GPS to a Joyful Marriage

John 15:4 says, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you.  No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.  Neither can you bear much fruit unless you remain in me.” “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.”  These are words from Jesus in the book of John.  He is telling us that unless we have him involved in our lives, we are not going to bear much fruit.  What’s so important about fruit?  Further on in John 15, verse 8 says, “This is to my Father’s glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”  Fruit is an outward sign that we have Jesus in our lives, that we strive to live a Godly life.  In addition, if our fruit isn’t healthy, our marriage is not going to be healthy. What exactly is “fruit” though?  The Bible talks frequently about it.  We all know the difference between a bad apple and a good apple.  A good year for the orange juice industry is when the or...

During our pre-marriage class, one of the women was talking about how difficult it is to get her fiance to talk with her.  Not just small, everyday talk, but a deep, emotional discussion that most women thrive on.  Men, on the other hand, want to run from it. I’ve been married 29 years now, and it’s taken me almost this long to make Rick realize how important this type of conversation is to me. Most men only discuss something when they are seeking a solution.  For example: if we are having a problem with one of our cars, Rick will only go to someone knowledgeable about cars to discuss it.  He won’t waste his time talking about it with someone else just for the sake of talking about it.  Feelings don't enter into the conversation unless someone overcharges him for work. Most women like to talk about things - just for the sake of talking about things.  It is how we work out our problems; we talk through it.  We like to talk about our feelings....

Philippians 2:14,15 says, “Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation.” Sometimes, when I hear couples speak derogatory words to each other, I want to throw cold water on them to get their attention.  Countless couples get caught in an endless cycle of  insulting each other in a word game they intend to win no matter the cost.  That seems to be their only means of communicating.  Sadly, many of them wind up in divorce - a devastating price they pay for not learning to control their tongue. Rick watched a movie in the middle of the night when he couldn’t sleep called “Diary of an Angry Black Man.”  It was about this man who worked very hard, coming home exhausted, to a wife that did nothing but complain and put him down.  He was tired of it. This wife would get together with her friends, and they would do nothing but badmouth their husbands, onl...

Happy Labor Day to everyone!  I’m a little late posting this because there was no Wi-Fi in the RV Park we stayed at as promised on their website.  So I’m doing this as we arrive home from our weekend in Orlando late in the afternoon. Last night I had no idea what I was going to write about.  First of all, let me tell you that my word processing program is not working right and I can’t open a new file.  I have to add on to an already saved file.  I’m sure some of you immediately know how to remedy this, but unless you send me a message, I will spend numerous hours figuring it out on my own. What’s funny, or more of what I’d call a ‘Godincident’, (my preferred word for coincident),  I found a file titled “God’s sense of humor” and thought I’d check it out.  Maybe that would give me some ideas. I couldn’t believe it when I started reading it.  It started out with Rick and me just returning from an RV park in Orlando - Labor Day weekend of last ...