I feel overwhelmed." I rise and take her by the hand saying, "You know where we go when we feel overwhelmed?"  We walk to the adjacent bedroom and kneel by the bed and pray.

Keeping God at the center of our marriage

and keeping Him our focus and making each other a priority has made for a lasting and loving relationship.

“Let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”(Ephesians 5:33)

"I Need Help Here"

 

 

October 12  

 

"Do we have a plan for this faucet?" Joy asks passing the bathroom sink.

I can't get the handle off to see what is wrong. I pray silently, " I need help here."

I open the valve under the sink for hot water to wash my hands. When I'm through, without thinking, I turn the regular faucet to shut the water off. It Works! I stand there staring at the faucet. I Slowly  turn the handle and the water comes out and then I turn it off again. It is working! How did it get fixed? It certainly isn’t anything I did, except pray.

"With men this is impossible but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26)

   

 

The Last Seinfeld Episode

    The Last Seinfeld Episode

   October 10

 

Although we had stopped watching, the hype lured us to watch the last Seinfeld episode.
It was surprisingly serious. Jerry and his friends are tried and convicted for their antics and not being sensitive to the needs of others. The characters, put in jail, don't get it.

What will the last episode of my life be like? I know I will be found guilty of being judgmental and insensitive to others. But my judge will be fair and forgiving. I’ll bet my life on that.

 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1John 1:9)

                

 

Tree Fort

 

October 6

 It was 8' x 8' with screened windows on three sides and a full size door. The fort could sleep four boys comfortably. No adults or girls allowed except by special invitation. It was a place to trade secrets and make plans. The former occupants of that tree fort are all grown now with homes of their own. The tree fort is gone too, only the supporting trees remain. Whatever was said there is at best a faint memory but it is not a secret.

"For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light." (Luke 8:17)

Worth Remembering

October 5

Received by E-Mail:

 "When the request isn’t right, God says no

When the time isn’t right, God says Slow

When we aren’t right, God says Grow

When everything is right. God says Go.”

 

 

"My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. (2 Cor 12:9)

Stand-in-the-Gap

 

October 4

A million men gather on the Mall in Washington D.C. on this day (1997) to humble themselves before their God.

We find a place to sit 500 yards from the main stage. It is 6:30 a.m.. The event starts at 1 p.m. It is a moving moment to see so many men from all over this nation arriving to Stand in the Gap. One speaker says, "Most assemblies on this mall demand rights. We are here to confess our wrongs." 

" If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land."

(2 Chronicles 7:14 NLT)

The Ultimate Question

 

 

October 3

 

 There is a powerful conversation between Martha and Jesus that puts it all right on the line. Martha says,  "Lord if you had been here my brother (Lazarus) would not have died. But even now I know whatever You ask of God, God will give you."

Jesus says, "Your brother will rise again."

Martha states: "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection in the last day.”

Jesus- "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me though he may die, he shall live.” Then Jesus asks the question we all eventually have to answer.

“Do you believe this?” (John 11:21-26)