Marriage after saying "I do"

The family is the closest and most tender bond here on earth. It was designed to be a blessing to humanity. It is a blessing wherever the marriage covenant is entered with the fear of God and with due consideration for its responsibilities.

Those who are going to marriage should consider what would be the character and influence of the home they will be making. As they will become parents, a sacred trust and responsibility is chained to them. Upon them depends a great measure of the well-being of their children and solely affects their future happiness. Largely they determine both the physical and moral qualities that these young ones receive.

Before assuming the responsibilities inside marriage, couples to be should have an experience in practical life that will prepare them for their future duties and obligations. For me early marriage must not be encouraged. A marriage is not as easy as saying the word “I do”. It involves great courage to face the real world of marriage. A relation as important as marriage and so extensive is the results that should not be entered with haste and without sufficient preparation. Couples entering marriage should be prepared physically, emotionally and mentally.

As one book have said “Let those who are contemplating marriage weigh every sentiment and watch every character in the one with whom they think to unite their life and destiny.” Consider every step in marriage with humility, sincerity, patience, simplicity, respect and with a purpose to be in God’s guidance.

Marriage when saying, “I do” is just the beginning. The real union of a couple in a wedding is the work of the after years. Husband and wife will learn each other’s character as they stay under one roof. This is the most critical period in a marriage. Irritations and arguments steps in. The happiness and strength of a marriage depends upon taking the right course now. Adjustments must be made and seek positives rather than the defects of your partner. Though differences and discouragements may arise, let not let it be a union of mistake and discouragement. Continue determining to be all that is possible to each other. In every way, encourage each other in fighting the battles of life. Always be there to support and exert every effort to be there for your partner.

Let each couple give love rather than expecting a perfect and exact love. Let them give what they have to give. Learn to uplift and develop each other and be quick to recognize the positive attitudes of each other.”Sympathy and respect encourage the striving after excellence, and love itself increases as it stimulates to nobler aims.”

How To Be In-Love Inside Your Marriage

The words "I love you" how many times do you say it in a day? When you and your partner are busy on kids, job deadlines and friends meetings sometimes a quick "I love you”" can always change anything at the end of the day.

However, sometimes there are persons who are shy and cannot say, “I love you” to their loved one personally. As one saying goes, "There's evidence behind it -- actions really do speak louder than words. If you cannot easily spill out romantic words to your partner these are simple strategies that will send your message loud and clear:

"The best way of expressing love is by knowing what your partner needs and doing it,”. This shows that you listen to him and that his well-being and happiness is important to you. Don’t wait any longer for your partner to say I need this every time your partner will feel a lack of attention and if not fulfilled it will surely lead to despair. The key is to pay attention. For example, if your mate is stressed or loaded on household work, and you are there sitting and watching TV. it is but proper to make an effort to offer help or take on some of her household chores to ease her burden. A thoughtful gesture from a partner is always appreciated no matter how small or simple it is.

An unexpected gift or note saying, “You are special or Thank you” on a card. It shows that you think and care for her and feel connected to him even when you're not together." Simple thoughts can brighten up your partner’s day. No matter how tiring the day is if he feels someone cares for him and gives concerns it will definitely make his day brighter. If you happen to pass by a mall buying a favorite food of your wife or husband like food that will make both of you remember your courtship days will add to the romantic glitters of your marriage.

Once in a while like going for a date to your favorite movie house before you are married or going to the park whatever you have done before that both of you enjoy. Before we got married, my husband and I go always to movies and bowling games. Until now, if we have time we still do it. Surprises always come along with laughter and cheers.

One of the researches says, "Looking into each other's eyes signals you are deeply connected”. Most busy couples, however, manage only quick glances. Take advantage of opportunities for eye contact that last longer than a few seconds do. If you have a dinner date, lock eyes during your conversation. Face each other as you chat in bed before falling asleep. Even when surrounded by others seek out your partner's eyes and make a quick connection.

Quality time is better than saying "I love you" a thousand times. Occasionally, suggest an activity that incorporates one of your partner's interests, even if it does not coincide with your own. Sometimes you can be more bonded with your partner if you set aside your selfish getting his attention thing. Learn to adjust and consider your partners individuality. You are partners but you are different individuals as well. Go with the flow of your partner’s interest also. Loving and learning your partner’s interest is always a part of your marriage bond. My husband is into bowling and I am not into sports. However, giving time for him to teach me the tricks in bowling gave me a chance to appreciate my husband’s interest and it is a good bonding experience.

Physical connection between a husband and a wife does not necessarily mean going to bed romantically. If both of you grow old already the best thing to do is to settle for simple romantic gestures. Holding your partners hands while walking, throwing a big hug and looking into his eyes or just a simple smile with a pat saying “Thank you for being a part of my life” is the real score in a marriage that bonds couples together.

Romantic gestures are not only for women every human needs it and that include men. Marriage always takes two to tango and making and building a lifelong strong relationship always takes two! It does not matter if you are expressive through words or actions. The best thing is making everything to at least let your partner feel that he or she is extra special in your life. It does not matter how simple it is as what they always say, “It is the thought that counts”.

Courtship inside marriage?

During courtship, most couples go of their way to please each other. Couples tend to always put their right foot forward to show how they love each other. They tend to please to look for the good qualities of their future partner. Then after marriage, too many couples quit working on these things and stop courting. Why is this so? May be couples got already what they wanted or just a bit slow and bored of doing things like pleasing their partner or busy on doing work to raise a family.

Whatever is the reason behind as a couple if you want to have a lasting relationship having a courtship factor is necessary! Being patient, understanding, listening are not the only keys to strengthen your marriage bond but it also includes doing things to please your spouse.

Do you still hold hands while walking like what you have done before marriage? How many times do you say I love you in a day or never already in a day unlike when you are courting when you say I love you every minute of the day? When was the last time you hugged your spouse and said thank you for a good thing that he has done? When was the last time you listened to her to the good and bad of each day or do you listen very little?

In marriage courtship must never stop! Courtship inside marriage is not only done to please your partner but it brings out of your passion to say how much you really love your partner. Sometimes marriage stops because there is no tickling factor or something that would make your relationship worth wanting more. Courtship in marriage is compared to as a vitamin of marriage. You need courtship a surprise to let your partner know that he or she is still important and deserves or worth of your effort and attention.

Marriage takes work, but it is worth it. The rewards of having a stable and sweet relationship far exceed the cost and effort that both couples are doing. Try ways to surprise your partner even for just for a while to enhance your courtship factor inside your marriage. It does not matter how simple it is or how it was prepared. In every couple putting attention, communication and giving time for each moment is always appreciated!

Love on turns

Love, Love, and lots of love. However, how do you really define true love? In the bible, it says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects always trusts, always hopes, and always preserves.”1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love is composed on poems and songs like… Love moves in mysterious ways it is always so surprising. When love appears over the horizon, I will love you for the rest of my days but still, it is a mystery how you ever came to me which only proves love moves in mysterious ways! However, how can you define true love when you are hurting, stressed, bored, and sick or your partner is dying?

 

There is a real true to life story of a couple here in our country. The couple has been married for three years.Rodel is a very good and caring husband. He has been excellent in providing the financial needs of his family. While Elena was an accountant and has been a loving and most caring wife as she could be. They were blessed with a two-year-old son named Matthew. The family was indeed very happy and near to having a perfect family. After a year, Elena became pregnant again. Everyone was so happy to welcome another child to be a part of their loving family. All was preparing for his birth.

 

When baby Joshua came, it was the same time that Elena was paralyzed. When she gave birth there have been an over dosage of the anesthesia that was given to her. She was paralyzed totally and for the rest of her life she would be on a wheel chair. Depression sets in and questions cannot stop to come. They are indeed a perfect family before, happy and contented until this trial came.Rodel could not imagine seeing Elena on the wheel chair. The sweet and jolly wife that was always there to greet her with a smile. Now Elena could just stare at him and can’t talk.Rodel would always cry on the knees of his wife and embrace her. Elena can just cry and cannot even utter a word.

 

Rodel and Elena until now are still happy and accepted the trial in there life.Rodel decided to stay and take care of Elena for a lifetime. In times, that Elena needed her he has always been there in happy times and rough times Rodel has always been there to comfort her.

For me, love can be found and felt in different ways but true love is rare and should be treasured. I love my wife and my children unconditionally and it will always be. True love takes time; it is not felt overtime in a day. It is made with happy times and rough times as the pillars of that love. It is true love when you learn to love unconditionally without expecting it in return. How about you when you are in this situation are you willing to go through what your partner is going or will you give up and leave her in despair?

Looking through the eyes of love

We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). Everyone goes through trials and no one is an exception to the rule. Trials come occasionally in our lives but it is the attitude that we have when we go through them that matters most. If we have trials, do we tend to complain and blame God for bad things that come to our lives? On the other hand, have we learned to humbly say thank you in the midst of trials? As what they always say, it is easy to say thank you if your life is going so well but how do you dare respond when trials come?

My wife and I have been married for 11 years and last year I could say is one of the toughest years in our marriage. I have been an engineer and worked for ten years in my chosen profession. Recession was all over the world and since I worked before in a consultancy firm, that has projects, mostly in Europe and U.S.A. our company had to close and retrench most of their employees. Unfortunately, I was one of them and losing my job had given us a financial strain in our family. I did not have a job for two months and my two kids have been hospitalized. Due to financial problem, we sold our car and believed that the Lord will sustain our every need. In the midst of our trials my wife and I did not lose heart, the two of us were more bonded than ever. Looking through the eyes of love was indeed the song for us in that year.

After two months of going through rough times, God indeed sustained us. God gave me a job in an international company. I had the highest salary in years that was more than what I expected. I believe God only tested our faith on what extent on how we will put our trust in Him. Now my family is enjoying the goodness of the Lord to us.

The two of us prayed through every rough time, we found our faith growing and our walk with God deepening. One more lesson learned, if your partner is going through a difficult time, gather and pray, but do not carry the burden. Even you may want to carry his load and make it yours do not do it. It will only make your partner feel weaker and a failure. Instead, support your spouse, encourage and stand firm for him.

One of my favorite authors Stormie Omartian says, “Trials can be a purifying fire and cleansing water. You do not want your partner to be burned or drowned; you want him to get refined and be renewed. If nothing can separate him from the love of God, then no matter how bad it get’s he always has hope!”

Are your kids taking over your marriage?

Hmmm…does my title ring a bell? One of the greatest tests of parents is how to sustain their relationship with their partners in the course of challenging presence of children. Without your knowing children will get the run of your relationship if not properly directed.

Research shows, marital satisfaction habitually declines after having three babies, while separations and divorces rise. Furthermore, children happen to be silent mistresses of a marriage. Because having children demands most of your time and attention. However, I totally disagree to this research. Children are a blessing from God; they are given to a couple as a gift to further bond couples and not to divide them. Couples who stick together as partners through the process of becoming parents can keep their marriage strong.

When our eldest child was born, she was the most beautiful face. We experienced great joy but we have also come to realization that having a child and becoming parents will become our greatest challenge. My wife and I would make shifts in taking care of our baby. I would do at least 3 hours of taking care of our baby at night so my wife could rest for a while. She would be in charge of taking care of our baby on daytime and the rest of the night. Our time was really focused on our baby and honestly, we overlooked the nurturing of our relationship for some time.

My wife and I realized that we could remain partners and parents at the same time. To avoid stress, arm yourself with lots of information. You can ask your parents and friends or read books about the basic process of having a newborn and the frequent possibilities that you have to adapt. Do not hesitate to negotiate with your partner. If you feel you have already reached your limitations then it is time to seek your partners help. Do not carry all the burden of parenthood. Being parents is a two way process, both partners must rotate the tires in raising up their children. Despite the endless demands of parenthood, be sure to take time for just the two of you. In taking care of your children, treat it as part of your love and not just of a mere obligation.

Having our children made our lives more complicated, but it made our relationship stronger and deeper. In fact, I love our life now and that is because of our two kids. Marriage always takes two and it means also in becoming parents. The expert comments: “No one takes a mother’s place, and the family will be stronger and happier if she makes room for Daddy!” “Children have taken two people who loved each other and turned them into something more: OUR CHILDREN MADE US A FAMILY!”

The Joe D' Mango Love story

Hello friends! I just like to share to you a touching story e-mailed to one of my friends matt. Here is an excerpt of the story. It talks about forgiveness and second chances. To all of the married couples I highly recommend this story. Please read be inspired and moved! You can read the full story here http://mattscradle.com/?p=328 Thank you friends!

                          “I LOVE YOU IN SPITE OF…”

What hurts most?

…when you can’t fight for that one thing that would make you happy…

…I may never be the guy you look forward to seeing every day…

…but I will always be the guy who will look out for you each and every day…

Sad Girl: “don’t make me feel that i’m just a selfish jerk just because I

made you cry”!

Sad Guy: “then don’t make me feel like I did nothing for you when I almost died crying just to see you smile…”Men are haunted by the vastness of eternity. And some ask ourselves: Will our actions echo across the centuries?

Will strangers hear our names long after we are gone, and wonder who we were, how bravely we fought, how fiercely we loved?

Love isn’t when you can’t sleep … it’s when you want to keep your eyes

open…

Love isn’t when you keep holding on … it’s when you learn to let go …

Love isn’t when you kill yourself with jealousy … it’s when you

understand …

Love isnt’ when you fall for someone … it’s when you catch that person

when she falls…

Love isn’t when you see her everywhere … it’s when you close your eyes

and she is still there …Love isn’t when you tell her what you feel … it’s when you give

everything for her sake…And Love isn’t when you think you were blind … it’s when you know she

was wrong but you didn’t mind!

http://mattscradle.com/?p=328

It's a choice we have to make

My family and I just finished watching a mass on television. We were touched and moved on a film clip that was shared by our favorite priest this morning. Let me share to you this story.

It was the story of a man who loves his son very dearly. His father was a bridge master. The child loves to watch trains and the people who ride in them. He loves to play outside the railways while his father does his job. One day his father pushed the lever for the bridge to go up and give way for a ship to pass by. A train was coming and the driver of the train did not notice the stop light. The boy noticed the coming train and shouted “Daddy Daddy hurry a train is coming push down the lever, the people will die push the lever so the bridge would go down.” The father did not hear his voice because he went at the back of the room. When the father went, back he noticed that there was a train coming, he searched for his son but his son was nowhere to be found. He looked outside and there was his son under the bridge trying to pull the lever manually for the bridge to go down. His son fell and was under the bridge. The train was coming and it is his choice to pull the lever or not. The father did not know what to do and he was crying he has to decide to save the life of the people inside the train or to allow his son to be crushed by the bridge. With tears on his eyes, the father pulled the lever down to save the people. He rushed and went to his son who was there lying without breath. He cried and shouted but he could not bring back his son’s life back. It was a sacrifice of one to save the lives of many people.

God sacrificed His son for us because He loved us. His son was willing to pay the price for us. Supreme sacrifice is an act of an unconditional love. In this story, it also shows us that life is a choice we have to make. Life is full of surprises and sacrifices. It goes also with marriage, sacrifices when made, as an act of love is not sacrifice but an opportunity to express the humane part inside of us. Problems, irritations and temptations are always there but it is our choice on how we should handle it. Express your love today and let your partner feel that they are loved before it is too late. If you have hurts toward your spouse or a loved one, it is the time to let go and forgive. If you feel you have offended your partner, be humble and ask forgiveness. Love is always forgiving; it covers all wrongs and covers all imperfections.

Sometimes God gives us obstacles in our lives but I believe He has a purpose for everything. He will not give us situations that we cannot bear. He heals our wounds and gives answers to our questions in His perfect time. This holy week let it be an opportunity for us to be with our loved ones and reflect on our inner selves. Please watch this full video. Click on the link below, be moved and be changed!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zktz8Fisaf4

A lovely surprise

I went home last night with a joy in my heart to see my family waiting for me. My wife and two children usually sit outside our door and waits for my arrival. My wife would say that waiting for me to arrive becomes one of their bonding moments. They would sit, sing songs and look at the moon and the stars while waiting for me. When I finally came home, my children would always run to embrace me and tell me were glad you are here daddy! Every day I would come home having something for my kids. I would bring home anything; even little candies can give them always a smile. It is a pretty thing that young children are contented even on the most little things especially if it comes from their father.

My wife would usually kiss me and smile looking at my kids enjoy the food that I have bought them. That night I gave my wife a lovely surprise. I bought her a pasta dish and a drink that happens to be her favorite. She was surprised because I do not usually do that. She asked me why there is an occasion or have you done something wrong? I said, “No it’s just one of my ways to say thank you for being a good wife and a nice mother.” My wife smiled and said thank you for making her day beautiful.

Love always communicates through emotions. Try to understand your partners love language. If you cannot think of a lovely surprise then think of the things that you have done before she said yes to marry you. Did you often give her flowers, letters or a simple text message can make her happy?

We should learn to appreciate our partners and make them feel that they are a special part of our lives. Communication does not always mean to be verbal. Your partner will love you best if you communicate with simple gestures of caring and thoughtfulness. As what I always say, “Courtship must not end after marriage it should remain in a relationship, it is a lifetime process.”

Partners for a lifetime

For years, my wife has a heart ailment and cared a little about exercise. She would rather do household chores or read a book than doing an exercise. I would buy video tapes and let her watch health programs but it seems it has no effect on her. I would always ask her a question “why are you not listening every time I talk about your health problem?” My wife would always tell me “I’m busy taking care of you and our children. I have no time for those exercises”.

My wife had a heart attack recently and luckily, I was home to comfort her. Being with my wife and doing the household chores and taking care of our children gave me the answers to my question. My wife was so busy taking care of us and no one was taking care of her. She would always be busy doing things for us and she forgot herself. She devoted almost all her time to show her love for us but neglecting her needs in the end.

After a week, I talked to my wife and let her do the talking I was there just to listen. My wife said, “I can be with the Lord anytime and showing my love for you is the least thing that I can do.”I told her “You can show your love to us by taking care of us but please don’t overdo it! Please take time to relax and give time for yourself. When you are hurt or sick, your children and I will suffer in the end. We love you, being with us and seeing you healthy and well will give us more happiness rather than doing chores on a hard way. So please take care of yourself not just for me but also as a wife and a mother.” Now, to prove that we are partners for a lifetime and in all things doing exercise with the whole family became one of our happy bonding moments.

I do not want to sound dramatic but I do not care how people would respond but I love my wife dearly and I would do anything for her. I am always praying for her health and I know God heals; He has a reason and a time for everything. If you are experiencing the same and you often pray for healing but nothing happens, do not stop and do not be dismayed. Pray for your partner’s health and leave it in God’s hands. Always remember your bond in your marriage “In sickness and in health till death do us part.”Be true to your bond and be partners for a lifetime!

The beauty inside her

My eldest child just graduated from pre-school last week and she was the first in her class. Before we went to her graduation ceremony, my child would be a lot of concerned about the way she looks. She would always ask, “Daddy am I beautiful, honestly do I look good?” I would smile back and say, “You’re the most beautiful girl in my life and you will always be.” At her young age, telling her that she is beautiful always brings a twinkle to her eyes.

This attitude of a woman I tell you does not change from her age. A young or an older woman loves to hear that she is beautiful especially from her husband. Your love can literally make your wife beautiful. How could you expect your wife to be beautiful if she always hear rude words and treats her in an ill-mannered way? Husbands should learn to appreciate the love and service that a wife gives. She does not ask for money in return of her efforts so at least a little attention from a husband will not matter much. Your wife is like a flower that needs water to grow and you as a man of her life are the water that would nourish and give her a reason to grow beautiful. Without your love and attention, your wife can dry up and loose the beauty inside her.

Your wife is beautiful, regardless what her age is. I know it personally because man got attracted first to the physical attributes of a woman and character comes at the latter part. You married her because there is beauty inside her in some way. If there, have been hurts in the past that hinders you in looking at the beauty of your wife inside and out, forgive and try to focus on the positives. Stop focusing on her negative attitudes and start to look at the positive things that your wife has.

If you like to see the beauty inside her it is up to you! Start now by appreciating what she is doing, saying I love you or a smile every time you go home even though you’re tired at work, hugging her and saying I thank God that He has given me a wonderful wife and a secret don’t stop courting your wife. Courtship must not stop after marriage it should be a lifetime process. Do this and your wife would be beautiful and glowing inside and out I guarantee that!

Be Compassionate

Is your spouse in physical or emotional pain? Do you feel hopeless and you do not know what to do about it? Some couples when faced with this situation tend to move away or sort to doing awful things. If you want to save your marriage, prayer and compassion are two things you have to bear in mind. Moving away from the situation will not be helpful; it will only lead to added frustration and setbacks that will hurt your marriage. The right thing to do is learn and face the truth, be compassionate, try to look for solutions and do everything to make your spouse feel that you are always there.

My wife has heart problems and until now, it has been one of our battles in our marriage. It all started when my wife gave birth to our second child. She took this birth control pill for more than a year it was ok and there was no side effects at all except a little weight gain. A few months later, my wife became weak and fainted for several times. At first, she said it was just a tiring day or she feels stressed out. Days passed by and her case worsened, she had heart palpitations, difficulty in breathing, vomiting and abdominal pains. She continued taking it but on her second year, my wife had severe pain in the chest that reached her left arm, collapsed and fallen unconscious several times usually at midnight. It was not just scary it was frightful to see your wife lying there and I cannot just rush her to the hospital immediately because I had my two kids sleeping, we have no maid and have no car. It was panic then I shook her a bit, I even slapped her in the face, gave her CPR to revive her, “I’ve done anything just to breathe life to here again”. After, a few tries and solemn prayers my wife got conscious and Yes! I felt it was one of the best days of my life I was a hero because I saved not just my wife but the mother of my children.

My wife already stopped using the pill but she had still heart problems. She is taking medications and diet plans and in the process of healing. I would always pray for her health and give her suggestions on the proper food to give her a healthy heart. My wife would always say thank you for my prayers and listening to her frustrations. An important part of being compassionate is to be a listener and a good listener listens effectively to the sufferings of their spouse. Always be willing to spend time to listen and not in any way give your spouse a reason to make them feel that you have “more important things to do”. Lift your prayers to God and learn to focus on the good things in life. Focus yourself on the healer and not on your pain!

A Purpose Driven Life

I have received an e-mail from a friend months ago and this message have really touched my married life. Reading through this message repeatedly gives me still tears to my eyes. I read Christian books and one of my favorite books is Purpose Driven Life. The author is Rick Warren; the book is full of encouragement and taking on the positive prospective in life. Read his e-mail and I guarantee you will be touched and moved!

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having ‘wealth’ from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, ‘Purpose Driven Life ‘ author and pastor ofSaddleback Church in California.

In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said:
People ask me, What is the purpose of life?
And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity.. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.

One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body–but not the end of me.
I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act – the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity..

We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn’t going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you’re just coming out of one, or you’re getting ready to go into another one.
The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that’s not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.
I used to think that life was hills and valleys – you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don’t believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it’s kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.
No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on.
And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.
You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems:
If you focus on your problems, you’re going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain.’ But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.

We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her- It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people.

You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.
Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy.
It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don’t think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease..

So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72.
First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit.. We made no major purchases.
Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church.

Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, and educate the next generation.

Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free.

We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?
Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God’s purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don’t get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn’t put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He’s more interested in what I am than what I do.
That’s why we’re called human beings, not human doings.

Happy moments, PRAISE GOD.
Difficult moments, SEEK GOD.
Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD.
Painful moments, TRUST GOD.
Every moment, THANK GOD..

If you do not pass it on, nothing will happen. But it will just be nice to pass it on to a friend....just like I have done.

Walking for Jesus!
Say a prayer, and then pass Him on to bless others. Our assignment is to love and spread the gospel throughout the world.

Have a blessed day and touch somebody’s life today! I just did.

A couples affection

It is late in the evening and I am sitting in my favorite chair wondering what to share to you guys! One of my passions is giving advices to marriage couples but I am not a perfect husband I just want to share our marriage journey to be a learning experience especially to troubled couples out there.

The song “It’s late in the evening wondering what clothes to wear, she puts on her make-up…and I said yes you look wonderful tonight!”Bring back memories. I remember in our early marriage years when I lack showing affection to my wife. I do not usually say positive things and verbally say thank you to my wife. It was not because I did not love my wife but because I have not grown to be affectionate in our family. I belong to a family that was not verbally and physically affectionate at all. It was a major adjustment to me because my wife grew in an affectionate family so one of her expectations is to feel the same way. One time my wife opened up to me about the issue I would try to change, but soon things went back to the way it has been.

It is widely known that women usually look forward to spending time together and being in the center of his husbands’ attention. Most men after marriage focus more on their work because a successful job adds to their identity. To solve this difference my wife and I had a serious conversation about this issue. Marriage works in both ways and in this area is where I needed to change.” Now, the first thing I do every time I go home is to kiss and hug my wife,” and my wife would always give me a smile and says that her day was complete because of just a simple hug. I did not do this just because she wants me to do so but it turned to be one of my expressions of love and affection to her.

Try to discover or ask your spouse, which they find romantic, or actions that they find affection. Some people love to hear words like “I love you”, a warm embrace others like giving flowers, chocolates and cards. Find ways where your wife would respond and do it not just to please her but do it as an act of love for your wife.
How about you when was the last time you have said, “You look wonderful tonight!”