This month we continue looking at Commitment 5: We will deal with our differences with appreciation and grace. OK, you've acknowledged that you and your spouse are different. The problem you really need help with is not so much that you are different, but how your sinful choices when dealing with your differences deepen your trouble rather than solving it. [...]
This month we begin looking at Commitment 5: We will deal with our differences with appreciation and grace. Unity in marriage is not the result of sameness. Unity is, rather, the result of what husband and wife do in the face of the inevitable differences that exist in the lives of every married couple. We continue this month looking at [...]
This month we continue looking at Commitment 4: We will commit to building a relationship of love. Many who look forward to marriage think of it as an extended date. Sure, you know your partner isn't perfect, but you love them. You are ready, willing, and can't wait to get married. It's been fun so far, so why should that [...]
This month we begin looking at Commitment 4: We will commit to building a relationship of love. John Lennon said that "all you need is love". The 70's music duo Captain and Tennille won record of the year in 1975 for extolling the sentiment that "love will keep us together." People's idea of what love is—and can do—varies almost as [...]
This month we begin looking at Commitment 3: We will work together to build a sturdy bond of trust. What is this thing called trust that is so essential to any good, sturdy, and healthy relationship? We are going to examine what trust is, what it looks like in a relationship, and—through some questions—reflect on our own relationship to see [...]
This month we finish our examination of Commitment 2: We will make growth and change our daily agenda. Last time, we examined our marriages, searching for those little thoughts, attitudes, and actions that you must say no to. We will now consider the things we must say yes to, and in so doing give them room to shape our marriage. [...]
This month we begin to look at Commitment 2: We will make growth and change our daily agenda. Marriage really is just a long-term exercise in gardening. If you’ve done any gardening you know there simply aren’t any shortcuts. Gardens begin with hard work. Clearing and tilling the land isn’t fun, but it’s essential. Digging holes for the seeds isn’t [...]
This month we continue to look at Commitment 1: We will give ourselves to a regular lifestyle of confession and forgiveness. Last month we talked about confession. This month we will focus on forgiveness. There is perhaps no other ingredient as essential to a healthy marriage than forgiveness. Yet forgiveness is not always attractive. Forgiveness is difficult and costly. It [...]
This month we will begin examining the daily commitments to live a lifestyle of reconciliation. When practiced, these commitments become daily habits that form the kind of marriage that God's design intended and His grace can make possible. Commitment 1: We will give ourselves to a regular lifestyle of confession and forgiveness. This month, we will be looking at having [...]
You can have a marriage that is mutually satisfying while being honoring to God. You really can! Accepting who you are, resting in who God is, and living as he calls you to live will produce a harvest that is far better than the small-vision dreams that you are able to come up with on your own. We continue this [...]
