MarriageCoolness

Divine Design for a FULFILLED MARRIAGE - Ted & Esther Dean

[marriagecoolness]

What is Divorce Doing to Our Children?

In the Church today, we are approaching the same level of divorce as that in the population as a whole. Divorce is far beyond simply being unfortunate or a sin that only affects you and your spouse. It is an action that weakens the entire Body of Christ (the Church Universal) and is especially damaging to our children. In essence, every divorce makes it easier for other Christian couples to also quit trying to improve and sustain their marriage and take the “easy route” by divorcing.  

With more and more divorces taking place today, we see a corresponding exponential breakup of marriages among the younger  generations, those who come from broken homes. Divorce is not just a problem; it is an insidious epidemic that is destroying our culture and the future of the church. Half of the Children of our broken marriages leave the church as young adults and never return.

Divorce is a sinister form of  “Russian Roulette,” when every other bullet results in the spiritual destruction of a child!

Divorce Facts To Ponder

Half of all American children will witness the breakup of a parent’s marriage.

Close to half of those, will also see the breakup of a parent’s second marriage.

Ten percent will see three or more divorces.

Forty percent of children are being raised without their fathers.

Read more here... https://fulfilledmarriage.com/what-are-we-doing-to-our-children-part-1/ 

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Assumptions that your spouse’s emotional needs are identical to yours, or the belief that women and men are opposites, or that all men have identical needs, or that women always have the same emotional needs, are simply not true. Any of these false beliefs can lead a couple into perpetual turmoil and possibly divorce. All of us are unique. Every human has experienced a separate life that has molded them, made them, and influenced them differently than their spouse.

What a difference it makes when couples start recognizing the different needs each has and chooses to help fulfill that! In the "A Marriage Made In Heaven" course going on virtually now one of the resource books gives great insight and help with this. Check out the details: https://fulfilledmarriage.com/differences-i-didnt-have-a-clue/

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What could your marriage look like if you could return to Paradise? 

Even before the creation, God chose marriage as the incubator and crucible where a man and a woman, living in a “oneness-relationship” would learn to become more like Him. Even though Adam and Eve failed God’s plan, we as His adopted children can in many ways pick-up where they left off.

Your new birthright as God’s child gives you the duty and opportunity both to please God in your role as husband or wife and, at the same time, share in many of the joys and satisfactions that Adam and Eve walked away from. Just think, in your marriage you can, to an extent, return to “Paradise Lost.”

To help bring you both back into that Paradise in your marriage that God originally intended, here are a few points that we give to our students to help them get started on the path of loving their spouse in the same way as God loves them. Read more at: https://fulfilledmarriage.com/returning-to-paradise/

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Does this scene look too familiar? Today’s post gets to the root of the difficulties we can have in a Christian marriage if we don’t factor these three things in and use it to improve our experience with our mate, ourselves, and God. 

Over the past ten years, Esther and I have been proclaiming that “Christians should have the very best marriages within every culture.”  Unfortunately, very few couples reveal to their neighbors that their faith makes any difference in the quality of their marriages.  

It is not only possible to have a marriage full of love and joy that comes from knowing you are exactly where God wants you to be, but also that God stands at the wings ready to intervene and help you have a marriage that reflects well on your faith...  

Read the whole article here: https://fulfilledmarriage.com/why-difficulties-in-your-christian-marriage/

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My, how things have changed in this new environment of connecting with each other!

For the first time, we have completed both A Marriage Made in Heaven and Fulfilled Marriage classes utilizing Zoom, which is a simplified free or low-cost video conferencing program that anyone can utilize. 

The Fulfilled Marriage course is especially adaptable to this approach. The Leaders Guide is very instructive on how to start a successful home-based marriage ministry, and then also provides simple to follow scripts for each week. There is no need for any pre-instruction, as each couple shares in turn about their experiences from the past week. The leader simply follows the script, which reads the questions to be discussed by the couples and additionally, leads a weekly simple exercise for all the couples to participate in.

This course is for both engaged and married couples and will serve as a six-week journey of discovery through the Scriptures. There you will be able to uncover what a Christian marriage built to God’s plan should be and provide insight on how that can take place. The Fulfilled Marriage will significantly help marriages and, at the same time, enhance an individual’s personal relationship with God.  Your effort in sponsoring and leading the course will bless all of... 

Read More at - https://fulfilledmarriage.com/a-golden-opportunity-for-christian-couples-to-zoom/

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Do you have a BUCKET LIST for your marriage?

Life’s goals should be established far beyond what we are contemplating. It is unlikely that you will go beyond your expectations if you limit your goals to what you feel is possible at any particular moment.  

As Christians, it is imperative that we dig deep into the Word of God regularly so that we begin to see our life as God sees it. He has big plans for each of us. The scriptures are full of wisdom, and they also delineate those things that must be high on our “bucket list.” The scriptures do not encourage us to set goals that are humanly attainable by our effort alone. God’s goals sometimes seem to be unattainable. That is because they require His empowerment and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit if we are going to succeed.

In addition to identifying our goals, another important aspect is... Read more here: https://fulfilledmarriage.com/your-bucket-list/ 

[marriagecoolness]

The weapons we have as Christians are not of this world but are stronger than the world's. Yes, even stronger than all of the mighty warships we have in our naval bases! Be part of the transformation by picking up your weapons. A special COUPLES PRAYER process can help strengthen your marriage during trying times like these. More inspiration and info here: https://fulfilledmarriage.com/need-for-prayer/

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In a cursory reading of anything I have written, you will more than likely quickly deduce that there is a singular consistent thrust in nearly all I say about God’s design for Christian marriages. It can be reduced to two simple words: sacrificial love.  

I now see that the foundation for such love, God’s kind of love, is that God Himself has given us the privilege for a time of having our spouse. Like all privileges, this relationship comes with responsibilities. Those responsibilities include His command and His trusting of us to love, nurture, and, unlike any other relationship on earth, to give our life of self for the betterment of our spouse. Remember those words: “for better or for worse… in sickness and in health” you vowed?  

There will never be anything more important or more rewarding in our lives than... Read more: https://fulfilledmarriage.com/a-monumental-awakening/

[marriagecoolness]

Sometimes we get the carriage before the horse in our marriage and life! Where is the horsepower for your marriage positioned? I believe that most of us want to please God within the context of our marriage. And I believe that most, if not all of us, would like to implement every good idea that will improve our marriage. But the reality is that we can do neither well without God’s empowerment. Remember, the horse goes before the carriage. The motivating power for change is and always will be God Himself. We must first realize... (continue reading here:) https://fulfilledmarriage.com/your-horse-doesnt-belong-in-your-carriage/

[marriagecoolness]

Shipshape Your Marriage! The word “shipshape” means: good and seamanlike order, prepared for all contingencies.

Wouldn’t you like to have your marriage shipshape, strong, and prepared for whatever storms of life may come against it so they will not prevail and destroy the marriage “ship” or damage the hull beyond repair?

To build a great marriage, both husband and wife first need to be...  

Read more...

[marriagecoolness]

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” - John 15:1, NIV

Topiary is the horticultural practice of clipping foliage and twigs of trees and shrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, whether geometric or fanciful.  In order to accomplish the most complex designs, a wire form is constructed in the ultimate desired shape for the plant.  After that, the gardener will periodically prune and clip the plant to ensure it fulfills his desire and design.

Like the topiary frame, the following tenets or principals of Christian marriage provide us a framework of how our marriages should be conforming to God’s overall design for our marriage.  Read more: https://fulfilledmarriage.com/my-father-is-the-gardener/ 

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In various places throughout the Bible, but especially in the original New Testament Greek, we find four differing types of love, usually in different contexts.

However, within our marriages all can be given and experienced. As an example, with our spouse, we can experience the philia love of friendship, eros erotic sexual love, and agape sacrificial love. In fact, healthy marriages should exhibit all these forms of love. Read more here...

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The Starting Point For A Great Marriage

The best starting point to ensure a great marriage should come long before marriage, even before dating.

The best way to start a great marriage is to develop a deeply personal relationship with the God who loves you immensely more than any spouse ever would or could.  

“Well, how can we develop a great relationship with the God that loves us?” you may ask.

Like all things with God, a loving and personal and even intimate relationship with Him is possible primarily because... Read more here

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The past couple of days have been difficult for me, even though I really don’t know exactly why. A major factor is undoubtedly the fact that I have been going through the very same things most of you have been going through with this coronavirus lockdown in place.  

This evening, in fact just a few minutes ago before sitting down to write this, I was confronted with the question that I believe was from the Holy Spirit and, like all of God’s words, it cut right through me (Hebrews 4:12).

The question was as follows: “Why are you wasting this time feeling sorry for yourself, when you should be embracing your difficulties and then overcoming them in the way that I desire for you?”

It was at that moment I immediately... Read more here

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A Spiritual Life In The Ordinary 

Some Christians may want to find a way to be super-spiritual because of the belief that striving for “spirituality” will please our Heavenly Father. It won’t!  

Could it be that some think growing in spirituality will make us more important than the “less spiritual”? Some seeking deep spirituality have even gone so far as to isolate themselves into a monastic or cloistered life. Some have given up all earthly possessions, some have become celibate, and some have even vowed to live in solitude or in segregated communal living.

Isolating ourselves could not be farther from the Father’s plans for most, if not all of His children. The most spiritual thing you could do today might be playing with your kids, cleaning the bathroom, or taking over doing the dishes while your spouse rests.

Sometimes we need to put down the magnifying glass that we often utilize in the reading of the Word of God, and stop trying to dissect it like a frog in a biology class. Just read it in its simplest and clearest form and then do it!  

Lean back and see the...

READ MORE here - https://fulfilledmarriage.com/a-spiritual-life-in-the-ordinary/

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How Is Your Thought Life?

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

I have discovered that one of the easiest ways to become depressed is to allow myself to dwell on my past. Could-have-done, could-have-been, and regrets, if allowed to remain in our thought life, can quickly derail us both emotionally and spiritually.  

We literally have no business dwelling on the past, for God Himself doesn’t think about our past. He sees us in the light of who we will become in the fulness of eternity. If you are a Christian, you need to think of yourself in the reality of who you are in Christ, not who you were. Who you were includes not just before you were a Christian, but even who you were an hour ago.

Freedom of guilt and regret requires us to be, what I call, “living in the eternal today.” God has put so much value in you and in your eternal potential to fulfill His plans for eternity that there is absolutely no reason to think less of yourself or to dwell on what you may have done in the past.  

The following is an... Read More: https://fulfilledmarriage.com/how-is-your-thought-life/ 

[marriagecoolness]

Love: Pinnacle of Human and Divine Existence 

Excerpt...

Marriage is ultimately about love, and it is my highest hope that in some way this discussion will help you to increase love in your marriage.  A marriage without love is not really a marriage; it is a prison sentence.

In the Scripture pictured above, Paul, in one of His most recognized writings, gives us a clear understanding of the value that God puts on love. (1 Cor. 13: 12-13, NIV)

This eternal and divine calling as God’s children, to love as God loves, can only be truly fulfilled through the working of God’s Holy Spirit within us. Jesus recognized this and communicated as His last message to His followers to wait to receive power before fulfilling the Gospel mandate. 

Read more here: https://fulfilledmarriage.com/love-pinnacle-of-human-and-divine-existence/