Marriage: The 3rd ring

We just came back from a cruise last week with some sessions on marriage and business, a lot of very good information. So my husband asked me if I could take 1 word from this week, what would it be. Well my word was intentional. And that is because as a full-time mom, full-time wife and full-time nurse my life gets hectic and so many times we get caught up in the hustle and bustle we are letting life run us. But if we start living life intentionally, and being intentional in our marriage, it could be so much better. For instance giving your spouse words of affirmation. Most time y'all see each other in passing between work and activities and children activities it's hard to focus on something as simple as "you're wonderful" "you're sexy" things like that because you're thinking about work and life. Something as simple as setting a reminder in you phone to send a text or make a phone call can help you be intentional. Setting date nights on ...

Philippians 6-7  (message Bible) states:  Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. How many of us worry about our marriages our futures our significant others? We're human so it's so easy to do. And we live in a society full of choices, there are even some men and women who can know somebody is in a relationship, and be ok with being the "side piece". None of this is what marriage is about.... But if we give our marriages to God, and keep him in our marriage, we have nothing to worry about because at the end of the day God has us. I know sometimes we try to control things we might tell our spouse who they can or who they can't talk to, or where they can or can'...

Philippians  2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.  :4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. KJV Philippians2:3  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4  not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. NIV How many of us can actual say we do this in our marriages? How Many times do we try to control our spouse, without even knowing it. Telling them what they can do or what they can't. Who they can talk to or who they can't. Who they can hang with or who they can't. All these things are our way of controlling. For or own self, because it makes us feel better. At the end of the day yes our bodies are each other's. Yes. But we belong to God and so do our marriages. So let's trust God and our spouse to live according to how Good int...

Good morning! I was listening to the radio while driving back from work the other day and a song came on that I had to put on repeat! Some of you may know it, but it says sometimes you have to encourage yourself and sometimes you have to speak victory during the test, no matter how you feel... This song just blessed me! Then I thought about a friend who is having problems in their marriage and life. At a time like this when the biblical portrait of marriage is absolutely under attack, it is highly crucial that you find yourself 1. Rooted in God and 2. Speak life into your situation and into your marriage. Psalm 37:4 - Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. It's not that God is a genie and you just have to say a few words and then poof, insta-miracle. No. But when you truly line yourself up with the Word of God your thoughts begin to line up with the will of God. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Proverbs 18:21 - Death ...

Are you transparent in your relationship? Really think about this. Does your spouse know where you are? Do you have open communication? Not just responding to questions,  but engaging in conversation. Communicating with how your day was and what you did. Do you come home after work and if not died your spouse know where you are? If someone flirts with you or contacts you and you know it not a good idea, do you tell your spouse or do you just hold it in? In building strong communication and relationships and  trust. We need to be transparent. Yes we all are our own people and entitled to privacy. But if your cell phone is locked. WHY? If your engaging in conversation and actions you wouldn't want your spouse doing or your spouse couldn't do it with you. WHY are you doing it. What's the point? 1 Thessalonians  5:22 Abstain from all appearance of evil. Meaning your intentions may be good. But how does it appear? How did it appear to God, to your spouse. Go...

... is probably one of the hardest concepts to understand concerning marriage, but hands down the most thrilling and rewarding. Like most people out there, I know, I am not perfect. I make mistakes, some that could have had a detrimental impact on not just my marriage to my wife, but to my soul and spirituality. I had the problem that most guys deal with, pride and a emotionally stunted heart. Sure, I have always considered myself a nice enough guy, but emotionally for a really long time, I was emotionally devoid of, well, a heart. I guess you could have called me the Tin Man! Unlike the Tin Man however, I was not looking for the Yellow Brick road nor was I looking for my Dorothy to help me get to the man that would fix me up! The thing about complacency and depression and being stuck in darkness for a really long time, you get used to it. Ever try to open your eyes in the sunlight after being in a dark room for an extended time? Well guess what, it hurts! Being the Tin Man that I w...

Whats holding your marriage together? Have you ever stopped to really think about that. Is it the kids, or is it finances? Is it guilt, or fear? Or is it commitment, or love? There is at least one marriage out there that one of these things above is what they feel is holding their marriage together. But what happens when the children grow up and move out? What happens when one feels like they now make enough money to be on their own, so finances are not a factor? What happens when the guilty party  doesn't have the guilt anymore? What happens if someone breaks the commitment? Or what happens is the fairytale is over and it feels like the love has faded? Is there still a marriage, will you stay and work it out? Or has the key ingredient to holding your marriage together been missing all along? Me and my husband learned not too long ago that even if we didn't feel like we loved each other at times, if we truly loved God that was enough to work through anything. How do...