GPS to a Joyful Marriage

Another year passes with a new one waiting to unfold.  We start it with resolutions and hopes of better days ahead.  It’s a chance to start over – hit the reset button.  We want to believe this New Year will be better as we learn from the mistakes of our past.  We tend to go to into the New Year looking forward – not dwelling on the past.  There’s a whole year ahead of us that promises new possibilities.   The same should apply to your marriage.  Don’t dwell on the past – make the best of your present so your future will look bright. Use that reset button in your marriage, too. You can use it as needed, not just once a year. Our tendency is to be the least forgiving and the least forgetful with our own spouses.  We, especially women, remember every careless comment and rude behavior our spouse ever emits.  Like the promises of a new year, we need to push the reset button sometimes and start over in our marriages.  Forgive and f...

I want to take the opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!  May your family time be richly blessed as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I’m sharing with you the words to a Christmas song I wrote numerous years ago at a time when the Christmas season was too busy for me and very stressful.  It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of this over-commercialized season.  If we keep our focus on that special day, though, we find the peace and joy we desire as we celebrate Christmas. A Special Day   by Sandee Lester As I walk through the street with the snow falling ‘neath my feet. My thoughts drift to Christmases gone by Thoughts of family and friends whom I would love to see again And share the spirit of this holiday There’s much more to this season than blinking lights and gifts galore We often forget the reason that this holiday is really for It’s a time to celebrate and rejoice Because God made His ...

The horrific events of this past Friday seem to have been the focal point of most conversations and Facebook postings over the weekend.  It’s so difficult to understand.  We painfully grieve for the families involved and can’t begin to comprehend what they must be experiencing.  Who would want to?  And what is it with the name “Sandy” lately?  Please call me “Jo” from now on. Whenever there have been brutal acts of this sort, or I lose a friend or relative to death, I can’t help but ponder on this inevitable state we will all face some day.  One thing I know it does; it quickly puts my life into alignment, my priorities in order.  We begin to appreciate the family and friends nearest to our heart when we see how quickly a life can be taken.  We have a very selfish attitude towards death.  We aren’t ready to leave yet – we still have things to do.  We don’t want to lose our loved ones – the pain would be unbearable.  Go...

A number of years ago, I watched an interesting Oprah show.  I don’t remember who the guest was, but I clearly recall his statement about prayer.  He said, “Couples who pray together have better sex lives than couples who don’t.”  How could prayer affect a couple’s sexual activity so much? My first thought is that God blesses married couples who strive to keep Him in the center of their marriage.  God made marriage to be a sacred union between a man and woman.  He delights in our desires to honor that union and seek His face for help.  God gave us sex not only to procreate, but also as a physical demonstration of two becoming one in marriage.  Emotional and physical intimacy, together, form an unbreakable bond between a man and woman.   I believe sex is enhanced by our willingness to follow God’s plan in our marriages and in our lives, especially when we join together in prayer. Secondly, prayer generates intimacy, especially fo...

I regularly discuss in my blog posts the importance of praying together as a couple.  I can’t emphasize it enough.  I feel so strongly about it that I want to take the time to look at why it is so important. If you believe in God or have attended church, you probably know the value of prayer.  Or do you?  I’m amazed at the amount of people who are uncomfortable with prayer, especially in front of other people - particularly their own spouse.  Even if you had the benefit of living in a family that required you to attend church weekly, you did not necessarily learn how to pray. I look back at my own church experience.  Maybe my heart wasn’t in the right place as a child or I didn’t listen well, but I don’t remember any discussion about how to pray.  It always seemed to be the pastor leading the prayer, and it was usually to open or close the service.  I did not go to a church that taught you to seek the Lord in prayer in all you do.  ...