GPS to a Joyful Marriage

People seem to be busier and busier than ever, yet we have all these modern inventions to supposedly "ease" our time, give us more opportunity for relaxation.  With the new smartphones, everything is at your finger tips.  They should make life so much simpler.  They do, to a point, but they've also added a new dimension of distraction that causes people to rudely ignore those around them, even those they love the most.  The same could be said about computers.  (Of course, half of my time on the computer seems to be spent trying to figure out how to get it to do what I want it to do.) I see so many frazzled young mothers who are trying to do everything.  Their lives are so busy that they can't even see straight.  They can't see how desperate their children are for quality attention from their parents, and how they long for some time to just act like children.  They're off every evening to some sports practice, or musical lesson, or Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts

One of the best words I have learned to use over the years is “no”.  You see, I was always the person to go to when you needed something done because I could never refuse to help.  I had to work at learning to say “no”.  I spent many years running myself ragged between taking care of my home, my children, my husband, all their activities, and the many projects I participated in because I couldn’t say “no”.   It’s exhausting and distracts you from God and His plan for your life. In Luke chapter ten is the story of Mary and Martha, a great example of how our busyness gets in the way. Luke 10:38-42 “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said.  But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.  She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?  Tell he

I spent 25 of my almost 31 years of marriage following my husband around the world with the Air Force.  We moved every two to three years and some times after only one year because of the various schools Rick attended.   Many times we changed houses in the middle of an assignment.   We currently live in our 18 th home and have  been in this house for almost five years now.   No wonder I feel restless. I’ve recently discovered a pattern in my life from all these moves.  When we lived in a place that I wasn’t particularly crazy about, or a house I didn’t like, or I didn’t have the close friends I desired, I would fold up those feelings and put them in a suitcase and shut it tight.  I knew we would be moving in a year or two.  I could put up with anything for that amount of time.  Maybe we would move to a better house, a better place, or closer to my family.   I realize that I carried these bags with me everywhere we went, and the bag got fuller and fuller each time we moved. W

I found myself riding the emotional roller coaster for a couple days last week.  For the life of me, I couldn’t tell you one event that put me there.  The little fluctuations in life seem to drive it (along with these hormones that we have Eve to thank for).  I’m amazed how I can be sailing along with no cares, feeling on top of the world, and one little comment from someone can throw me for a loop.  My mood can change from a joyful calm to an anxious melancholy at the snap of a finger. Mind you, I’ve come a long way from my days of being an emotional junkie, but once in a while, they still give me a test of my faith.  Even worse, I tend to forget about the spiritual battle engaging around me at these times, trying to destroy my ministry and my marriage.  Satan’s done a good job in making me think it’s my entire fault when I’m in the midst of these rides. My husband, on the other hand, is the most even-keeled, optimistic person I’ve ever met.  He helps me stay balanced.  I rarely

As I’m writing this, I sense a possible cringing in some of you who have followed me this far on my journey through the roles of men and women.  This profound look into our roles is not intended as a guideline for how I think you should behave – by any means!  It is simply a glimpse into how the judgment on Eve and Adam affected our human nature.   I believe God meant it to show Adam and Eve the consequences of their disobedience, not necessarily the correct behavior for man and woman.  But because it was of God, this judgment would be permanently embedded in the souls of all mankind, predisposing us to these desires and characteristics that now conflict with societal rules and worldly ideas in the 21 st century.  And there lies the problem . “And he will rule over you.”  This last piece of the judgment on Eve distresses our female souls and causes serious complications in the perceived roles between men and women.  For centuries, it was accepted for a man to rule over the woman