A New Beginning

Happy New Year!  Another new year with a fresh slate ahead for wonderful adventures to be had!  We get a new beginning!

This year will start with my new book coming out in a few weeks - “GPS to a Joyful Marriage.”  This book has been in the making for a number of years.  It is a short, easy to read book that gives you biblical tools to help a troubled marriage and to help maintain a healthy marriage.  It is comprised of information that Rick and I have gathered over the years, from counseling couples and holding seminars, which we believe to be the core of a successful marriage based on biblical principles.

Now that I’m on a purposeful track to expand my marriage ministry with my husband, I plan to get back to marriage articles on this blog.  I have strayed a bit and gone off into other tangents.  Thank you for your patience – those of you who have come seeking marriage advice to only find words about food!  This blog has been around for almost six years and actually started with information that I used for my book.  You can access past articles on whatever topic you desire (see the category list on the right side of the blog).  Now back to marriage stuff!

The “GPS” in “GPS to a Joyful Marriage” stands for what I call “emergency help” for marriage.  If you don’t have time to seek counsel or read a book, remember “GPS”.  Following these directions will lead you on the right path to a healthy marriage.

“G” stands for God.  Put God first in your life – ahead of your spouse and your children, your work and your church.  We were created by an amazing God out there who desires to know us.  Going to church every Sunday and Wednesday will not do it.  He wants a personal relationship with us where we turn to Him for every aspect of our life.

When my marriage was in shambles, and I contemplated leaving my husband for another man, I heard a small voice in my head saying, “I’m not going to be happy if you divorce your husband.”  I knew it was God.  I had been more active in church in those days than I’d ever been in my life, yet it was also the most immoral time of my life.  I didn’t want to hear what God had to say to me.

Rick had gotten an assignment to go to Bitburg, Germany at that time, and I did not want to go with him. God’s continual reminder about not divorcing my husband stuck with me, though.  Deep in depression, I didn’t know what to do.   It occurred to me that if I could love Rick again, I could face whatever the future held in a foreign country.  With nowhere else to turn, I started praying to God to show me how to love my husband again.  It was a test to see if God was real and if He would be there for me.

God began to return that love, and I went to Germany.  He healed my marriage in such a mighty way that I don’t ever want to go back to life without Him.  I will always include Him in everything I do.

God has a plan for each and every one of us.  When we are busy with living life our own way, we will certainly miss it.  I promise you, God can do much greater things for you than you can possibly do on your own.  He can do greater things for your marriage if you just take the time to build a relationship with Him.  Include Him in the middle of your marriage.  Take your problems to Him.  He will lead you to the healthy marriage He desires for you.

Start this New Year by involving God in all you do, especially when it comes to your marriage.  You will see amazing changes in your life!




More “GPS” to follow…



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Slow Down, You Move Too Fast!

I drove to Atlanta last week for a speaking engagement.  I do not like driving on Interstates, but the back roads would have added at least an hour to my trip, and I just wanted to get there.  I dislike Interstates because I become a different person behind the wheel.  I start out with every intention of going the speed limit and staying in the far right lane.  That way I can relax and have a peaceful drive.  And then I have to pass someone. That’s when my alter ego takes over.  Suddenly, passing only one car is not enough.  Driving becomes a competition, and I have to get ahead of everyone.  I become Speed Racer.  I push my speed to the limit as I weave in and out of the passing lanes to get in front.  There is no relaxing when I drive this way. As I fought through traffic in Atlanta, I realized how tense I felt.  It reminded me of my life, a number of years ago, when I was always on the go, staying busy every moment and rushing from one event to another.  I navigated through
Read more

Love According to the Bible: the Man's Role

Ephesians 5:25-30 says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church.” These are very powerful verses that strongly suggest the utmost devotion to one’s wife. Nothing (but God Himself) should be held in higher esteem than a wife. These verses compare a husband-wife relationship to that of Christ and the church. Jesus gave Himself up for the church, in death, that we could be blameless. Giving one’s life for another is the ultimate sacrifice, the ultimate love, as Jesus showed us. This expresses God’s amazing love for us, and Ephesia
Read more