God will call some people to the mission field. But I have also known people who feel called to stay here so that they can support those missionaries. I know one farmer who lives near me, for instance, who lives on very little money. He's a single guy. But he has decided that he will support three full-time missionaries. He has the gift of making money, and so he's using it to help the world.
If your romantic relationship is healthy and flourishing, everything else will be too. But if it's unhealthy and not giving life, it doesn't matter how everything else is doing.
It's hard when we're in the middle of a hectic life and we don't see much reward to avoid looking backwards and wondering "What If"? Perhaps what God wants us to do, though, is to stop looking back, to forget what lies behind, and to look forward to what He is going to do with the person we are now. We are becoming something very beautiful.
So have you made any marriage goals? I asked on Facebook for marriage goals that people had made this year, and got some great answers! But remember–if you want to meet those goals, you need to develop new habits that will get you there!
If husbands need to "get her ready for Jesus", is she not ready for Jesus without her husband? Can Jesus not get her ready on His own? Is the husband ready for Jesus just as he is, but the wife needs his help to get ready?
Prayer isn't spending five minutes listing all the things that we need. It has to be an interaction with God that we take some time with.
I know I'm not the only one with a heavy heart this Christmas season. There are so many people who are hurting. But amidst the pain, know that you are not alone–it's okay to be sad. And don't be afraid to let people come alongside you. Let them help you carry the weight of your hurt because it's hard to carry alone.
Individually we were on solid ground. We certainly loved God, and we still knew we loved each other. But our relationship wasn't on solid ground because we could only see our own perspective.
It's the only time of year the extended family is together. And if we spend that time watching television or playing the latest video game, we're squandering the opportunity to create fun memories where we all just plain silly together.
Katie was mortified. Adult Christian men would want to look down her shirt? It took some backtracking for her father and me to persuade her that not all men were perverts.
