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Posts Tagged ‘GOD’

The Atheist’s Dilemma

Posted in WONDER, tagged christianity today, Christians, existence, GOD, lee strobel, the atheist's dilemma, the case for christ, Truth on April 23, 2013| 1 Comment »

For the next week, I will be featuring guest posts, as I spend my regular ‘writing time’ preparing for a speaking engagement. If you feel led to pray for me in this regard, I would so appreciate it, and specifically that Pinterest does not pre-occupy my writing time 😉 … I am so weak!

God

This was an interesting read recently from Christianity Today. The story of an ardent atheist, who, like Lee Strobel (author of “The Case for Christ”) studied and investigated to prove her belief was true, until …

Click at the bottom of this snippet for, as Paul Harvey would say, the rest of the story …

“I don’t know when I first became a skeptic. It must have been around age 4, when my mother found me arguing with another child at a birthday party: “But how do you know what the Bible says is true?” By age 11, my atheism was so widely known in my middle school that a Christian boy threatened to come to my house and “shoot all the atheists.” My Christian friends in high school avoided talking to me about religion because they anticipated that I would tear down their poorly constructed arguments. And I did.

As I set off in 2008 to begin my freshman year studying government at Harvard (whose motto is Veritas, “Truth”), I could never have expected the change that awaited me.

It was a brisk November when I met John Joseph Porter. Our conversations initially revolved around conservative politics, but soon gravitated toward religion. He wrote an essay for the Ichthus, Harvard’s Christian journal, defending God’s existence. I critiqued it. On campus, we’d argue into the wee hours; when apart, we’d take our arguments to e-mail. Never before had I met a Christian who could respond to my most basic philosophical questions: How does one understand the Bible’s contradictions? Could an omnipotent God make a stone he could not lift? What about the Euthyphro dilemma: Is something good because God declared it so, or does God merely identify the good? To someone like me, with no Christian background, resorting to an answer like “It takes faith” could only be intellectual cowardice. Joseph didn’t do that.

The Cross no longer seemed a grotesque symbol of divine sadism, but a remarkable act of love. Christianity began to look less strangely mythical and more cosmically beautiful.

And he did something else: He prodded me on how inconsistent I was as an atheist who nonetheless believed in right and wrong as objective, universal categories. Defenseless, I decided to take a seminar on meta-ethics. After all, atheists had been developing ethical systems for 200-some years. In what I now see as providential, my atheist professor assigned a paper by C. S. Lewis that resolved the Euthyphro dilemma, declaring, “God is not merely good, but goodness; goodness is not merely divine, but God.””

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/march/atheists-dilemma.html

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Nothing to Give

Posted in WONDER, tagged Brian McConaghy, Cambodia, Exodus 3:11-12, GOD, Israelites, Moses, nothing, nothing to give, Pain, Ratanak International, sharing in the pain on April 4, 2013| Leave a Comment »

As I sat down to write this post, I was tempted to title it ‘nothing’ because that is what I felt I had to offer … nothing.

Nothing is a place of emptiness, overwhelming, and discouragement. It is a place that each of us finds ourselves in from time to time. It can be a sense or feeling of lack of energy, lack of desire, lack of ability … it is a lacking.

When I think of nothing, I think of Moses.

When God called Moses to be the tool in freeing the Israelite people, “Moses said to God, “I am nobody (the personification of nothing). How can I go to the king and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

Moses felt the task was far too overwhelming for someone like himself to accomplish. He did not feel that he had anything to give, to offer … that he had nothing to give.

Then “God answered, “I will be with you, and when you bring the people out of Egypt, you will worship me on this mountain. That will be the proof that I have sent you.” Exodus 3:11-12

Basically, I think God was pointing out the obvious to Moses … that this task was not one that God asked of him because Moses was the only way, but because Moses needed to learn to offer himself, no matter how small or how pathetic his offering was … his job was to offer, God would take that offering and multiply it, as only he could do.

That is all any of us is called to … to offer ourselves, our gifts, our hearts … the rest is in the hands of our God who knows the pain that is in the offering.

The following is a post by Brian McConaghy, Founding Director of Ratanak International (Ratanak), whose goal is “to help the Cambodian people rebuild their country and in so doing show them the love of Jesus Christ in a tangible way.” I love what this organization is striving to do, to honor our Creator and His creation … an impossible task, guided by a God of possibilities!

Being Broken
Phnom Penh, 2:45AM, I’m up and wide-awake with my mind racing. So many issues, so many problems, so much hurt in this country it is completely overwhelming. I am once again confronted that I just don’t have the resources to deal with this place. How on earth can anyone cope with being called to serve and love such a country?
It is easier to love Cambodia from afar. Being here the issues, the trauma, the brokenness is personal, up close and overwhelming. The magnitude and complexity of the task is so far beyond any skills I bring to the table.
I get up and kneel to pray for all that is before me – how can I possibly keep loving this place? Tears come quickly as I think on the 23 years of hard work through civil war, poverty and trauma, as I contemplate the magnitude of all that remains to be done. I see the faces of individual lives so in need of hope. Have we even made a dent? Shouldn’t we be farther along after so many years …of struggle? Shouldn’t at least some of the issues be solved?

In prayer my mind stops racing, calm returns as I once again confront the fact that this is not about me or my skills or even my expectations. I am called to serve this place and embedded in this process is the call to be broken for it even as Christ is broken for it. How could I possibly love Cambodia and not know grief? So re focusing on the tasks at hand I bring the issues before God and hand them to Him for it is His skill, His determination, His love for these people that is relevant not my pathetic offering. Yet in this context Christ reveals that He will do more than I could ask or imaging even with my pathetic efforts. Irrespective of how I feel, He counts my efforts as gold and honors even my frail attempts to serve. How I ‘feel’ about my service to Cambodia has absolutely no bearing, whatsoever, on the value God places on it. He is in the business of doing great things with our little. And so, as I re focus, there is a strange comfort in grieving for this place – a strange beauty in the thought that I may just be privileged to share in a tiny portion of the brokenness of Christ for Cambodia. The tears turn from those of grief and hopelessness to those of a strange joy – of being in the fight for this nation – of being counted a warrior by God while being but a child. What a privilege.

I should get back to bed for an hours sleep before getting up to tackle the challenges of a new day. But I’m calm once again, content in my brokenness for this place and resolved to keep going. For Cambodia is not my burden – it is Christ’s.
Brian.

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His Love Endures Forever!

Posted in WONDER, tagged Chris Tomlin, faithfulness, Forever, GOD, Hope, justice, love endures forever, Provision, Psalm 107 on March 27, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Recently I was reading Psalm 107, and as I heard those words of hope, of provision, of redemption, of God’s faithfulness, of the history of His people, and I felt something bubble up inside of me … joyful hope!

Maybe it is because as I read the first line, “give thanks to the Lord, for he is good” I started hearing the worship song, “Forever” written by Chris Tomlin, and it’s upbeat music simply set the mood for my scripture reading.

I love this Psalm! There is a constant thread through it that God is faithful to his people, that there is a desire on the part of God to care for those who love Him. There is also a thread of justice that weaves throughout this Psalm … something that sometimes seems so absent in our world today. It is a Psalm that reminds us that we have not because we have not yet cried out to him.

I believe that to read this Psalm is to read it, not a something written for another person, at another time …

… we need to read it as written for us as individuals, for us, and for now!

Give thanks to the Lord,

for he is good!

His love

endures

forever!

PSALM 107

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

²Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
³those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.

⁴Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
⁵They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
⁶Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
⁷He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.
⁸Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
⁹for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.

¹⁰Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,
prisoners suffering in iron chains,
¹¹because they rebelled against God’s commands
and despised the plans of the Most High.
¹²So he subjected them to bitter labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
¹³Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress
¹⁴He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
and broke away their chains.
¹⁵Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
¹⁶for he breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron.

¹⁷Some became fools through their rebellious ways
and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
¹⁸They loathed all food
and drew near the gates of death.
¹⁹Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
²⁰He sent out his word and healed them;
he rescued them from the grave.
²¹Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
²²Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of his works with songs of joy.

²³Some went out on the sea in ships;
they were merchants on the mighty waters.
²⁴They saw the works of the Lord,
his wonderful deeds in the deep.
²⁵For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
that lifted high the waves.
²⁶They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.
²⁷They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
they were at their wits’ end.
²⁸Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
²⁹He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea were hushed.
³⁰They were glad when it grew calm,
and he guided them to their desired haven.
³¹Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
³²Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.

³³He turned rivers into a desert,
flowing springs into thirsty ground,
³⁴and fruitful land into a salt waste,
because of the wickedness of those who lived there.
³⁵He turned the desert into pools of water
and the parched ground into flowing springs;
³⁶there he brought the hungry to live,
and they founded a city where they could settle.
³⁷They sowed fields and planted vineyards
that yielded a fruitful harvest;
³⁸he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,
and he did not let their herds diminish.

³⁹Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled
by oppression, calamity and sorrow;
⁴⁰he who pours contempt on nobles
made them wander in a trackless waste.
⁴¹But he lifted the needy out of their affliction
and increased their families like flocks.
⁴²The upright see and rejoice,
but all the wicked shut their mouths.

⁴³Let the one who is wise heed these things
and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.

The larger our platform becomes,
the more intentionally we have to focus on the heart of our calling:
to introduce people to God and to show them His glory.”
—Chris Tomlin

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Waiting

Posted in WONDER, tagged anger, bitterness, GOD, I deserve, John Waller, patience, pity party, Psalm 27:14, Purpose, to be pleased, Waiting, while I wait on February 26, 2013| 2 Comments »

images-1 I HATE waiting!

Convinced that at some point in my life I must have prayed for patience, and God is now ~~cursing~~ blessing me with regular experiences that will test my patience, I now avoid praying for patience, like the plague!

Within our family there are members who are natural tools in God’s hands to do this in my life. ‘Someone’ regularly makes me wait to leave for school/work in the mornings. ‘Someone’ else makes me wait to return borrowed money. ‘Someone’ else makes me wait to return text messages. And ‘someone’ else makes me wait … for everything!

UGH!

Just recently I thought I would explode if I had to wait much longer for something deeply desired, something I felt I deserved, and yet all indicators were that my only guarantee was that I would need to continue waiting, and that there was a good chance that what I was waiting for might not ever be mine in this life.

Anger and bitterness started to really pervade my thoughts.

“But, I deserve this”

“But, I have followed the rules”

“But, but, but …”

As I was having my pity party I kept hearing in my heart, “what is your purpose in life, Carole? To please Me, or to be pleased by others?”

UGH!

How do I respond with “well to be pleased, of course” to one who sacrificed His Son … for me?

And so I was brought back to my purpose, to not just please, but to live for Christ. To love Him, and to love His creatures … even the ones who make me wait!

So, while I wait, through the seasons that might never end in this life,

“I will serve You
I will worship
I will not fade
I’ll be running the race
Even while I wait
… though it’s not easy …”

“Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.”
Psalm 27:14

images

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Knock, Knock …

Posted in WONDER, tagged door, GOD, god does not force himself in, I stand at the door and knock, initiating, joke, knit together, knock knock jokes, knocking, knocking at the door, open the door, Psalm 139:13, responding, Revelation 3:20 on February 18, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Knock knock. KnockKnockV
Who’s there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Banana.
Banana who?
Knock knock.
Who’s there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad I didn’t say “banana”?

There was a stage of my son’s childhood when the above ‘knock, knock’ joke was told multiple times a day. It seemed there was no stopping him in his quest to share the giggles he would get by telling it (usually the giggles started as soon as he started to speak).

I think that what children like about knock, knock jokes is that they get to ask us a question that we have to respond to. They are initiating, providing an opportunity for us to respond. They know how we should respond, but we do not always follow through on fulfilling that expectation (after the millionth time we hear it).

It is easy to reach the point of apathy towards what is offered to us, over and over again. We hear it, we know how we ‘should’ respond, but we do not always follow through in responding in line with what is being offered.

As I was reading from Revelations recently, I was captured by the knocking.

“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,
I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”
Revelation 3:20

God is the initiator here, He is at the door, knocking.

The door this speaks of is the door to our hearts … the hearts that He first knit together in our mother’s wombs (Psalm 139:13).

And He leaves it up to us to choose, of our own free will, whether or not to open the door, and let Him in.

I think that it is common that we open the door, only to close it again, leaving the Initiator at the doorstep, maybe even many times.

But, like that preschooler with a gem of a joke to tell us, He waits, and knocks again, and again, and again. His offer is always there. He does not leave His post, continually initiating the offer of his pearls, desperate for us to see the eternal value in what He has to give.

He takes the first step and knocks, but God does not force himself in.

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From Wrestling to Blessing

Posted in WONDER, tagged Abraham, Blessing, Esau, Genesis 25, Genesis 32, GOD, hip, Isaac, Israel, Jacob, Jacob wrestles with God, limping, Rebekah, touched his hip on January 25, 2013| 2 Comments »

“Although limping, Jacob walked away from the battle blessed.”

Jacob+wrestling+with+God+1 I do not know where the words came from. I heard them, I wrote them, I saved them, and now I go back to where their story originates, in Genesis.

Israel, previously known as Jacob, was a wrestler from way back! The earliest recordings of his battles come from his months in his momma’s womb, where he wrestled his hairy brother Esau.

Jacob comes from a fine lineage, as his father was Isaac, and his grandfather was none other than Father Abraham, the father of many nations. Abraham had done his share of wrestling as well, although his wrestling was not so much physical as it was in his heart and soul.

There are many fascinating components to the life of Jacob … his mother, Rebekah, being childless (reminiscent of grandma Sarah), finally pregnant it is twins, and very active ones! The Lord speaks to her before they are born, giving a heads up to their future. Jacob is his momma’s favorite, but Esau is Isaac’s. Oh, there is so much to those early years of Jacob’s life! It is truly worth heading back into Genesis 25 to read of his earlier years! But, for now, I am concentrating on the wrestling match with God.

“So Jacob was left alone,and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.” (Genesis 32:24)

Jacob is all alone, and it is night. The next thing we know is that that he is wrestling with a man.

“When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.” (Genesis 32:25)

Jacob was one good wrestler! He was winning, and his opponent was aware of the strength and determination within him. So his opponent, with just the touch of his hand, permanently injured Jacob’s hip.

“Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” (Genesis 32:26)

Jacob was a man with a mission. He was willing to wrestle until he got what he wanted … to be blessed.

“The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,”he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome … Then he blessed him there..” (Genesis 32:27-28)

The man asked his name … he asked his name? This was God! He knew his name, given to him by his father … but his heavenly Father had a new name for him, and Israel … strong, persevering, overcoming, with a goal to fight for was to be his name at his battle of christening.

“The sun rose above him … and he was limping because of his hip.” (Genesis 32:32)

Jacob was blessed … the sun was rising on a new day, he had what he was born to be blessed with, his very own blessing, not from an earthly father, but from the father of every nation.

And, although he was limping, he was blessed.

And, although we are all limping, we are blessed.

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Not Alone

Posted in GOD, life, WONDER, tagged 700 club canada, communicate, Faithful, GOD, god loves me, Home, intimacy, Laura Lynn Tyler Thompson, not alone, Phillip Phillips, Psalm 25:14, you are not alone on January 9, 2013| Leave a Comment »

images-2 I am awed by the manner and intricate detail with which my God makes efforts to encourage me, teach me, comfort me and communicate with me.

There have been times when I have opened my Bible, or another book of words written hundreds of years ago, and it is as though the message were hand picked for me, for that exact moment in time. There are innumerable instances when I have cried out to Jesus for help, only to turn on the music to hear a very perfect response.

In these unexpected times of oneness with my heavenly father, I am left with one main knowledge … He loves me … He, the Creator of all life, and the perfecter of all beauty, mystery and wonder truly loves me, and will never leave me alone.

This communication and communion of intimacy happened again just days ago. I was not particularly needy or downcast, but I was lowering my head and asking for His encouragement. As I opened up to my social media there on the screen was the message that as soon as I started to read I knew it was for me, for my eyes, my heart, my soul.

The status was written by a Laura Lynn Tyler Thompson, an author, speaker and television host (700 Club Canada) whose status updates are always filled with encouragement, but it is never drivel that seems forced and fake. She wrote:

“No matter what you are facing, there is a powerful place of profound relationship that is offered to those who would steadfastly seek the Father.

Psalm 25:14 “The secret [of the sweet, satisfying companionship] of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its [deep, inner] meaning.”

God’s covenant to you is that He will NEVER leave you or forsake you. Though man, jobs, locations and circumstances may all change and bring discontent and concern, your God is faithful to the very end. You have no need to worry that any dread, anxiety or fear would take hold of your situation. Talk to the bad thoughts and tell them to take a number and get in the line-up to ‘not listening’. Give no place to negative and disturbing contemplations of our natural mind. They bear no validity to truth. Having done all stand in Christ alone. Your victory is being devised by far greater forces than what has come against you.”

Then, just hours after reading and pondering her words, the words of a song came on the radio, and although I do not believe they were written with this intent, I heard them as though spoken to my heart from my Savior:

“Settle down, it’ll all be clear
Don’t pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found
Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m going to make this place your home”

He loves me … He, the Creator of all life, and the perfecter of all beauty, mystery and wonder truly loves me, and will never leave me alone.

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Slowly Cleaning Away Christmas

Posted in christmas, GOD, WONDER, tagged audrey assad, Chris Tomlin, christmas, christmas rush, Christmas Tree, cleaning away christmas, GOD, Memories, packing Christmas ornaments, slow, winter snow on January 8, 2013| 2 Comments »

images Christmas has been cleaned away from our house.

The tree is down and out on the deck, the lights are packed away, my collection of nativities are snug in their boxes, and I am thrilled with the cleanliness and order of my living room.

I have been accused of being too excited to un-decorate from the Christmas season. Perhaps it is because I start hinting at doing so just after opening all of the presents on Christmas morning? I do admit to loving the process, but not because I am putting away Christmas.

I think I have discovered that what I love about putting away the Christmas decorations is that I have all the time in the world to do it. I can look at each decoration with precious memories of who gave it to us, when and why. The tree in our home is not an interior decorator’s masterpiece, it is a conglomeration of ornaments of sentimentality, tossed on the branches by our trio of children who look at each and reminisce as they hang them precariously on the tips of the branches.

When we decorate for the season, it is a far more rushed affair! This year even more than others, as we struggled for so long to find the time to all go to get a tree from the tree farm. Finally, thanks to a ‘snow day’ on December 19th, we got the tree. Then, on December 22nd, I donned my grumpy pants, and told the men in our house that they had better get that tree in the stand and in the living room before I got home. Then, on December 23rd, I re-wore my grumpy pants and told everyone that they had better be home and unpacking the tree decorations that afternoon … or else! So, by December 25th, I was just thankful that it had gotten done.

And now it is all over. The hustle and the bustle, the wrappings and the unwrappings, the cooking and the eating (and the eating, and the eating).

As I admired each decoration, with memories and stories and love attached. As I placed each representative of the first Christmas story back in it’s packaging, the song of the season for me played again in my heart.

Although I was slow and negligent to prepare the outward elements of the Christmas season, my inner preparations and focus were perfectly clear all season long.

It stared in late November when I encountered this song, as though God himself set it to reverberate in my ears, my brain, my heart, just long enough to know that it was my focus of worshiping Him for this season.

As if to confirm my understanding of the earlier gift of this song from my Creator, as we sat to enjoy our Christmas Day feast together … snow was falling …

“Oh, You came like a winter snow
Quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below”

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Top 10 Goals for 2013 – Walk with God

Posted in GOD, WONDER, tagged 2013, Dreams, goals, GOD, hebrews 13:5, hopes, Micah 6:8, New Year, plans, Resolutions, top 10, walk with god on December 28, 2012| Leave a Comment »

As the Christmas celebrations wind down and the New Year looms nearer and nearer I am in the midst of saying good-bye to the successes and failures of 2012, and saying hello to the goals for success in 2013.

The goals for 2013 that I have shared so far have been about my Earthly loves … my family. They are the ones who I consider to be such sweet gifts from God.

images-3 For today, though, I am considering my goals in my walk with God.

These goals are not easy to come up with, compared with my goals for my marriage and goals for my children. Maybe it is because I feel rather ‘pious’ in considering trying to improve in my walk with God … as though that is possible, not because I am so ‘good’, but because He is truly so good to me.

I could say that my list includes goals like reading my Bible everyday, witnessing to at least one person each week, or doing random acts of kindness for total strangers. All of those are good goals, but is that what God desires of from me?

The more I have tried to write goals, the less valuable them seem to be, in comparison to the grace, the freedom and the love that God offers to me (to us).

As I understand that the point of doing this in regards to my relationship with my husband or my relationship with my kids, I realize that my goals in those relationships are intended to improve my relationships with those people … they are self-improvement goals, for my benefit. I hope to improve something in their lives, thereby improving my own.

As I ponder my goals in my relationship with my Savior, and consider how I might improve my relationship with Him, I realize that there is nothing that I can do to change it, increase it, improve it. My relationship with my God is not dependent on my changes, or my actions, or my goals. My relationship with God has always been complete from the first moment that I handed the keys of my life over to my heavenly father. From that wonder-filled moment I was reunited with my Creator, and there was no altering my steps from that moment on.

Each day I awaken with Him in my first breath. He guides my every step, and when I side-step Him, He is still right beside me. He makes me aware of His presence in the wind through the trees, the joy of watching my children grow and learn, the scent of my hubby when he kisses me goodnight. He never leaves my side, whether I walk through rain or sun.

My goal for 2013, in my walk with God …

is to believe Him when He says, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5)

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Top 10 Goals for 2013 – Marriage

Posted in Marriage, The Hubby, WONDER, tagged 2013, decisions, don't let the sun go down on your anger, Dreams, Forgive, Future, goals, GOD, hopes, Hubby, husband, Love, Marriage, New Year, Past, plans, Remember, Resolutions, responsibility, Stress, top 10, Trust on December 27, 2012| 1 Comment »

So, I am now at day number two of my Top 10 Goals for 2013, and this time the focus is hubby.

He REALLY does not appreciate posts about him, that mention him, that use him as an example … so, in honor of his preference that I not write about him … heck, I’m just going to do it anyway!

P&C Cropped

He has to forgive me … comes with the whole “love, honor and … forgive” 😉

Here are my Top Ten Goals for my Marriage for 2013:

Do not go to bed angry – I mentioned this yesterday in regards to our kids and it doesn’t hurt to say it again, “do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” (Ephesians 4:26).
Get away – make time for at least one night each season to get away together, sans children, as a couple. It is so easy, with all of the demands of life, to forget that the family we created started with us, just us, and for this family to continue we need to invest in us.
Respect him – As I write it I just know that some poor, misinformed lady is going to interpret respecting your husband as some kind of response to an archaic male dominated patriarchal society or religion. That is NOT what this is about! He is a child of God, like me, and as such I need to respect him …
Make his life easier – I am sure that there is at least one thing I can do each week to make his life easier … from answering the phone (instead of letting him, because it is always for him), to doing his dinner clean up once in a while (not too often, as I do not want him to get too used to being relieved of ‘his’ chore).
Thank him – so often when we live with someone it is so easy to forget our manners. Please and thank you are words I know I need to use more often with my man.
Let him decide – … and be okay with his decision! My hubby knows that if I say “you choose” his whole future is at stake. I need to trust him to make a decision, and trust the outcome!
Surprise him – there is nothing like veering from the normal, everyday, meatloaf every Monday stagnant way of living to bore a couple to mediocrity! Start seeing excitement and refreshment in someone else. I WILL surprise him … and the details of that, well those are between the two of us 😉 .
Remember the past – I need to reflect on those days, so many years ago, when we only knew adoring love (aka, before we were married 😉 ) … not bills, crisscrossing schedules, and to do lists.
Forget the past – we have baggage, and that is a reality, but the past is the past, and needs to be left there. We cannot move forward if I keep looking back.
Plan for the future – “Where there is no dreaming for the future, the marriage relationship is dead” (that is the Carole Wheaton interpretation of Proverbs 29:18) … enough said.