Christmas is upon us. This time of year always brings into my rememberance what we've gone through as a couple. What I did to my wife. How badly I hurt her. How this could have turned out vastly different! How blessed and fortunate I am that we are together!
The other night we decorated our tree together. What a thrill that was! When we finished, I got very emotional, just thinking about the past and what could have been today, had we handled this differently. I thought of how it was quite possible for us to not be together. I do NOT like to think about that! I can't even imagine (nor do I want to) my life without my Cheryl! Not sure where I'd be, or what I'd be doing, but....I have a feeling I would have been crawling back to her somewhere along the line.
So now I thank God for the restoration work he has done in our lives! I can tell you with certainty that if we didn't trust in God and do things His way, we would not have been where we are today! And let me tell you...where we are is beautiful!!!
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Friday, December 19, 2014
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Realize who brought you through / or can bring you through.
I read this today, and felt the need to share it:
10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
19 If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. 20 Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.
The conclusion I got from this is to never forget who brought me through what we came through in our marriage, and can and will bring you through, if you follow His lead.
Sometimes, if things are going ok (as far as we can tell) we may become puffed up and start to think "Hey! Look at me! I'm doing alright in this thing! It must be because I have so much wisdom/knowledge/insight/etc.." Do NOT be fooled, my friends, into believing you can do anything on your own without God's guidance. That's a dangerous place to be! The Israelites were warned against this. Note the part I underlined. Reread it. Then, read it again. Remember it. Your marriage may be at stake. Believe me, He knows way better than you and me. And your marriage can be like "a good land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valley and hills... and you will lack nothing..."
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Deuteronomy 8
New International Version (NIV)
Do Not Forget the Lord
8 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.
6 Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him and revering him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills; 8 a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; 9 a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. 11 Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. 12 Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, 13 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 15 He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. 16 He gave you manna to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known, to humble and test you so that in the end it might go well with you. 17 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
19 If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. 20 Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.
The conclusion I got from this is to never forget who brought me through what we came through in our marriage, and can and will bring you through, if you follow His lead.
Sometimes, if things are going ok (as far as we can tell) we may become puffed up and start to think "Hey! Look at me! I'm doing alright in this thing! It must be because I have so much wisdom/knowledge/insight/etc.." Do NOT be fooled, my friends, into believing you can do anything on your own without God's guidance. That's a dangerous place to be! The Israelites were warned against this. Note the part I underlined. Reread it. Then, read it again. Remember it. Your marriage may be at stake. Believe me, He knows way better than you and me. And your marriage can be like "a good land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valley and hills... and you will lack nothing..."
☮
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
Our song and interview!
Here it is! The long awaited link to our song and interview from when we went to Nashville to meet Matthew West and the other storytellers!
Click on the link and watch this video! It is powerful!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MptqnvPYAI4
Thanks!
Click on the link and watch this video! It is powerful!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MptqnvPYAI4
Thanks!
Thursday, March 13, 2014
"I can't do this. No, you can't."
I heard a message this morning that included this line, "I can't do this! No, you can't!". It went on to explain how we need to put ourselves in God's hands and depend on His strength. We cannot live the Christian lives we are called to live on our own.
This reminded me of how much Cheryl and I depend on God, and have depended on God, to restore our marriage, and how blessed we are because of it! I do not take credit for where we are in our relationship. I, nor Cheryl, could have got us to the beautiful place we're at!
The other day someone commented to me that they admire us for our level of commitment, and what we've come through to be where we are. I thanked her, and I was thrilled that people do notice! But that praise should not come to me and Cheryl. This was, and is, a mighty work of God! The commitment, the forgiveness, the devotion, the love, the joy, the contentment, and all other aspects of our relationship, happen, and continue to happen, because we are in a right relationship with Him! Our lives....everybody's lives....would be in turmoil if they choose to ignore that fact. We, and I mean we collectively as the human race, are all dysfunctional! Sin makes us that way. The only cure for our dysfunctionality (is that a word?) is Christ's redeeming sacrifice, and aligning ourselves with that truth!
So rely on God to bring you to a beautiful place in your relationship! Put your marriage in His hands, and follow His way. For some strange reason, He seems to know a whole lot better than we do what works and what doesn't!
☮
This reminded me of how much Cheryl and I depend on God, and have depended on God, to restore our marriage, and how blessed we are because of it! I do not take credit for where we are in our relationship. I, nor Cheryl, could have got us to the beautiful place we're at!
The other day someone commented to me that they admire us for our level of commitment, and what we've come through to be where we are. I thanked her, and I was thrilled that people do notice! But that praise should not come to me and Cheryl. This was, and is, a mighty work of God! The commitment, the forgiveness, the devotion, the love, the joy, the contentment, and all other aspects of our relationship, happen, and continue to happen, because we are in a right relationship with Him! Our lives....everybody's lives....would be in turmoil if they choose to ignore that fact. We, and I mean we collectively as the human race, are all dysfunctional! Sin makes us that way. The only cure for our dysfunctionality (is that a word?) is Christ's redeeming sacrifice, and aligning ourselves with that truth!
So rely on God to bring you to a beautiful place in your relationship! Put your marriage in His hands, and follow His way. For some strange reason, He seems to know a whole lot better than we do what works and what doesn't!
☮
Friday, February 21, 2014
How does repentance help?
I heard a message on repentance this morning. It made me realize that without true repentance we would NEVER have been able to "Restore" our marriage! I repeat for emphasis, TRUE repentance is necessary.
So, what is TRUE repentance? It is turning your back on your sin, your shortcoming, your wrong direction, not because you got caught, not because you're embarrassed, not because it makes you look better, but because you are truly and sincerely desirous of doing the right thing. We need to be willing to do it God's way. We need to do everything within our power to move in the other direction. Turn around. Move forward away from what you were and toward what you can become! I needed to see what I was doing to our marriage, to my wife, to my relationship with God, through the eyes of God. I needed to see it in the right perspective. And it was not pretty.
The effect of true repentance is immense! When we choose to do things God's way, God is there for us! What more can be said about that? How and why would we want it any other way? It makes such perfect sense to me now, but.....of course when I was in the midst of it, this didn't even cross my mind. We allow ourselves to be blinded by our willful ignorance. We choose to not see. It's more comfortable to close our eyes to the truth than to face it, and deal with it. Yup, that's true...but the consequences are drastic and far-reaching!
There is no comparison to being in the right place. I'm not talking about locale, I'm talking about spiritually. There is such a peace! There is such blessing! There is contentment!!
It's not always easy. No. Sometimes it's a struggle to keep ourselves on track. But there is help and strength available to us that is unbeatable! Of course our enemy wants us to fail, and fall! Of course there will be attacks! So what! "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world".
So, with all that said, I encourage you (and myself) to keep on keeping on in the direction we were meant to go. Seek Him out constantly. Fellowship with Him. Read His word to us. Follow His plan for us. It is such a blessing!! And, I repeat and earlier statement, there is comtentment.
God bless.
☮
So, what is TRUE repentance? It is turning your back on your sin, your shortcoming, your wrong direction, not because you got caught, not because you're embarrassed, not because it makes you look better, but because you are truly and sincerely desirous of doing the right thing. We need to be willing to do it God's way. We need to do everything within our power to move in the other direction. Turn around. Move forward away from what you were and toward what you can become! I needed to see what I was doing to our marriage, to my wife, to my relationship with God, through the eyes of God. I needed to see it in the right perspective. And it was not pretty.
The effect of true repentance is immense! When we choose to do things God's way, God is there for us! What more can be said about that? How and why would we want it any other way? It makes such perfect sense to me now, but.....of course when I was in the midst of it, this didn't even cross my mind. We allow ourselves to be blinded by our willful ignorance. We choose to not see. It's more comfortable to close our eyes to the truth than to face it, and deal with it. Yup, that's true...but the consequences are drastic and far-reaching!
There is no comparison to being in the right place. I'm not talking about locale, I'm talking about spiritually. There is such a peace! There is such blessing! There is contentment!!
It's not always easy. No. Sometimes it's a struggle to keep ourselves on track. But there is help and strength available to us that is unbeatable! Of course our enemy wants us to fail, and fall! Of course there will be attacks! So what! "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world".
So, with all that said, I encourage you (and myself) to keep on keeping on in the direction we were meant to go. Seek Him out constantly. Fellowship with Him. Read His word to us. Follow His plan for us. It is such a blessing!! And, I repeat and earlier statement, there is comtentment.
God bless.
☮
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