Keep on keeping on!!!!

Inspired by a sermon on marriage I watched tonight on the web from New Spring churches series called " I Want a New Marriage", I wanted to share a few things. One, it is right to listen to that little voice inside, for believers, the HS, saying, it is better to trust God and obey Him than to seek divorce for God hates divorce and He is greater than any problems we face in marriage. Two, commitment to our spouse is supposed to be like Christ's love for us, unconditional, not based on our spouse's response, etc. The culture does not support that, but that is the love we are called to have. Three, a covenant is a promise to be the spouse God called us to be until death. Four, marriage is work and Satan will attack it often, but God's ways are powerful and He is able to help us kick butt against the enemy's attacks to fight for our marriage, family, etc. Fight for your marriage, kids, home, etc. Fight with God's word and with faith and with tennacity. The Lord reigns and nothing is too hard for Him. He can preserve marriages. May I be mindful this week of what God wants me to do in my marriage to make it better. I rely on Him for that wisdom and the obedience to follow through.

To the one who gave love that we might have love, I praise Him and rejoice that He has made me glad and that His love can conquer the enemies of my marriage. L

What Is Love, Anyway?

Ah, the day of love! It seems to mean a lot to chics and not be something men really get into as much, but they can be great creating a romantic date to celebrate. But, on this day, I ponder what is love? In the beginning of a relationship, it is a high like no other. Romantic gestures are natural and overflowing. Chemistry is strong and life seems richer and fuller, and it is. Later, things get more subdued, and the opposite traits that once attracted us like a moths to a flame, now are our biggest irritation. When those opposite traits clash and we wonder what it would be like to not have to deal with this or that trait, that is when it is time to re-create love moments. What came naturally in the early stages of love, now has to be planned or done with the mind intentionally and not just the heart. However, we will find that feelings follow action. So waiting to feel like doing something loving for our spouse will mean we wait forever sometimes. But buying flowers anyway, giving a massage anyway, saying something loving anyway, can stir up the loving feelings. In fact, that is why affairs can be so tempting, as that person is usually complimentary, fun, and stirring up good feelings.

While we live in a society that says, leave the marriage if the "feelings are gone" or find someone else while you are married so you can be happy, those actions don't resonate with what God's word says about love. Isn't it just like God, to teach us and cause us to do the opposite of what we feel like, only to then, after we have obediently done so, to bless us with more loving feelings than we could have gotten by seeking a worldly way. So, today I am reminded that Love is not proud, it does not boast, it does not demand its own way, it always bears things, and love never fails. To our flesh those descriptions sound like we would be misearble if we followed them, and of course, that is always Satan's trick to get us to focus on the flesh and refuse to follow some of God's most anti-flesh commands. Yet, when we do reach out and not demand our own way, when we bear ALL things, when we are not prideful with our mate, then it is a miracle to watch what Jesus does. He honors those who honor Him and when we humble ourselves to love the way God loves and moreoever, in the way He teaches us to love, then, and only then, do we really experience deep love. We can re-create the passion and fire of from when we first fell in love with our mate. But it takes deliberately choosing to act first, and then like a big surprise, all of a sudden, love shows up again. Today, as many are on tighter funds than before, let's remember that love bears all things and to see our mate the way Christ sees them.

I am so thankful for my parents' having raised me in a home where the Word of God was taught and lived. Without it as a way for living, we really mess things up. Cheers to all who are in love today and for those without a special someone, know that the Greatest Love of your heart is there and He can and will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory. So let Him love you, as He has to be the foundation for the way you will love another human being eventually anyway. So, Happy Valentine's Day, and let's remember that the greatest commandment Jesus gave was "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind , and soul AND love your neighbor as yourself.". Choose this day to love.
L

Commitment against all odds. It was fairly easy to commit to love forever when my adorable husband and I first fell in love. We were energized, and had everything "going" for us, as far as our health, working out and being in top shape, financially very stable, etc. Years later, we have been through a lot of trials. The amount of trials and the stress would break most any couple. We are very weary. We are physically tired, mentally exhausted, and emotionally depleted. Only because the Holy Spirit lives in us, have we had the strength lately to say, we will not quit on each other. We have endured attacks on all fronts, but we will not surrender to the enemy's attempt to destroy a testimony to the power of God to blend two into one flesh to mirror Him to the world. It has been said that a man and woman in marriage, when the couple is walking in Christ, is a rare example for all to see of who God is. The traits of a strong man, who is a defender of his faith and family and the traits of a merciful woman who is a great unconditional lover of her family, show the incredible characteristics of our God. He is merciful and mighty.

So, we are still standing and knowing that God will see us through. We may struck down, but are not destroyed. The Lord is the strength of our hearts and our fortress forever. Together, we claim the promise that no weapon formed against our family shall prosper, and no kingdom raised against it shall stand. The Lord is our rock and our salvation, and we have OVERCOME by the blood of the lamb. So, we will shout,shout for joy, shout, shout for joy, for the Lord has given us the victory!! Satan the blood of Jesus is against you, and what Satan has meant for evil in our lives, God will use for good.

This post is dedicated to my never give up husband. Though things have been so tough, he is committed to our marriage and our children. David has shown great character and the power of the Holy Spirit at work within him. David has shown unconditional love to me, beyond what a person can possess in their human power. David has shown Christ's great love to me. My husband is my best friend and we have a friend that sticks closer than a brother, Jesus. What a friend we do have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer.
In His unshakable love,
L