I'm trying to get caught up on Jonah study and as soon as I do I will post some more... hopefully this weekend because i'm off on Friday and I'll have a good three days to get caught up on everything!!!!!
I just wanted to write my thoughts down today on what was on my mind...
Today I'm feeling extremely blessed by God because He has always been by my side and has never left me...
Even in my darkest hour He has stuck by me and put his loving arms around me.
Today I can't express how blessed I am to have the best husband in the world!
Every morning I get to wake up beside one of the 3 men in my life that I will never stop loving... Now before you go and start thinking something terrible i'll explain...
- God - Because He has been with me since I was born. I have always been told as I was growing up that God had a special plan for my life because He has been protecting me since I was born May 30, 1989.
- I was only a couple months old when hurricane Hugo came through and my crib was set in front of the window where one of the pine trees stood in front of our house. When the storm was over and my parents went outside to look at the damage, they noticed that all the trees were turned the same way except for that one in front of my window...It was laying in the complete opposite direction! Now tell me that isn't a God thing...
- When I was almost a year old, I was run over and all I had were a couple of bruises and a limp...tell that isn't a God thing...
- My husband, Parke Allen Raider - He is my world and I can't imagine living one day without him... God put him in my life just when I was about to hit rock bottom. I had just gotten out of a long term relationship 2 months before we met and I had made up my mind that I didn't care and that I was going to start my own path and then God took a hold of me and it was as if He slapped me across the face and shook me to get my attention...The night I met Parke was the night that I believed in love at first sight because that it what is was. We have talked ever day since July 25, 2009 and on July 30, 2012 we will be celebrating our 1st wedding anniversary together =)
- My dad, Walt Pilley - He has been the reason I believe in God and know that there is life after death in a kingdom that words can't even begin to express. He has always been there when I have been hurt, even when I shut him out, he never gave up on me. My mom and dad have always tried to be the best parents possible to me and my 2 older sisters and tried to teach us right from wrong to keep us from making mistakes that we can't change. I won't lie, I have made my fair share of mistakes, but they have never judged me in anything I have done. They have always been there to be my strength when I needed them the most.
I recently go an e-mail from dad and it was titled "10 Ideas To Make Time For Your Spouse", and this is what it read:
10 Ideas to Make Time for Your Spouse
by Mary May Larmoyeux
My husband, Jim, and I have been married for more than 30 years and we consider one another to be best friends. Despite this, we have to intentionally keep our relationship and marriage on the front burner of life.
Finding time to be with just one another is important to Jim and me. But I confess, it’s not always an easy thing to do. And this isn’t just our isolated problem. It’s common in most marriages—regardless of age.
The following 10 ideas can help you and me intentionally make time for our spouse:
1. Cultivate a common interest. Your spouse should be your best friend, and friends enjoy spending time with one another. If you and your spouse have different hobbies, find something that you both enjoy doing and do it together. You may want to go bike riding, walk together at the end of a long day, play tennis, or learn how to ballroom dance. Shared experiences enrich marriages and deepen friendship.
“I realized that our relationship had to be a higher priority than my hobbies,” says FamilyLife President Dennis Rainey of his early days of marriage. “Barbara and I had to decide what we wanted to be at the end of our lives—two people who had grown old together as partners or two people who had grown old alone.”
2. Have a regular date night. If you don’t have a relative nearby who would gladly watch your kids, then consider swapping babysitting with a friend on a regular basis. For example, you would watch their kids on the first Friday of every month and they would watch your kids on the second Saturday of every month.
With a little imagination, you can also plan some great dates at home … not only while the kids are sleeping, but also while they are enjoying pizza or watching a special movie.
3. Try new adventures together. We only live this life once. Try doing something different to force yourself out of the rut of normal day-to-day living. If you and your spouse would like to do something a little more daring, consider activities such as skydiving, scuba diving, mountain climbing, etc.
“When my husband, Jim, and I said, ‘I do’ 37 years ago, I never envisioned myself camping on a budget or whizzing through the countryside on the back of a motorcycle,” LaRue Launius says. “And Jim never imagined himself thousands of feet up in the air. But God has used these experiences, and countless others, to gradually knit our hearts together as best friends.”
4. Write love letters to one another and read them over a romantic dinner. Writing letters is almost a lost art form today. You may want to redeem it by regularly expressing your love to your spouse in a letter. Then read it to your spouse over a romantic dinner.
You could purchase special wooden boxes for your love letters. Or, record them in individual journals as a lasting reminder to your legacy of your love for one another.
If you’re not sure how to begin writing your letter, read “Tips for Writing a Notable Love Letter.”
5. Go on overnight getaways—without the kids. The possibilities are endless. Many state parks have great campsites and beautiful lodges. Staying at a nearby bed and breakfast can be a real treat. Also, hotels often have special weekend getaway packages.
Bill and Carolyn Wellons have written a getaway guide for couples titled, Getting Away to Get It Together. After being married for 10 years, they discovered a secret that re-energizes their relationship—regular getaways. “We may relax at a friend’s lake house, camp at a state park, or book a resort condominium in the off-season,” Bill explains. “God has continued to teach us to step off life’s treadmill and examine the health of our relationship. When we evaluate where we are heading, we reap a fabulous return on investment.”
6. Set aside regular time to talk with one another—without any distractions. Make time to focus on one another and talk about the day’s events. When our children were young, my husband and I tried to visit together for 10-15 minutes before dinner each evening—just the two of us. You and your spouse may want to do this after the kids go to bed. The important thing is to share heart-to-heart and face-to-face.
If the kids are in school, you may want to have lunch together once a week. Put it on the calendar and make definite appointments. I read about a pastor who did this for years. He had a standing invitation for lunch one day a week that could not be broken—lunch with his wife.
7. Read a book together and discuss it over coffee at a local coffeehouse or bookstore. Take turns choosing the books. If a movie has been made out of the book, read and discuss it together and then watch the movie. Compare the book to the movie.
You could also go through one of the HomeBuilders Bible studies® as a couple. Although these Bible studies are designed for small groups, you could do one with your spouse. Studies include Building Teamwork in Marriage, Improving Communication in Your Marriage, and Growing Together in Christ.
8. Be accountable to one another. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 tells us, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion.”
You may want to ask your spouse to keep you accountable in a certain area. For example, I have a habit of over-committing myself and having way too many things on the to-do list. My husband is great about bringing me back to earth and helping me establish a more balanced schedule.
Being accountable to our spouse requires one-on-one time—whether it’s over coffee in the morning or evaluating a to-do list together in the afternoon.
“Accountability gives each marriage partner freedom and access to the other,” Dennis Rainey writes. He adds that it means asking for advice and gives a spouse the freedom to share honest observations. “It means we're teachable and approachable. We both need to be accountable to the other because each partner is fallible and quite capable of using faulty judgment.”
9. Pray together. When we regularly pray with our spouse, our souls and hearts are uniquely knit together. Sadly, we’ll forget many of the ways God answers our prayers unless we write them down.
You may want to record how God answers your prayers in a notebook. Once or so a year, go on an overnight getaway with your spouse and review it together. Spend some time thanking the Lord for all He has done.
10. Tune-up your marriage at a Weekend to Remember® marriage getaway. Attending a Weekend to Remember will help you get away from the distractions of life and focus on one another.
“We had a wonderful time,” one wife wrote after attending a recent Weekend to Remember. “Everyone was so welcoming. We didn’t come to this as a couple who was looking to save their marriage. We came as a couple who needed a tune-up. We’re running good and would like to keep it that way.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've been told and have also seen that when couples get married everything changes... and that is exactly what happened when I got married.
Of course you go through your honeymoon stage of trying to get to know one another and it's like nothing can go wrong... UNTIL... you have your first real fight as a married couple... things are said/done that you can't take back and you experience your first night going to bed mad at each other...
Now, if you're anything like me, you don't like to go to bed with things unsettled so you keep trying to resolve your problems and all it does is just make things worse and then for some reason you find yoursefl apologizing for things that you didn't even do, but you can't stand the pain of knowing your husband/wife is mad at you.
Parke has had to tell me to just shut my mouth and go to sleep because if I kept talking it would just escalate and he would eventually say things he didn't really mean. So I am slowly learning to pick my battles when to keep my mouth shut during an arguement so I don't make things worse.
BUT, I wouldn't change any of my arguements with my husband for the world becasue at the end of the day we can still hold each other in our arms and honestly say that we love each other no matter what and that, together, we will make it through even our toughest days.
Back to the e-mail...
Number 4 Write love letters to one another really caught my attention and I have been trying to write a letter everyday and even on the days that I have nothing to write, I remember that the important thing to do is to tell him I love him. There have been a couple days that my letters have repeated themselves because I believe that you can never tell your husband/wife how much you love them enough
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, our schedules are busy and sometimes we don't see each other until we lay down to go to sleep, but I know that I will never forget how much Parke loves me and how much I love him because my favorite part of my day is when Parke wraps me in his arms, kisses me softly, and squeezes me tight to his chest before we go to bed.
That is my safe place and I always know that he will be there for me just as God is always there for me when I need a tight hug and soft kiss.
God has blessed me more than I deserve and He will continue to do so and He has begun to lay down a path that Parke and I will walk down together, holding hands, to reach lives for His kingdom and we will inherit a BEAUTIFUL kingdom because we are following God's way and not our own!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I will leave you with these few verses:
1 Corinthins 13:4-7 -
"4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."
Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (NLT)
Proverbs 2:6-9
"For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him. Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go.”
GOD BLESS YOU ALL IN YOUR DAILY LIVES & I PRAY GOD STAYS WITH YOU IN EVERYTHING YOU AND EVERYWHERE YOU GO & WITH EVERYONE YOU MEET!!!
REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR EYES ON CHRIST AND HE WILL ALWAYS BE THERE WHEN YOU NEED HIM...
ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS ASK =)
No comments:
Post a Comment