GPS to a Joyful Marriage

HOW do you put your spouse ahead of your ‘self’? Pastor Garcia (the pastor of Grace World Outreach) said it very well at church this Sunday. “We aren’t here to make ourSELVES happy, but to make Him happy. He, in turn, makes us happy”. There you have it. We understand why we should put God ahead of our self, but why our spouse? Because God tells us to, in His word. He, in turn, will bless us for our obedience and give us the joyful marriage we desire. Philippians 2:3 says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Ephesians 5:25 tells us, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her .” When husbands heed this wonderful advice in Ephesians and sincerely place their wives ahead of themselves, the wives will usually reciprocate. Most women naturally want to put their husband’s needs ahead of their own, especially when they feel totally loved and adored. Everything els...

WHY do we put our spouse ahead of our ‘self’? by Sandee Lester The “S” in GPS stands for self. In Christian circles, self is a ‘four letter word.’ We are called to give up our “self” to follow the will of God. Our marriage relationship, ideally, should parallel our relationship with God. (More about that later.) Hence, we should always put our spouse ahead of our self. According to the world though, self should rank number one in our priorities. Self looks out for its own interests and welfare. Most of the time that includes overindulging in fleshly desires. Many people are obese because of too much food. Addiction is a raging problem with alcohol, drugs, sex, and anything else that comes before your relationship with your spouse or God. We are in the midst of a failing economy because of our gluttony for material things. Relationships in and out of marriage remain problematic because everyone fights for their selfish desires. James 4:1-3 “ What causes fights and quarrels among y...

The “P” in GPS stands for “Praise" while you remain "Positive."  Only speak praises to your spouse. Aaahh, I can sense the snarls as some of you read this. “ But you don’t know MY husband or MY wife!” No, I don’t, but I do know that none of us is perfect and NO one is easy to live with. Joining man and woman in holy matrimony shows God’s sense of humor (in my opinion). I always thought it would be easier for the women to live in one house and the men to live right next door. Couples could share plentiful conjugal visits while avoiding the dangers of living together under the same roof. However, God didn’t ask for MY opinion now, did He? He also didn’t promise us it would be easy. He joined man and woman because He knew, together, they would need His help. God has a plan and knows what is best for us. He saw that man and woman would complement each other and form a perfect union ordained by Him. That’s what we need to focus on. We need to continually look at the good in ...

How exciting to enter the world of blogging! Having just attended the Florida Christian Writer’s Conference, a new world revealed itself to me in my favorite class held there, Internet Marketing. Cyberspace calls to me. I still do not quite understand it but plan to learn all I can about it. Thanks for hanging in there with me as I weave my way into this mysterious world of “blogging”. As I pondered my first article I would post, it became obvious to me as I read back through my personal goals for this blog. I want to talk about God first and foremost. God saved my marriage. I could not have done it without him. Period. Too lost to know where to begin, I was overwhelmed with negative thoughts and emotions that only He could change. Thank you, God. As I look back at that horrific time, it amazes me to see how He gradually changed my thinking and attitude. Unfortunately for me (and my family), I allowed myself to wallow in the miry pits for quite awhile before I finally called out to...

G.P.S. to a Joyful Marriage featuring Sandee Lester Passionate about reaching out to other women, Sandee Lester has been in marriage ministry for the past seventeen years.  Performing since the age of seven, her comfort in front of an audience and love of people make her an entertaining speaker for your women’s event. In her powerful testimony, she openly shares her painful experience of dealing with troubles in her marriage, over 20 years ago, that were magnified by the sudden death of her father. After his death, she found herself facing issues from the divorce of her parents she never dealt with. Her anger towards her father transferred to her husband, who at that point, focused his time and energy on his Air Force career. She felt abandoned by her father and abandoned by her husband, and turned to another man for support. When her husband got an assignment to go to Germany, she contemplated divorce. God miraculously intervened at a time where Rick and Sandee...