You’ve seen them in the check-out lane at Meijer. They whisper sweet somethings in your ear as you slowly roll your cart along the conveyor belt. As you turn your back on them, you look at your food, satisfied with the fruit and veg on the belt and plan for tonight’s quick supper as you eye the box of pasta and jar of sauce. Still, sometimes it is impossible to ignore their siren song and the inevitable happens. A candy bar ends up in your cart. You slip it in your purse as you pay, and you polish it off before you pick up the kids from preschool. There are perks to being the grown up. One of them is that you don’t always have to act like one and nobody needs to know!
A favorite of mine (and let’s face it, there are lots of favorites when chocolate is involved!) is the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. You can’t go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter and you can’t go wrong with the sweet, two for one deal in that little package. Two are better than one. Seriously. Twice as nice.
Enjoying my treat, I am reminded of a great passage from Ecclesiastes, penned by the wise King Solomon, divinely inspired by the Living God. I believe the broadest application of the verses is for friendship in general, but I can’t help but see how it applies to our closest earthly relationship, our marriage.
Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:
10 If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Eccl. 4:9-12
Two are better than one. In the garden of Eden, when God created Adam, He saw that it was good, but He also said it was not good that Adam should not have anyone like him. So God created Eve to be like Adam. More than that, she was created to help him. What a lovely, wonderful plan God had! He foreknew the need Adam would have to experience the close, human connection with one like him in marriage, and God also understood that He was calling Adam to do some big, important things and he would do well with someone to come alongside him as he endeavored to obey his Maker. The simple fact is that God, Himself, is sufficient for all that we need. However, He saw fit to give us others in our lives to be one avenue through which He meets those needs.
As wives, we have the special privilege of walking alongside these men God has given us and holding their hands, eyes on theirs, and saying to them what God says to each of us, with conviction and commitment, “When we work together we will accomplish much, so let me help you. When you stumble, I will be there, not to point one finger at you, but to reach down with all five, hand spread, grip firm, and pull you back to your feet. When the shadows and dark invade and you can’t see what lies ahead, and you face the frightful, swirling storms of life, I will be there beside you to help fight off the bitterness, the biting wind, the fear, the cold. I will warm you with my words and with my presence. When you do battle, and your foe is too great for one, I will not desert you. We will fight, shoulder to shoulder or back to back and together we will defend ourselves, our marriage, our family. When we go forward, day by day, moment by moment, into the perilous, exciting, sometimes dangerous world, I will not leave your side. When the going gets hard, I will stay. I will fight for you. I won’t quit. Instead, you will hear my words in your ears, reminding you that together we can face what comes. I will remind you most importantly, that together means not just you and me, but you, me, and the awesome, powerful, sufficient, changeless, Mighty God who made us and gave us to each other, forming a three stranded cord that is not easily broken.”
Truly, peanut butter cups are a sweet treat and two are definitely better than one, but marriage is sweeter, and though, like chocolate, there can sometimes be a darker, bitter side, we will stick. Like the peanut butter on the roofs of our mouths, we will stick and remember that indeed, two are better than one.
Showing posts with label Marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marriage. Show all posts
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Husband of my youth
Our anniversary is this Friday. We will celebrate our 17th year of marriage. This summer marks 21 years since we started dating, and about 23 years since this handsome boy walked into my life. He was thin and tall, dark-haired and handsome. We were friends first and for a very long time before he first held my hand and the twinkle in his eye changed to a special look that was just for me. We laughed together then. Lots of laughter. We walked and talked together on soft, summer beaches. We drove around in his little stick shift (which he handily taught me how to drive) and listened to music and shared our dreams. We watched movies and ate junk food. We raced down sand dunes and snow hills. Did I mention we laughed? :D
Once, when we were engaged, a well-meaning person, witnessing our laughter and youthful messing around, asked if I realized that this buddy of mine was going to be my husband. I think this person thought we were too young (we were 20 and 21), or having too much fun just goofing around (we may have been having a water fight at the time!) to be taking seriously what we were about to undertake together. I got the impression he thought we were going to have to stop being buddies so we could be husband and wife.
He was right and oh, so wrong. He was right because we were young and we were buddies. We loved to have fun together, and we had no idea what we were getting into together! At 20, as I looked into the face of my handsome groom, I had no idea what the years would hold. Does any bride or groom?
That early concerned bystander was wrong, though. I'm so glad we didn't take his words to heart and stop being buddies. We never stopped. We love each other more today that we had the capacity to love on our wedding day. But also, we really really like each other. We are still friends. We still laugh. Actually, we laugh a lot (did I mention we have four children and a giant, beast of a dog?). We still watch movies (the junk food has to be kept in moderation now, though). We still walk (hand in hand unless our hands are full of wagon handles and ice cream cones and sticky little fingers) and drive (road trips that sometimes test the bounds of sanity) and talk (catching up - "What do we have going on this week?) and talk (serious business..."Number 3 had an incident at school today..."). Now, though, we also share so much more. God has built us a family. He has sustained our marriage. He has given us ministry together, ways to serve Him. He displays His grace and His splendor in the day to day of our family.
I am thankful for my husband. He is a joy to me. The life we have is the one I never imagined in front of that church on an oppressively hot June day. It has gone beyond the scope of my naive twenty year-old understanding. They say that the young are the ones dreaming about the future. That may be, but it is the rest of us, living out the future one precious, unexpected day at a time, that truly understand the stuff that dreams are made of.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Remarkable
From an outsider's perspective, my days likely appear to be unremarkable. There is much folding of laundry, preparing of meals, wiping of counters, swiping of sticky faces. We come and go much like any other family, to school, shopping centers, soccer complexes, and church. We shuffle paper (seriously, there is so much paper in my life!), cleats, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and schedules. Nothings special here.
But wait. My ordinary life is not as bland as it sounds. My marriage of almost seventeen years is a place of solace and joy and laughter and faithfulness and commitment. My children thrive with health and happiness and security. My deepest parts, the place where my spirit resides, rest easy in perfect, quiet peace, the kind that passes all human understanding, and revels in joy, the kind that bubbles up from a wellspring of life.
We believe in God. I believe in God. This God is the One True God, the God of Abraham, and Isaac, of Israel, and of my heart. He is the Creator of the Universe, the Savior, the God Who Sees, the Redeemer, the Holy One. Jesus, the Father, the Holy Spirit.
He makes me special. He made me in His image. He calls me His own. He covers me with His Righteousness. He redeemed me and put His claim on me. I am no longer my own, but His.
He makes us special. He guides our family, and provides for us. He is the all-sufficient One who sustains us. Into our ordinary days, He infuses His presence and holds us together.
This is what is remarkable about our lives. He is in it. The Lord of All is in the details of our lives. He protects our marriage, He guards our hearts. He draws our children to Himself, teaching them more and more, instilling them with understanding.
I once saw a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie called the Magic of Ordinary Days. The title often makes me think of my life. However, it isn't magic that we experience. It is the awesome power of a personal God. This is the Supernatural Power of Ordinary Days.
But wait. My ordinary life is not as bland as it sounds. My marriage of almost seventeen years is a place of solace and joy and laughter and faithfulness and commitment. My children thrive with health and happiness and security. My deepest parts, the place where my spirit resides, rest easy in perfect, quiet peace, the kind that passes all human understanding, and revels in joy, the kind that bubbles up from a wellspring of life.
We believe in God. I believe in God. This God is the One True God, the God of Abraham, and Isaac, of Israel, and of my heart. He is the Creator of the Universe, the Savior, the God Who Sees, the Redeemer, the Holy One. Jesus, the Father, the Holy Spirit.
He makes me special. He made me in His image. He calls me His own. He covers me with His Righteousness. He redeemed me and put His claim on me. I am no longer my own, but His.
He makes us special. He guides our family, and provides for us. He is the all-sufficient One who sustains us. Into our ordinary days, He infuses His presence and holds us together.
This is what is remarkable about our lives. He is in it. The Lord of All is in the details of our lives. He protects our marriage, He guards our hearts. He draws our children to Himself, teaching them more and more, instilling them with understanding.
I once saw a Hallmark Hall of Fame movie called the Magic of Ordinary Days. The title often makes me think of my life. However, it isn't magic that we experience. It is the awesome power of a personal God. This is the Supernatural Power of Ordinary Days.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Take 5
As many of you know, I have had a few opportunities to speak in front of groups such as MOPS, and I have been asked to give the same particular talk at a women's conference in September. I am humbled and excited about this opportunity to once again share some things from my heart with a group of ladies. As I prepare and pray this summer, I am asking God to fill me with His grace and truth and to protect me from the evil one who delights in coming between God's people and the work to which He has called them.
The topic of my talk is loving and encouraging one's husband and I use chocolate to help make my points. If you have not heard it, I won't spoil it by telling more here (look for more information here is August about the conference), but as I prayed for my husband this afternoon, I decided to share with you one of the most important points I will share with the ladies in September.
Pray for you husband! Consider these five points as you intercede for him.
1 - Pray for his relationship with God: If he is a believer, praise God for that and if he isn't pray for his salvation and pray that he would find in you a woman who fears the Lord and who provides a quiet example of godliness that might win him without words; pray that he would do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God; pray that he would be a man after God's own heart; pray that he would seek forgiveness when necessary; pray that he would hunger and thirst after righteousness; pray that he would find time in his busy schedule to spend time in prayer and in God's word
2 - Pray for him as he leads your family: pray that he would step up and be the spritual leader God has called him to be; pray that you would recognize that only God can stir his heart and give him the desire to do this and no amount of nagging on your part will ever do it; pray for godly men to come alongside him and encourage him in this area and keep him accountable
3 - Pray for his protection from temptation and sin: pray for a hedge about your marriage and family; pray that your husband would not be decieved by the lies of the world that offers pleasure with no price; pray that he would have Christian coworkers and Christian friends who would encourage him to walk the path God has placed before him rather than be lead astray by the lies of Satan and those who seek to destroy; pray that he will carefully weigh the consequences of his actions; pray for his thought life, that it would be pure
4 - Pray for him in the workplace: pray that he will be bold in his witness for the cause of Christ; pray that he will be a man of integrity, one to whom his coworkers look as an example and from whom they take encouragement; pray for his reputation, that he would be known for his honesty and trustworthiness, his skill and dependability; pray that he will be a hard worker known to put everything he has into his job when he is at his job, but that he would not become a "workaholic"; praise for continued provision in his job, or for the provision of a job!; pray that it would be known in his workplace that he is a godly man who loves and is faithful to his wife
5 - Pray for his physical health and safety: pray for protection as he travels back and forth to his workplace; pray that he will remain healthy so he can continue to care for and provide for your family; pray for continued strength and praise God if your husband is healthy and able to take care of you; pray that none of you would take this for granted and pray that you would remember that there are men who are not able to work or care for their families this way and that each day of strength and health is a gift from our Creator and Great Physician
As the kids and I embark on three months of vacation, and we watch my husband go off to work each day, my hope for myself is that God would remind me daily to bring my husband before my Father in prayer. I am thankful for him and need to remember to praise God for him and pray for him regularly.
The topic of my talk is loving and encouraging one's husband and I use chocolate to help make my points. If you have not heard it, I won't spoil it by telling more here (look for more information here is August about the conference), but as I prayed for my husband this afternoon, I decided to share with you one of the most important points I will share with the ladies in September.
Pray for you husband! Consider these five points as you intercede for him.
1 - Pray for his relationship with God: If he is a believer, praise God for that and if he isn't pray for his salvation and pray that he would find in you a woman who fears the Lord and who provides a quiet example of godliness that might win him without words; pray that he would do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God; pray that he would be a man after God's own heart; pray that he would seek forgiveness when necessary; pray that he would hunger and thirst after righteousness; pray that he would find time in his busy schedule to spend time in prayer and in God's word
2 - Pray for him as he leads your family: pray that he would step up and be the spritual leader God has called him to be; pray that you would recognize that only God can stir his heart and give him the desire to do this and no amount of nagging on your part will ever do it; pray for godly men to come alongside him and encourage him in this area and keep him accountable
3 - Pray for his protection from temptation and sin: pray for a hedge about your marriage and family; pray that your husband would not be decieved by the lies of the world that offers pleasure with no price; pray that he would have Christian coworkers and Christian friends who would encourage him to walk the path God has placed before him rather than be lead astray by the lies of Satan and those who seek to destroy; pray that he will carefully weigh the consequences of his actions; pray for his thought life, that it would be pure
4 - Pray for him in the workplace: pray that he will be bold in his witness for the cause of Christ; pray that he will be a man of integrity, one to whom his coworkers look as an example and from whom they take encouragement; pray for his reputation, that he would be known for his honesty and trustworthiness, his skill and dependability; pray that he will be a hard worker known to put everything he has into his job when he is at his job, but that he would not become a "workaholic"; praise for continued provision in his job, or for the provision of a job!; pray that it would be known in his workplace that he is a godly man who loves and is faithful to his wife
5 - Pray for his physical health and safety: pray for protection as he travels back and forth to his workplace; pray that he will remain healthy so he can continue to care for and provide for your family; pray for continued strength and praise God if your husband is healthy and able to take care of you; pray that none of you would take this for granted and pray that you would remember that there are men who are not able to work or care for their families this way and that each day of strength and health is a gift from our Creator and Great Physician
As the kids and I embark on three months of vacation, and we watch my husband go off to work each day, my hope for myself is that God would remind me daily to bring my husband before my Father in prayer. I am thankful for him and need to remember to praise God for him and pray for him regularly.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Curious
I offer my long absence from this keyboard as evidence that I have had a busy few weeks! My husband and I have decided that May rivals December for the most busy month. Calendar squares sport scribbled engagements and scrawled events until there is no more room to be found! Do you find your spring equally hectic? I say, bring on the lazy hazy days of summer! Yes - bring THEM ON!
In the hustle of programs and projects, field trips and field days, graduations and grandparents days, spring soccer and Saturday showers (the bridal and baby variety), I have discovered a few questions rolling around in my foggy brain along with dates and time, deadlines and destinations.
Here they are at complete random (not sure I have the braincells to organize them at this point!)
How is it possible that my fifth grader is still forgetting to take his trumpet to school? They have been at this for a good nine months now...
Who keeps using up all the toothpaste/toilet paper/Kleenex/milk/cereal/bread when I feel like we are NEVER HERE?
Isn't it too much to ask for my family to expect to be fed three times a day? Really.
When the squirrel eats a hole in the blue plastic garbage bin, isn't his little tummy too full to eat the refuse within? What is the point, then, of all that work?
Why does my boys' room smell like a bologna sandwich (we don't even eat bologna!)
How can it be 32 degrees and 72 degrees all in one day? Is God joking? I know He has a great sense of humor. I have four children.
Why is the maid such a slacker on the stuff that I hate to do the most? (Emptying the dishwasher, putting away clean laundry) Doesn't she know she is making it that much more bothersome for me? (You understand, that she is a hypothetical maid that has yet to show her face or fanny)
Why can't teachers at one school talk to each other so I don't have to choose which field trip to attend on an given day?
Why do I still have to get on the treadmill, when it feels like I have been on one all week?
When I do work out, why do I want to take a nap when I am done - where are those endorphins that are supposed to energize me?
How does my husband still think I am beautiful when I know I need a shower/clean shirt/swipe of lipstick? (I know...because he loves me - still, it is great and it boggles my mind!)
Why do I get to live in this great country full of freedoms that people had to die to ensure?
Why did God choose to bless me so abundantly?
Why do I forget to trust HIM?
Why do I sometimes neglect my time with God, when I know that is the most important thing I can do with my time?
Why does my two year-old talk so much about the potty, but can't seem to actually use it?
Why is a bed of lettuce and greens with some veggies and dressing so much yummier when someone else makes it (like at a restaurant)?
Why does my neighbor still have a Christmas wreath on her front door?
When do I get to take a nap???
In the hustle of programs and projects, field trips and field days, graduations and grandparents days, spring soccer and Saturday showers (the bridal and baby variety), I have discovered a few questions rolling around in my foggy brain along with dates and time, deadlines and destinations.
Here they are at complete random (not sure I have the braincells to organize them at this point!)
How is it possible that my fifth grader is still forgetting to take his trumpet to school? They have been at this for a good nine months now...
Who keeps using up all the toothpaste/toilet paper/Kleenex/milk/cereal/bread when I feel like we are NEVER HERE?
Isn't it too much to ask for my family to expect to be fed three times a day? Really.
When the squirrel eats a hole in the blue plastic garbage bin, isn't his little tummy too full to eat the refuse within? What is the point, then, of all that work?
Why does my boys' room smell like a bologna sandwich (we don't even eat bologna!)
How can it be 32 degrees and 72 degrees all in one day? Is God joking? I know He has a great sense of humor. I have four children.
Why is the maid such a slacker on the stuff that I hate to do the most? (Emptying the dishwasher, putting away clean laundry) Doesn't she know she is making it that much more bothersome for me? (You understand, that she is a hypothetical maid that has yet to show her face or fanny)
Why can't teachers at one school talk to each other so I don't have to choose which field trip to attend on an given day?
Why do I still have to get on the treadmill, when it feels like I have been on one all week?
When I do work out, why do I want to take a nap when I am done - where are those endorphins that are supposed to energize me?
How does my husband still think I am beautiful when I know I need a shower/clean shirt/swipe of lipstick? (I know...because he loves me - still, it is great and it boggles my mind!)
Why do I get to live in this great country full of freedoms that people had to die to ensure?
Why did God choose to bless me so abundantly?
Why do I forget to trust HIM?
Why do I sometimes neglect my time with God, when I know that is the most important thing I can do with my time?
Why does my two year-old talk so much about the potty, but can't seem to actually use it?
Why is a bed of lettuce and greens with some veggies and dressing so much yummier when someone else makes it (like at a restaurant)?
Why does my neighbor still have a Christmas wreath on her front door?
When do I get to take a nap???
Monday, February 25, 2008
S'Wonderful
My friend Shannon's blog says "It's a Wonderful Life" and when I found this current song, I began thinking of wonderful things. Thought I would share some: it's wonderful the way new snow smells cold. Have you ever noticed that? Someone who has not experienced snow cannot comprehend that cold can be something experienced through smell, but it's true! It is wonderful the way my hand fits perfectly in my husband's hand. That feeling is so special. How cool that God gave us the ability to intertwine our fingers! :0) It is wonderful the way my children look when they sleep - like they are frozen in a hush of suspended time. Sometimes when I look at them I can see them as tiny newborns again, all bundled and fragile, and other times I see their whole lives rushing by in a flash that leaves me breathless. It is wonderful the way music moves me and touches my heart in a way that transports me. Our ears have such a treat of a job don't they? What a blessing to use music to praise and commune with our Creator! (If you haven't ever heard it, look for the song called The Singer, by David Phelps - truly amazing!) It's wonderful to be given all these senses to experience our days! Oh, Lord, may I never take any of them for granted!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Happy Valentine's Day
Okay - so I am already behind because I had planned to update every Wednesday night and I missed it last night! Oops! For what it is worth, it was an extraordinarily busy day and I was just happy to make it through in one piece! I spent the morning speaking at a MOPS meeting about an hour and a half from here and the treacherous roads made the morning trip about two and a half hours long. Praise God, I made it safely and the talk went very well. It was well received and the ladies were very receptive and gracious! The topic of the talk was Loving and Encouraging Your Husband, and the timing, so near to Valentine's Day, was perfect. Thanks to all who prayed. It is humbling to be used this way, and the responsibility I felt to share the Truth while I had the platform was a little lighter burden knowing I was being upheld in prayer!
As for today, the balmy temperatures, which have been in the mid-twenties, have been a welcomed reprieve from the sub-zero temperatures that have been ravaging our days of late! The weather people are predicting more snow tonight, and I am beginning to wonder where they will put it when they plow!
Enjoy this special day, and take a moment to kiss your spouse and your kiddos and the other loved ones in your life and count them as the blessings that they are...
As for today, the balmy temperatures, which have been in the mid-twenties, have been a welcomed reprieve from the sub-zero temperatures that have been ravaging our days of late! The weather people are predicting more snow tonight, and I am beginning to wonder where they will put it when they plow!
Enjoy this special day, and take a moment to kiss your spouse and your kiddos and the other loved ones in your life and count them as the blessings that they are...
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