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The Secret to Enjoying Married Life

‘The secret to enjoying life is being thankful for what each day brings.’ That’s what the anonymous quote on my calendar for today says. While I agree with that, maybe for the purposes of this blog, we could change that to read ‘the secret to enjoying married life is to be thankful for what each day brings.’ One of the things that is great about my husband is that he is thankful for the things I do for him. Yes, I did make his pie yesterday, even though I hate making pies and things that require pasty. I hate having … Continue reading →

Listen to the Music

What purpose does music and singing serve in church? To some people it may seem a pointless exercise. I mean how many other places do people gather together and sing? At a football game when passions are aroused or possibly at a karaoke night if that is your thing. So it’s not common for people to get together and sing these days, so why do it at church? Some people think it’s to set the mood. But music does more than that. When it is done properly music can set the whole tone of the service, it can reinforce the … Continue reading →

Day to Day Help

Over the years the psalms have brought encouragement and help to many people, myself included. One reason is they are so honest and full of emotion and practical tips for our Christian lives. Today I’m going to look at Psalm 48, which is not one of David’s psalms but a psalm of the sons of Korah. It starts by praising God for the city of Jerusalem that God has been pleased to call his own. Have you ever stopped to praise God for the city or place where you live and to pray for the people of that place? The … Continue reading →

Two Interesting Comments

Do you love your spouse for who he or she is? In a novel I was reading recently by Kristin Hannah, called Between Sisters, the husband tells his wife two things about why he’s leaving her for another woman, that struck me as important: ‘Nothing I do is good enough for you.’ The second is more about the woman he has been seeing ‘She loves who I am, not who I could be if I were more ambitious.’ They’re telling comments and although it’s fiction the comment s have the ring of truth about them. The first one made me … Continue reading →

A Thanksgiving List

Since this is the season for thanksgiving, I thought I’d share with you on the marriage blog some of the things I’m thankful for. It would come as no surprise to anyone who’s a regular reader of my blogs to know that one of the things I am most thankful for is my husband. The second follows on from that. I am thankful for our son and daughter. Thankful too for each of their marriage partners, that they share their Christian beliefs, faith and commitment the same as Mick and I do. I am thankful God brought us together and … Continue reading →

Who’s Choice is It?

Sometimes we think that we are the ones who have the choice. We choose to believe in God or we don’t. After we become a Christian, we can sometimes look back and see how God has been leading us to that point. Paul tells us in Philippians 1:6 that it is God ‘who began a good work in you,’ and that He is the one who will bring it to completion. So God is the one who began our spiritual journey, and He did it long before we even knew we were on a journey. Even before we realized what … Continue reading →

Something Needed

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In John 4 we saw Jesus piqued the Samaritan woman’s curiosity and how it was a good example for us to use in evangelism. In verse 13 Jesus tells her He has something she really wants, something precious. In Middle Eastern countries water was a precious and familiar commodity. But Jesus lets her know this is not just any ordinary water He is talking about, verse 14. The woman is drawn in. She wants what Jesus has. As Christians, we need to let our friends and neighbors see we have something they could do with, something they need. Something that … Continue reading →

Want Joy? You’ll Find it Here.

The psalms have been a great encouragement to many over the years and it’s not hard to see why. They speak to our experience of life. In Psalm 86:1-2 David recognizes his need and prays to God. Straightaway we see that when we have a need we can pray to God. What David wants in his life, which at times seems so hard, is joy, verses 3-4. We can know joy despite hardships, if we continue to trust in God as David did throughout it and recognize that God always has a plan and a purpose in it. David knows … Continue reading →

Doing Ourselves out of Great Benefits

Have you ever given someone a gift and they didn’t thank you? Don’t you feel it’s unappreciated? Imagine how God feels when we don’t thank Him for the gifts He gives us. Since we are created in God’s image and we know we feel when a gift is unappreciated, it’s not unreasonable to suspect that God is far from happy when we don’t acknowledge his gifts and thank Him for them. Deitrich Bonhoeffer points out that we could be doing ourselves out of great benefits by not thanking God. He says, ‘we prevent God from giving us the great spiritual … Continue reading →

Where is Your Confidence?

Everyday people place their confidence in things. For example when we cross a bridge we have confidence it will hold up and not fall down. Everyday we put confidence in people. Children place their confidence in their parents. As they get older they might place confidence in their peers or in pop stars or sports stars. And young people are often told they need to have confidence in themselves. But the truth is that many of these things and people we place our confidence in let us down. So what can we rely on? The only safe place for our … Continue reading →