Fixer Upper Marriage

One of the most basic structural requirements of a house is the roof. Its materials range from banana leaves to architectural shingles. It protects its occupants from rain, wind, snow, and sunlight. Your house must have a functioning roof in order to be a house. Likewise, your marriage relationship must have a functioning roof in order to survive as a home. Today, learn three reasons you need a roof in your marriage

FixerUpperMarriage.org/roof

I Peter 3: 8-12

The intent of a roof is to protect even though the things it may be protecting from may not be happening at the time. It is designed to protect from potential weather hazards.

The covenant of marriage provides a legitimate place to meet each others physical/ emotional needs. If these needs are being met, you have no need to look anywhere else. When marriage is new, this is easy to do, but as the months and the years pass it can become more like work. This is when your wedding vows take effect, when the covenant of marriage really becomes meaningful. This is when your husband doesn’t seem like prince charming anymore, and your wife doesn’t look like snow white. Also, this is when the fairy tale ends and the grind of real life begins.

You must therefore prepare your relationship for problems that you don’t see right now. Just like a roof is installed when it is not raining, but it is made to protect from rain. You have to take steps to prepare your marriage for things that could happen.

The following are my top seven problems that could happen to your marriage, and ways you can prevent them: (4.58 minutes)

By planning in advance for potential problems of infidelity, you can prevent them from tearing your marriage apart. You can go out of your way to meet the emotional needs of your wife by giving her attention and doing and sayings things that make her feel special and appreciated. Likewise, you can go out of your way to meet the physical needs of your husband by giving him the attention that he desires and needs from you. By meeting these needs within the covenant of marriage, you eliminate the human tendency to find them elsewhere. In doing this you put a protective roof over your relationship.

Marriage is the most intimate relationship on the planet. You know each other in ways that are hidden from everyone else in the circle of people in your life. It is in this aspect of marriage that addiction can be identified and prevented. In completely sharing your lives with one another, you add a layer of accountability within the marriage covenant. The bottom line is not to keep secrets from your spouse. If you are struggling with some temptation, let them know and they will become your accountability partner. Being the person who is the closest to you, they can help prevent you from having this problem if you allow them to.

It happens to every couple at some point and to some degree, you fall out of love. The fall into love is incredibly fast, especially considering the love at first sight scenario. Although it may seem effortless at first, it takes a cultivation to maintain the feeling of love. It is like growing beautiful flowers, you have fertilize, water, and trim off the dead leaves in order for the plant to keep growing and producing new flowers. Likewise, you have to date and pursue your spouse to keep those feelings of love fresh.

Money problems can be a huge stressor in a marriage, but by planning in advance, by putting some shingles up you can prevent them from hurting your marriage. You may not be able to prevent money problems from happening, but you can prevent them from destroying your marriage. Also, your differences in handling money can actually benefit your marriage relationship. The spouse who is more detail oriented may be better at handling the daily cash flow, and the spouse who is the saver, may be better at planning and investing for the future. In working together you make a potential problem a strength in your marriage. Also, understand that having things, is not as important as having each other. Value your love more than your possessions and you will be able to weather financial problems.

We all say it, in some iteration or another in our wedding vows, “for better or for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health”. Then it actually happens, one spouse cannot fulfill there end of the partnership and the other must pick up the slack. This is the test of real love, it is in giving when the other person cannot give back to you. It is in honor your commitment and your vows when you get nothing in return. It mirrors your relationship with God, who honors his covenant of salvation even when He is getting little or nothing in return. I think of my godly mother, who takes care of my disabled dad who can no longer take care of himself. Go get a ladder, climb up on the roof your marriage, and nail some shingles to the covenant you have made with your spouse.

It is strange that living together, sharing so much personal space, and knowing each other so intimately can produce resentfulness and hateful words, but it can. The subject matter for arguments are innumerable, but usually not worth the hurt and damage they cause. It can be as simple as “where are we going to eat at?” and as complicated as “where did all our money go?”. No one else in the world knows how to push your buttons like the person you share your life with.

Before you raise your voice and say all those things at the top of your mind, and before you give your spouse a piece of your mind, stop and walk away. Agree to discuss the problem later once you have both calmed down. This will also give you time to consider your spouses point of view by imagining yourself in their position. You may also find that you are being selfish in the matter by not considering what your spouse wants instead of just what you want. Then you can both sit down and come to reasonable solution.

Also, consider how consequential or non-consequential your conflict may actual be. It may not be worth world war or event the cold war. It is quite comical to consider some of things that couples argue about. Why fight about something that is really not that important to begin with? If you want to eat healthy, but your spouse really wants greasy fast food fried chicken, instead of arguing about it, get them what they want and grab yourself a salad on the way home.

Consider letting your spouse know what you want instead of expecting them to guess it! In dealing with men, sometimes you just have to come out and say it. Men are not typically good at intuition like women are. It is like wives speak a secret language, and then expect their man to figure it out. Lets just be honest here, men are too primal for that, you have to spell it out to us. We are like cavemen in this way, we like reading the hieroglyphics on the wall instead of reading between the complicated emotional lines. Go ahead and put the roof up on this one in advance.

It is tragic to see a marriage where spouses hit each other, and use abusing language. It absolutely destroys the picture of Christ and the Church (see Ephesian 5: 25) as Christ would never harm His beloved bride. This should never happen in a christian marriage. You may expect it from the world, but not from a saved born again christian couple. The key is to make that commitment that you are not going to hurt one another. Put the roof of protection over your marriage and make it a safe place. To control your temper, use the the power of prayer, the words of scripture, and depend of the Spirit of God. You could also consider a christian counselor to help work through your anger, or an addiction program as substance abuse is often tied to physical abuse.

Roofs are made to last. According to Wikipedia, you can expect a lower end thin shingle roof to last twenty years, while a slate roof can last up to 150 years. Because they are so critical to a house, roofs must be built to last as long as possible. It is even more important that your marriage be built in a way that will last.

They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

From the beginning God created marriage to be between a man and woman for a lifetime. It is therefore your responsibility within the covenant of marriage to consider the long term impact of your actions on your marriage. Take divorce talk or leaving out of your vocabulary. You stood before God almighty and made vows to be couple not just until things get tough, but through whatever life and circumstances may come your way.

Divorce is not an option for the christian marriage. Work through your problems together instead of running away from them. Jesus does not leave his bride when she is not doing what he wants, instead He patiently continues to pursue her and a resolution to their problems. This what a believing spouse should do- pursue the other and a resolution to your problems. Absolutely refuse to give up on your marriage, just like Jesus absolutely refuses to give up on you.

Roofs are made to be rigid, but are adaptable enough to protect from any number of elements. You should in a similar fashion, be rigid in your faith but adaptable to changes in you lives together. Overtime your financial situation may change, your health situation may change, or YOU may change. You can strengthen your marriage and love by learning to accept and adapt to these changes.

Here is a big news flash, life is not always picture perfect. When I was little my family would go to a local photography studio each year to get a family photo. On the walls of my parent’s house are pictures of our smiling family with perfectly combed hair. Real life however, is more like those embarrassing annual school photos of mine, with my outdated hairstyles, over-worn t-shirts, and pimpled face. Marriage just doesn’t pan out like the fairy tales! You just never know what is going to happen.

When things happen in your marriage, it may take some time for those things to heal. It is therefore imperative that your marriage be built to last. Tragedies take time to recover from. Trust takes time to win back. Love takes time to restore. Mistakes take time to correct. Don’t yield to the temptation to give up on your marriage when it takes time to heal. God will make your love deeper and more meaningful if you allow Him to change things in time. God cares about you and He cares about your marriage.

The roof is a critical structure to a house. It is a part of what is called the envelope of a structure. It works together with walls and beams to hold the entire building together. Likewise, your marriage must work together with other support in order to maintain its structure.

God created the local, visible church in this world for the benefit of you and your marriage. When things get tough in marriage and in life, lean on the church. Stay faithful and in those times of hardship become even more entrenched in faithfulness to His house. The resources you need are there with God’s people.

Use the people that God has put into your life that are a benefit to you spiritual. Your pastor might be a great person you could talk to about problems in your marriage and that can help support you through problems. Godly friends can also encourage and pray for you as you go through things. You have to fight the tendency to withdraw from the people who love you when you are having problems. Those people who love you are the ones who can help you the most.

In seeking help from people, be careful not consult with those who don’t love you, or who may not really be interested in your success. For example, your followers on social media may not have the best marriage advice for you. Your family member who has already been divorced twice may not be the best person to consult about your problems.

Put the roof up on your marriage because you need:

• Protection
• Longevity
• Support

The post Three Reasons You Need a Roof Over Your Marriage appeared first on Fixer Upper Marriage.

When fixing up a house, sometimes things go wrong. You may find broken pipes, termites, or other hidden problems that you previously did not expect. Unexpected problems and setbacks can really mess up your budget and your plans. In marriage, you can expect unexpected problems to occur, because they will. These problems come in all shapes and sizes. The following are some examples:

• Broken marriage covenant
• Grief/ loss
• Physical/ emotional problems
• Faith/ church problems

You can restore and recover from problems in your marriage with God’s help.

Your faith should always be growing. There are times when my faith regresses or I just settle for where I am at. However, growing your faith is critical for being a thriving christian and having a godly marriage for that matter. God is always speaking to me about something I need to correct in my life and heart. Therefore, when you respond to the working of the Spirit in your life, that is when your faith grows.

Also, when you are actively responding to the Spirit you are growing in ways that you may or may not see. If you have ever planted a garden from seed, then you know what this is all about. For weeks before you see anything, the seed is growing in the ground where you cannot see. In like manner, faith grows sometimes for weeks or months before you see the results. God is working as long as your heart is willing and open to Him.

The danger is that you settle for a stagnant faith and you are not able to respond right to problems in your life and your marriage. The Bible admonishes Christians to add to their faith. Read the following passage carefully.

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

There is great value in doing things everyday to have a relationship with Lord even when you having problems. At times it may feel like you are wasting your time, but in reality God is working in your heart in ways that you may not be able to comprehend at the moment.

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

You should be considering your relationship the Lord in the long run. Just like that tree that slowly grows outward and its roots become more established in places that you cannot see. A tree with a good root system can withstand storms better. Likewise, if you faith in the Lord has a deep root system you can withstand the storms of life better.

The following are examples of ways you can consistently grow your faith:

• Systematically read the Bible.
• Pray through Bible verses or passages.
• Set a specific block of time everyday to focus on the Lord.
• Memorize relevant Bible verses that are relevant to your life right now.
• Listen to audio Bibles.
• Faithfully attend Church even when it is not convenient.
• Actively engage in listening to sermons. (take notes, ask yourself questions, etc.)

If you are not careful, times of problems will lead you to neglect your faith and your relationship with the Lord. Often, in these times we all have a tendency to question what or why certain things are going on. Therefore, it is important that you give yourself opportunities for God to speak to you. You give yourself those opportunities every time you stop and focus on your walk and your relationship with God. Even when you think that God is not hearing you, if you are His child, rest assured that He is.

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us; And if we know that hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

Problems have the potential to tear your marriage apart, if you allow them to. Recently, some friends of ours went through a terrible tragedy. My wife and I both said to each other that it could really mess up their marriage and we hoped that they would let someone help them. Sure enough, it was not longer before their marriage fell apart. Whatever the reason, it seems to be true that outside problems can ruin a happy marriage.

Have a determination that you are going to stay together and honor your marriage covenant even through grief and loss. The hardest thing I have ever had to do, was bury our stillborn child. All the tears, sleepless nights, and grief just seemed to pile on while the world just seemed to continue on like nothing ever happened. However, we had each other and that is what marriage is all about- having each other and being there for each other when there is no one else in the world who understands.

Why are we so shocked when we find out that our spouse has a sin problem? After all, you struggle with temptations everyday, and the Bible teaches clearly that we all have a sin nature. When your spouse makes a mistake, be there for them like you would want them to be there for you.

Also, consider that even though your spouse may be wrong, you may have contributed to their failure. You could have prevented them from falling, had you been there to hold them. Before you point a judgmental finger at your spouse, point that finger at yourself. This principle was taught by Jesus in the great sermon on the mount.

Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

When you sign up for marriage, you sign up for the better and for the worse that you could experience together. In those worse times, the commitment and covenant of marriage shines. It is like your relationship with God, you cannot fully appreciate His forgiveness and mercy until you experience it. In the marriage covenant, the forgiving spouse learns the value and joy of learning to forgive like God while the forgiven spouse learns the value and joy of being forgiven. This is what marriage was made for, this is what it means to truly become one, to share the heartache of failure and the joy of restoration together.

You don’t have to be around me long to understand that I love having a plan, even if it is a flawed one. God always has plan, and it is never flawed. Even when you are having problems in your life and in your marriage, God has an ultimate plan and design for it. God has a purpose. Oftentimes, that purpose is to make us more like Jesus, and it is always for our ultimate good.

That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

Sometimes God allows things in your life and marriage. You have to trust that He is in control of your life. If you have prayed and things have not changed, keep praying, but learn to accept that God is allowing something in your life and ask him for Grace. This is another principle that we learn from God’s Word. The apostle Paul had what he called, “a thorn in the flesh” that He asked the Lord to take three times. After this he accepted it as God’s will and pressed on for God’s glory.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

How you can overcome problems in your marriage:

1. Make Sure You Keep Growing in Your Faith
2. Stay Together
3. Believe in God’s Plan

The post How You Can Overcome Problems in Your Marriage appeared first on Fixer Upper Marriage.

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

The decision to add on to a house can be both challenging and rewarding. Also, adding on to your marriage with children can be both challenging and rewarding.

It all starts with an amazing love story. Two people fall hopelessly in love and enter into the marriage covenant to become husband and wife. The couple hold hands, look into each other’s eyes, and repeat their vows to continue their love as long as they both shall live. Two lives become one in the most incredible union and in the most intimate of ways. Through marriage, you find a feeling of completion and satisfaction in emotional and physical ways that are unmatched in any other earthly relationship.

Then it happens and everything changes. It is in the natural instinct of man and woman to create new life. Two lovers become two parents. After nine months of anticipation, waiting, and planning, the day finally arrives. I remember all the countless hours I spent reading to my unborn children. I remember all the time we spent talking and planning our life with a new child. I remember feeling those first baby kicks as my ecstatic wife placed my hand on her pregnant belly. I remember the magical moments when each of my children were born and recognized the voice of their father. Time stood still, unforgettable memories were seared into our minds, and our lives were changed forever at the birth of our children.

Even though building on to your little fixer upper marriage is exciting and joyful, the changes it creates are astronomical in effect. You are no longer just husband and wife, but mom and dad. The little bundle of joy that you wrap up and bring home is a time bomb of change to marriage. These are three ways you can have a great marriage after having children.

It is a great idea to discuss the prospect of having children before you get married! When my wife and I were dating, she revealed to me that she wanted to have 10 children! After I picked my jaw off the floor and talked about it, we both discovered that we loved kids and wanted to have as many as God wanted us to have. And this would become something we would pray about together throughout the course of our marriage.

I have known couples who believe you should have as many babies as you physically can. But after losing our first child and spending approximately 3 months in the hospital with our second pregnancy, we decided together to pray for specific guidance before attempting to have more children. It is wise in my opinion to consider the emotional and physical health of your wife when considering having children.

Seriously discuss the role that you expect each other to play in the raising and care of your children. There are some homes where the husband does nothing to help with the care of the children or household chores. This is why it is important that you are both on the same page. If you expect your husband to help out with the baby you need to communicate this to him as he may have been conditioned to not help. He may in fact find it insulting that you would expect him to. If you expect your wife to do everything related to childcare and you not lift a finger, you need to communicate that with her. She may be insulted that you don’t help.

Deciding in advance can prevent conflict in your marriage as well as resentment toward each other. For example, maybe you can take turns getting up with the baby at night, or if your husband has to get up early for work, it may be better for him to help out in the evenings. Maybe having a “mommy break”, where the husband agrees to take care of the kids for a time so that his wife can have some alone time would benefit your marriage.

My wife and I have been really blessed to have her working at home as a homemaker. I would highly recommend this format as it allows you to raise your own kids. Motherhood is the highest calling and the most important job in the world. In fact, according to Salary.com, if paid monetarily for their work, stay at home moms would earn a medium-income of $162,581 in 2018. They even have a tool where you can adjust the stay at home earnings value to your specific circumstances. You can also find some great information at Motherly. Although it may require some lifestyle adjustments, it is well worth it if it all possible. If you consider this a sacrifice, we live in a modest home and drive our cars for a long time, but we have an extremely happy and stable home and marriage.

Although today’s culture derides this lifestyle, the Bible advocates for it, see Titus 2: 1-5. These are the types of expectations you should talk about as you move from lovers to parents.

Discuss how you intend on raising your kids as a team. For instance, if you want your children to be raised in the Church, you should develop a plan to make this happen. Making church attendance important and reading the Bible together are things that you will have to do to make this a reality. Also, decide what kind of church you intend on keeping your kids in.

It is also important as parents to agree together on the who, how, and when of disciplining your children. I would recommend that the primary disciplinarian be the father and in his absence the mother. This will give your children some structure and will prevent resentment between husband and wife as both share the responsibility in this area.

Additionally, if there are areas of training that you feel is important, you should communicate this with your spouse, so that you can work together to make these things possible. For example, if you want all your kids to play musical instruments, you should work with your spouse to determine ways you can get them the training that they need. It is not fair for you to expect your spouse to know your expectations without communicating them to him.

The pressures and responsibilities of parenthood have a tendency to overshadow the needs of marriage. And if you are not careful you will completely stop being lovers, and just become parents. An article on Furtune.com reveals that after decades of studies that relationship satisfaction in couples with kids decline twice as fast as those without children. Clearly kids put an enormous strain on a marriage.

Many couples stay together just for the sake of the kids, which is counterproductive as you cheat your kids out of seeing a healthy marriage! It is far better to work together to correct the problems in your marriage.

The Bible lays out the principles of life in regard to family relationship in order of their importance:

1. God- Knowing Him and having a right relationship with Him is at the top of your personal relationship priorities.
2. Spouse- Besides God, there is no one more important than the person you have entered into the marriage covenant with.
3. Children- God gives you children to raise and teach. They are like arrows, that He helps you prepare and send out into this world to make a mark for Him.

Married couples can lose their love for each other with all the responsibilities of being a parent. The husband has to work extra hours to provide for the family. The wife must spend her time taking care of the home and kids. By the end of the day, both parents are too exhausted to be spouses to one another. The husband is too tired to listen to his wife, and the wife is too tired to have private time with her husband.

It is when you are the busiest, that you have to refocus on your relationship with God. You absolutely cannot allow your walk with Him to suffer. Then you absolutely must refocus on your relationship with your spouse. You cannot let your life as lovers die. When your kids are grown, it will just be the two of you again, and if you have not protected that relationship, it will not be there.

There is a new trend called gray divorce, the divorce rate for couples over 50 has doubled since 1990. What a shame, that a marriage can survive for many years only to have such a bitter end. Protect your heart and life as a lover to your spouse so that you can enjoy a lifetime together.

With all the stress and pressure of being a parent, learn to hit the pause button and become lovers again. The following are some more date night ideas submitted to my email address of [email protected]:

• Go on hike together
• Take a painting class
• Have a picnic
• Visit a coffee shop
• Read a book aloud together

Taking time to really listen to your wife can go a long way toward meeting her romantic needs. Looking at her and listening to the point that you could summarize what she is saying. It is hardwired into a woman to want to talk about how she feels and to know that someone cares about what goes on in her life. God made man and woman different in ways that should be appreciated and cultivated by each other within the marriage covenant.

Also, men are hardwired to receive attention from the opposite sex. The feminist movement has worked hard to villainize this aspect of manhood. Men are created with different romantic needs than women but this does make those differences bad. Let’s just be honest, it is fairly easy to make a man happy, men are simple in this way! Just a little attention and admiration from his wife can make a husband feel like he is on top of the world.

Furthermore, if your husband is attracted to you, it should be considered a good thing. After all, do you really want him to find that attention somewhere else, like that woman at work, that woman on the computer screen, or that woman he follows on social media?

Go out of your way to spend quality time together as a couple, even when you are too tired or too busy. Cultivate your love in those things that make your spouse different and in those ways that are meaningful to them. In doing this you may find the joy for yourself in those things that are meaningful to your spouse.

Keep up with the little things that make your love and relationship special. Keep sending those flirty text messages to each other. Keep buying those flowers and cards. Keep leaving those sweet love notes. Keep wearing his favorite outfits. Keep holding hands. Keep saying I love you. These are the little things that hold your marriage together even when those little additions make it harder to maintain.

Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

The Bible teaches the value of enduring hardness in your service for the Lord, but this a principle that we can also apply to marriage. There is a dirty little secret that we all try to hide from each other, that all marriages go through rough spots. Perhaps your time of hardship is for a few months or even a few years. Regardless, hard times in marriage are inevitable. These are the times when your spouse or your marriage does not live up to your expectations. These are the times when you and your spouse face a crisis like grief or financial loss. The pressure of these hardships can either pull you apart or draw you closer together depending on how you respond.

Hardships are valuable to marriage because it galvanizes your love for each other. By going through things together, your love becomes stronger. When marriage is strained by those additions, you have the opportunity to grow in your love for each other and your faith in God.

It is also important to note that those additions to your marriage are watching the way that your love responds. To your children, the way they see you respond to hardship in marriage becomes their example to emulate throughout their lives.

Give your love to your spouse until you have nothing left to give, and then give some more. What you have in being in love and married is the envy of this world, therefore you should give everything you have to protect it. In those times of hardship when your marriage is the most vulnerable, you need to give your marriage all that you have to give.

God loves us with a love that gives expecting nothing in return except for you. In giving yourself to your spouse and what she wants, you may not get what you want, but you will get your spouse. Ironically, this is what makes marriage so unique and special, that in everything you have each other which is really what will bring you the most joy! You saw your spouse and wanted them, so you married them, now through everything in life you have each other.

I love my wife, therefore I am willing to give up somethings that I way give her more of what she desires. This is the great secret of success in marriage. That is in giving away yourself, you find the real joy in love.

In a short story first published in the 1905 by O. Henry entitled The Gift of the Magi, a very poor couple in love struggled with what to get each other for Christmas. Jim the loving husband sold his most valuable possession, his watch, to buy his wife Della a set of hair combs for her beautiful hair. However, Della sold her beautiful hair to buy Jim a chain for his watch. On Christmas night they exchanged gifts, only to find that neither could use the gifts that the other had bought. Give and give more to your spouse!

3 Ways You can have a Great Marriage after Having Children

1. Learn How to Work Together as a Team
2. Become More Deliberate in Your Attention
3. Discover the Value in Enduring Hardship

The post How You Can Have a Great Marriage after Having Children- Adding on to Your Fixer Upper appeared first on Fixer Upper Marriage.

Doors are an important part of any house or building and are used on the exterior as well as the interior to separate rooms. They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. The bronze doors of the National Archives Building in Washington DC are over 37 feet tall and weigh over 6 tons. Many homes even include tiny doors to allow pets to go in and out. Doors provide access, privacy, security and add to the decor of a building. The Bible describes the magnificent doors to Solomon’s Temple as made of olive wood with carvings and overlaid with gold. (I Kings 6: 31-35)

Your love and marriage also has doors that are a critical part of its function and construction. Listen in as we learn why and how you should fix the door problems in your marriage.

Special thanks to my lovely wife and daughters who became my focus group for this lesson! They are my world, my reason, and my purpose!

Book Recommendation: Wolves Among Lambs by Pastor and author Stacey Shiflett. This is a book about dealing with sexual abuse and cover-ups in churches as well as tips for processing abuse for victims. You can purchase it through the link above or visit WolvesAmongLambs.com. This is a great resource to own if you or someone you love has been affected by this, or if it impacts your marriage.

FixerUpperMarriage.org/doors

Doors are the most used and functional part of a home. Every morning I wake and use the bathroom door. Then I use the closet door as I find my clothes for the day. Most importantly, I use the refrigerator door to get some food! Finally, I use the front door as I leave for work.

Those things that you do every day make a huge difference in your marriage. The things that you may do without realizing it, yet those actions done everyday make your love what it is. Even those little things that require intentional effort to maintain. Maybe its the kiss that you share as you walk out the door, the way you hold hands when you go places, or they way that you laugh together. The following are a few little things you can do consistently to make your love stronger:

• Contact your spouse throughout the day to let them know that you are thinking about them.
• Leave a note occasionally to express your love.
• Make an intentional effort to touch your spouse in affectionate ways.
• Tell your spouse that you love and appreciate them.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin.

Having a real consistent personal walk with the Lord can make a huge difference in your married life. In walking with Him and living a confessed life, you have access to help from the creator of marriage. You can have the confidence that God is hearing your prayers and is available for you and your spouse. You can even use your personal relationship with the Lord to intercede on the behalf of your spouse when they may not have that relationship with the Lord themselves.

Go to Church and be involved as a couple. This gives you an opportunity to develop your faith and your relationship together. It may not seem that important, but God may have something critical to your faith and your marriage in something as simple as Sunday School. By going to Church faithfully, you make yourself available for spiritual growth through a message, a song, or even a word of testimony. Worshiping the Lord together also creates a bond and a shared common interest that you can use to build up your marriage!

In a comprehensive study led by sociologist W. Bradford Wilcox of the University of Virginia, the Nation Marriage Project looked at couples and church involvement. Their findings concluded that active conservative protestants are 35 percent less likely to get a divorce than those with no affiliation. This is great news that being involved in your church makes you less likely to be divorced. Their findings did however, discover a dark cloud as those who are nominally active protestants are 20 percent more likely to get divorced than those in the secular world. Maybe this is the lukewarm Christianity that God refers to.

I know thy works, that thou are neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

Doors have been around for thousands of years because they give us the means to have a life that is out of the eyes of the rest of the world. To put it simply, doors give you privacy! Marriage is made more meaningful and love more intense in those moments when everyone else in the world is shut out and your life is narrowed down to just two.

In being alone, without kids, family, and the distractions of work, you are able to connect in specific and deliberate ways. God designed marriage to be enjoyed and experienced by two for a lifetime. Work obligations will change, electronic notifications will always be there, even kids will grow up to have a life of their own, but marriage is intended for a lifetime together. Therefore, you should carve out time in your schedule to date your spouse.

In another article by the National Marriage Project entitled The Date Night Opportunity, Several interesting facts about dating and marriage are documented. Among their findings, women who have couple time with their spouse at least once per week are 3 times more happy in their relationship than those who don’t. Also, men are 2.5 times more happy in their relationship than those who don’t have couple time at least once per week. In regards to divorce, women who have couple time at least twice a month are 4 times less likely to get divorced and men are 2.5 times less likely!

The above article also established the following 5 areas that are impacted by regular date nights:

1. Communication- It provides a chance for you to talk without distractions.
2. Novelty- You can experience new things and activities together.
3. Eros- Your intimate life is enhanced by alone time.
4. Commitment- It helps to strengthen your commitment to each other.
5. De-stress- It gives you a time to forget about all the stress points of your life.

The following are some of my ideas for date nights:

• Go out to eat.
• Watch a movie together.
• Walk in the park.
• Go shopping without buying anything!
• Play a board game.

If you have ideas you can share them with the class or email me at [email protected]. I may also start a facebook post to solicit ideas.

Time is one of the most valuable things that you own. It is something that you can never get back. When you share your time with your spouse, you are giving a part of your life away to them that you can never have back, you are giving your life for your spouse as the Bible commands husbands to do.

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

We all know of the doors that need fixing. They are hard to open and close. The knobs wont turn. The locks wont work. Even worse, the door squeaks! I wake up early most mornings and sometimes my attempts at not waking the family are foiled by a squeaking door! This is because doors have to be maintained, you have to paint them, oil them and generally maintain the hinges, knobs and locks. The bottom line is that doors can become painfully irritating at times.

Marriage has a tendency to become painfully irritating at times. If your relationship is not properly maintained you will become squeaking hinges and jammed locks in your marriage. Some of the most hurtful, degrading words and actions I have ever seen were among married people. This is because the oil of the Spirit of God and the tools of His Holy Word have not been applied to that relationship.

Although your spouse may have many problems and personal quirks, you have your own set of problems and your spouse puts up with you everyday. Before you criticize your spouse, think about all the good that they do. Chances are, there are a lot more things your spouse does right. Consider the things they do right. Be grateful for your spouse.

Sometimes you don’t appreciate things until they are gone. It is like you forget what life was like before you met, or what your life would be like without them. You stop noticing all the good your spouse does for the few things they may be doing wrong or the one thing they are not doing for you.

Also, the things that irritate you about your spouse may be easier to fix than you realize. For example if your wife leaves the cabinets and draws open even after you discus it, it may be easier just to shut them yourself. If your wife never has the dishes done when you get home, it actually only takes a few moments to load the dishwasher. If your husband leaves his clothes on the floor even after you have nagged him, it may only take you a few seconds to pick them up. It may be easier for you to handle it this way, than coming at your spouse like Attila the Hun!

It is strange that some of the most hurtful things that can be said, are said between husband and wife. However, by using the filter of God’s word you can use words of kindness instead of hatred or anger.

Even when lovingly correcting your spouse, you can choose words that are helpful and not hurtful. Sometimes consistent, kind correction can change things better. For example, several months ago I developed a rare, strange, and scare temporary eye condition. I was given several eye drops to be taken over the course of several weeks. It would do me no good to take all the drops at once, but by taking my medicine everyday, they helped my eyes heal and recover. Likewise, a little loving correction at a time can do more help than pouring out the whole bottle at once!

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

Marriage is the one relationship in this world where we have the incredible opportunity to practice the Bible principle of edification. You can choose to use words to encourage and build up your marriage, or to completely tear it down.

Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

4 reasons you need to fix the doors in your marriage

1. Your marriage needs consistency.
2. Marriage thrives in privacy.
3. Marriage without maintenance will break.
4. You have to protect what you have.

The post 4 Reasons You Should Fix the Door Problems in Your Marriage appeared first on Fixer Upper Marriage.

Fixing up a house requires updating and upgrading many of its features. You must see and find the better house in the house that you already own. In a similar way your marriage relationship may require you to identify and update many of its features and find the better things in what God has already given you.

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.

FixerUpperMarriage.org/update

In the international bestselling book, The Five Love Languages, author Gary Chapman reveals 5 love languages that he identified through counseling. This is a book that I would highly recommend as I find it relatable and fun. The 5 love languages are listed below:

1. Words of Affirmation
2. Quality Time
3. Receiving Gifts
4. Acts of Service
5. Physical Touch

For example, it is like trying to tell someone that you love them who literally speaks a different language. You may both love each other, but are expressing it in ways that neither of you can understand.

Also, consider a couple talking over two-way radios that are tuned to different channels. Both parties may be talking clearly, but neither is getting the message on their receiver.

We all express love in our own ways based on our past experiences and personalities. Possibly, someone significant to you never used words of affirmation so now you value this form of expressing love. Maybe someone significant to you always showed love through acts of service, now you do the same. Although we may use all of the love languages, we all have a primary love language that we speak.

For example, my father, who loved all his children very much, never said it! Growing up, I don’t ever remember hearing him say that he loved me or was proud of me. As a result of this I go out of my way to give words of affirmation. I will tell my girls that I love them and when they do something good, or that I am proud of them. Therefore, I have a tendency to primarily express love in this manner.

Whereas my primary love language is words of affirmation, my wife’s is quality time. Stopping what I am doing and giving her my undivided attention is the best way for me to show her that I love her. When I show her love in this way, she gets it because I am speaking her language now.

It is as if we don’t recognize love that is not expressed in our native primary language. However, there is value in seeing the love that your spouse is showing you through their own language. It may be that your spouse shows love by giving gifts because that is their language. In realizing this you can better appreciate the love that your spouse has for you.

You may think that because your spouse is not showing love in your language, then they are not loving you. This could be completely wrong, since they may be showing love to you in their own way. In seeing this, you become aware of just how much your spouse does love you after all. You are just filtering their actions through your own language.

The best way to learn a foreign language is to practice it. Once you identify what love language your spouse speaks, you then can start to learn their dialect. If your spouse shows love by acts of service, you can learn to show love through acts of service. Even though you may usually show love through physical touch, you can learn to show love in giving gifts. You can learn to speak in the love language of your spouse and make your marriage more meaningful to the both of you.

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

All your faults are exposed in the act of being married in ways that are not possible in any other relationship. You know each other better than anyone else in the world. Marriage pulls the covers off all your faults and failings. Perhaps others that are close to you may have known some of your faults and perhaps marriage reveals some that no one else knows. The following is a list of things that marriage can reveal.

• Fears
• Self-centeredness
• Moral failings
• Pride

In living together and sharing everything, you learn all the ugly parts of each other. You even learn the parts that you tried to hide when you were dating. You discover the stranger in your spouse, the parts of the person that know one else knows. It is in this way that you become an instrument of truth to your spouse. You may even have to confront your spouse in love about their sin.

It is therefore, in the design of marriage to make you a better person by exposing the hidden parts of who you are. In the marriage relationship, you are in an incredible position of vulnerability that is only topped by the relationship of Christ and the Church. It is like a miniature version of the judgment seat of Christ where all things are open and exposed to the person who loves us the most.

Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

Love has an unbelievable power of healing and forgiveness that is unmatched in any other relationship in this world.

• To love inspite of knowing all your faults and failures
• To love through the recovery of mistakes and missteps
• To love when you are hurt and damaged

Love has the power to change who you are as a person. If your husband thinks you are beautiful, then it does not matter what anyone else thinks.

This is a love that causes not only your spouse to change, but you. Marriage is a means of making you like Jesus. Marriage is a vehicle that carries you to a destination of being more like the Lord.

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

God made us to find the best possible mate, but in marriage you have the person that God wants you to have. Through his Grace and purposes you can find the person who is the perfect match for you in the spouse that God already has given you. Why start over with someone who has their own set of faults and failures, when you have to power to have new start with the one you have?

As I prepared this lesson, I thought of the inevitable conclusion that you come to realize in marriage, that the feeling of love that you first have for each other has an expiration date. Relationship experts agree (although I have not found the actual studies yet) that the feelings of romance and love at the beginning of a relationship typically wanes between a 2 and 3 years, although it can sometimes last up to 7 years.

However, regardless of the actual facts, we all know that the intense feelings of falling in love become diluted over time. This time could be unique to everyone, but it happens regardless. We have all heard the story of the couple falling out of love.

Most of us get married based on the notion of falling hopelessly in love. You lose control and in passion want the other person so intensely that you commit to spending your lives together. Then life happens, you have a career, you have kids, and you have problems.

At some point it happens in every marriage relationship that survives, you must make a decision to love your spouse. This is a decision that you must reaffirm everyday as life changes, as you change, and as your spouse changes.

Theologian Stanley Hauerwas worded it in a good way, in his article entitled You Never Marry the Right Person, “The primary challenge of marriage is learning how to care for the stranger to whom you find yourself married.” You think you know each other when you get married, but soon discover all the things that were hidden. Change is always prevalent and inevitable. Life events, age, and circumstances all work to make changes in you.

It is therefore critical to hold onto the vows you made before God and to each other. It is the vow to love each other for better or for worse. Even when life changes you and your spouse, you can make the decision to still love each other. You can make the decision to renew the romance and love in your relationship as the years pass.

Many people make the mistake of starting over with someone else. Second marriages have an even higher divorce rate than first ones! The person that you need to start over with is the spouse that you already have. This a renewal of love based on the covenant that you have with your spouse. This a shadow of the covenant that God has with the believing sinner.

You may have interest in someone and get to know them or about them and the interest goes cold- you don’t want another date with this person. Maybe this person has a past that is unacceptable to you, or a character flaw that you find unattractive.

As the love stories go, your search finally finds that one you are interested in. Another date is schedule and you begin a beautiful journey of getting to know each other and falling hopelessly in love.

Treat dating your spouse like you want to earn that second date. Put your all into it, like the date that you really want to lead to another date. In dating your spouse you recreate those initial feelings of being in love and pursuing one another. You can relive the falling in love of experience where you lose control in your desire for each other.

Pay attention to things that your spouse finds interesting. Listen for the clues that reveal the things that they want to do.

Become involved in the things that your spouse is involved in together. For example, you may have to go to play or watch a romantic movie together. Perhaps you could go to a sporting event or watch it together. By discovering the interests of your spouse and involving yourself in them, you can develop things in common.

1. Learn how to speak their love language.
2. Discover the good in the person your spouse is.
3. Choose to love your spouse.
4. Date like you want another date.
5. Learn to share things in common.

The post 5 Ways to Update Your Marriage- Episode 23 appeared first on Fixer Upper Marriage.

Romance is the fuel that feeds the flames of passion and love. Romance is the yearning of the young heart and the ambition of the aged. Romance is the key that turns the lock of loneliness and liberates the secrets of the soul. Listen in as we uncover the mystery of romance from the pages of the Bible.

Ephesians 5: 31,32 and Genesis 2: 23,24

In the beginning, God gathered the dust of the ground, shaped the body of a man, and breathed into him the incredible breath of life. Then from man God made one of His most intriguing creations, woman. Together the two made an amazing union, as they became husband and wife. This was a match defined by the most powerful emotions in the known to man: love, passion, and romance. So this is how it all it began, a story where these same emotions perfected would redeem mankind from sin, despair, and an eternity in the flames of Hell. This is the Mystery of Romance…

In creating man, the feeling of loneliness was realized. This is not just a feeling of no one to talk to, but a deep loneliness for sharing. It became clear that man needed a companion of his equal, a person to share his life with. He needed a person who he could trust with all his hopes, dreams, and aspirations; a person he could become uninhibited in his vulnerability with. God looked down at His creation of man and saw this deep need, and went into action.

And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.

The great Creator put Adam to sleep and from his rib made a new creature, a women. As Adam woke, his eyes were filled with the most amazing thing he had ever seen, and the feeling of love with all it passion of romance was conceived. This is a love that transcends just friendship, it was a love between a man and his wife, a lifetime commitment of togetherness, two lives became one.

They would become best friends, to share every moment of life’s experiences with. Adam had a person to care for. They would know each other like no one else in the world could ever know.

With one creative act, God solved the problem of loneliness with the invention of the bond of marriage. Two lives intertwined in ways that are designed to fulfill natural needs for companionship and intimacy.

And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from the man, made he woman, and brought her unto the man.

Nevertheless, the devil would deceive us with cheap, ugly replacements for the beautiful design of holiness in marriage.

• The deception of living together without the lifetime commitment of marriage.
  • A recent study by the National Council on Family Relations confirmed what other studies have been showing for years, that couples cohabiting before marriage are more likely to get divorced than those who don’t.
  • Also, the Bible clearly stands against sexual activity outside of marriage.

Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

• The deception that is in the idea of same-sex marriage.
  • In promoting this sinful lifestyle, the devil is trying to destroy the picture of marriage.
  • Society wants us to accept this a normal behavior, but this is activity that God does not accept.

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

• The deception that is in the addictive nature of pornography.
  • According to CovenantEyes.com 64% of Christian men and 15% of Christian women watch pornography at least once per month.
  • In Genesis 2 God created a beautiful, holy relationship, but it is being neglected and replaced by the ugly filth of this world even among Church going people.

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt commit adultery: but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hat committed adultery with already in his heart.

God created passion, desire, and romance when he made man and woman. Eve was pursued by Adam from the moment he laid eyes on her. He found her the best the flowers he could find, told her the sweetest things he could think of, and held her in tenderest ways he could! Romance was born into the world.

• We all reach the age when things change.
  • When guys start using hair gel, and when girls start wanting to wear makeup. It is the time when you stop acting childish around the opposite gender! You have your first crush. (The boys get teacher crush, the girls try writing their last names with boys they know.
• Your pursuit of love begins.
  • You day dream about life, getting married, and what things will be like. You have your first interest and your first relationship. (This is today played over Social Media.)
• You finally meet the one and you fall hopelessly in love.
  • You pursue with love letters, gifts, and looks. The pursuit is to win the love of your interest, it is to receive a decision when you pop the question. The romantic wedding day finally arrives where you exchange vows, rings, and hearts.
• Love is a romantic pursuit that ends in an incredible covenant that is a type of an even greater covenant. The covenant of Christ and the believing sinner.

Christ has engaged in the pursuit of love for poor undeserving sinners. He left the splendors of Heaven to pursue a love for you. Just like a caring father would ask for the intentions of suitor for his daugther. His intentions are clear as he pursues us with kindness, love, and mercy. His question echos the couple in love as He on bended knee asks, “Will you be mine? Can I have your heart? Will you give me you?

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins.

• It was all in his pursuit when I think of his goodness.
  • That He would desire ME! That He would offer me all the benefits of being His. Just like the engagement ring, if you just say yes, I will give you the best that I have!
• It was all in His pursuit when I consider his gifts.
  • It is His way of showing me His love. Just like the couple in love, the cards, the flowers, the letters, and time were all for one goal, to have her. The time He spent wooing me, when I read His letters, we I heard the voice of His Spirit, it was all for one goal, to have me! When I didn’t even know Him, He saw me, loved me, and went after me!
• This is the great mystery, that buried in the meaning of marriage is the story of the pursuit of the Gospel. A Savior, giving himself for undeserving sinners. Romance is Christ pursuing you and me!

For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

In Genesis 3, the happily ever after for Adam and Eve was short-lived as we read about the fall of man when Eve ate of the forbidden fruit.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat.

• Despite His indisputable love for us, we have a propensity for failure.
  • Marriage is filled with mistakes and failures. Eve made a mess for her love, just like you make a mess sometimes. When you fail to live up to your expectation for each other. When you give in to your sinful nature. The mistakes we make that are embarrassing and shameful.
• Mistakes have a silver lining.
  • Adam and Eve learned to joy of forgiveness and healing. In marriage we share the joy of forgiveness and healing with each other. As Eve thought, I have REALLY messed up this time, I have disappointed my husband and my God. Something incredible happened, Adam went with her?!

And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

It is the story of the Gospel and an unbelievable act of forgiveness and love as Adam went with his wife in full knowledge of the consequences. This a love that prompts you stay together no matter what, paints a unmistakable scene of the love that Jesus has for the Church.

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the LORD. And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering to unto the LORD.

Eve had babies and everything changed!

• Romantic evenings were replaced with exhausted evenings from childcare.
• Romantic thoughts turned into stressful ones.
• Time moved in fast forward.

Kids are great for family, not so great for marriage.

• You now have to juggle your priorities.
• Two becomes three, and three become four or more!
• Everyday struggles may your pursuit more challenging.

In Genesis chapter 4 a happy family is broken by sin.

And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Able his brother, and slew him.

Life in the world can throw unexpected things, that hinder your pursuit of each other. For example, Our first child was stillborn. We went to the hospital with all the other expecting couples, but left with empty arms.

It is in these times that your faith in God is really put to the test.

Your faith is not measured on the mountain tops, but by your response in the valley.

In Genesis 2 God had a higher purpose in mind when He created marriage, it was the plan of redemption of mankind. One day there would come a Savoir into this world who love and die for the Church. It was not just about Adam and Eve, but about Christ and the Church.

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.

Your marriage is about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is not making you happy, but about the story of redemption to this lost and dying world. This is the mystery, that marriage and love is really about the story of redemption. It is not about you, its about and eternal God with a message or hope, forgiveness and eternal life.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it:

Romance produces babies.

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby carriage. Your kids are the direct result of your love for each other. God designed love and marriage to produce more creatures in His image.

Babies are the results of healthy marriage relationship.

A healthy relationship with the Lord will produce more new creatures in His image.

Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away and all things are become new.

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

When we are right with Him, we have the right faith in Him, the Gospel is propagated into this World. God might do more, if we just believed that He would. The Gospel has not changed and definitely has not lost its power, but we have. If you have a week puny faith and relationship with the Lord, no wonder you have no “babies” in the Gospel!

In the later part of Genesis chapter 4 everything in the first love story in the Bible came full circle.

And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew. And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.

The mystery of romance is the story of redemption, grace, and the Church!

The post The Mystery of Romance appeared first on Fixer Upper Marriage.

As you fix up a house, there is a temptation to compare what you are doing with others. This can create a problem which we call, “keeping up with the Jones.” Meaning that you do things or buy things that you can’t afford just because someone else does it. Moreover, comparing your marriage to others can create similar problems. Join the Fixer Upper Marriage Class as we learn how to avoid this “keeping up” problem in marriage.

FixerUpperMarriage.org/compare

(10) For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. (11) Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present. (12) For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. (13) But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even onto you. (14) For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ;

See verses 10 and 11 above

• The following are a few facts to consider.
  • In late 2017 and 2018 Facebook discovered and suspended 1.3 billion fake accounts, admitting that at least and estimated 66 million remain.
  • Estimates are that 9-15 percent of 336 million twitter accounts are fake.
  • In December 2017, German intelligence warned that Chinese agents were using LinkedIn account profiles to target government employees.
  • The Israeli military discovered that Hamas was using Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp profiles to get soldiers to download malicious software.
  • Facts above are from https://phys.org/news/2018-09-people-fall-fake-profiles-online.html
• Social media allows you to shape your own persona.
  • You get to control what people see about your life.
  • Everyone is looking for that Instagram moment.
  • People even choose vacation spots for there potential social media sharing potential. According to TravelAgent.com 36 percent of millennials (age 18-34) have attempted to deceive their followers about vacations by posting pictures that made things look better than what they are. See this stat and more here.
  • For example, I was recently made aware of a prayer request, that was completely opposite of what I was seeing on social media.
• Prolonged viewing of social media posts can increase depression.
  
  • According to a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health published in 2016, social media use significantly increases depression. View the study here. A simple internet search will reveal more SM connect to depression and anxiety.
  • You only see the best that people want you to see. You see everyone’s bright and shining moments only!
  • This makes you ask, Where are my bright and shining moments?
  • You compare your everyday here and now of marriage, with everyone’s highlights.
• Church personas are not always real.
  • We wear our best outfits, and put on our best faces because we want to be seen and accepted in our perceived social group.
  • What we don’t see are the struggles and problems we go through during the week.
  • For example, I was privileged as a child of knowing my great grandmother, who was the most spiritual person in our Church. She even stopped the ushers on Sunday morning to make sure everyone saw here tithe. However, in reality she was not so spiritual at home.
  • To some people see Church is an opportunity to perform better than someone else. It is their chance to prove their value to the people who are important to them. Therefore, they display a different persona that is unrealistic for you to live up to, a persona that they cannot even live up to.

• In our text, it seems that people were jealously being critical of Paul. However, when you consider the facts that we know about Paul today, he suffered great persecution for the cause of Christ. See II Corinthians 11: 23-33.
• The truth is in what you are not told, those things that you don’t know about.
• On October 12, 2014, the world was awakened to the shocking news that a man who was known as the funniest man of all time, actor Robin Williams, had taken his own life. See the Winkapedia page here.
• You just don’t know what people are going through. Also, you don’t really know what you are a comparing yourself to.
• It is therefore, not wise, in the words Scripture to compare your marriage to someone else’s.

• Furthermore, what people say about other people is not always accurate. At best you are only getting half the story.
• Have you ever had something said about you that was not accurate? Maybe you could defend yourself, or maybe you could only just prove yourself.
• When you hear about someone, or their marriage, it may or may not be an accurate description.
• It is not fair to your marriage, to compare it to what people are saying about someone else’s marriage.
• What people think or say about you is not as important as what you do.

See verse 13 above, But we will not boast of things without our measure.

• Historians refers to this as baby boomers (born after WWII), Generation X (with no specific defining event), the Millennial Generation (defined by the turn of the century) , and Generation Z (no defining event yet).
• This can clearly be seen in technology.
  • For example my mother can barely use a tablet that one of my sisters bought for here, but my 5 year old can operate my smartphone, and may have used my AMAZON account. She has even learned my pattern lock!
• As this relates to marriage, according to the US Census Bureau, the median age of marriage for men is now 30 and for women 28. See their website here.
  • My parents were married at 17 (Dad) and 13 (Mom).
  • I was married a 27 almost 15 years ago and thought I was a late bloomer!
• This can be seen in our priorities.
  • We finish school, start a career, and get a house first.
  • Maybe the priority of marriage has changed.

• In my 20s I starting teaching Sunday School. My first class was the junior and or high school boys. I have always said and continue to say, that if you wait on God’s best, He will give it to you. However, there have been many times when I have had to eat those words, when I could have settled, when I could have taken things into my own hands, when others got what I wanted. I was the last of my friends to be married, but I got God’s best for my life. BTW God does give his best to those who are willing to wait for it!
• God has a unique path for you and your marriage, and it is unfair to you and God to compare it to others.
  • Maybe God wants you to suffer some things, to make you different for His plan for you.
  • As a Christian, we know that all things are for purpose, and that purpose is uniquely qualified for you and your spouse. (See Romans 8:28)
  • God has given the institution of marriage so that you can work through your problems together.
  • As you struggle in a certain area, you work through it together as a couple committed to one another for life!
• It is unwise to compare your marriage and life to someone else who has a totally different plan than you.

• These principles in my opinion are sometimes specifically vague.
• God says these are the boundaries for marriage and love.
  • Whatever fits inside is OK with Him.
  • He knew that everyone would have different circumstances.
  • God does not have a cookie cutter mentality.
• Wisdom is found in discovering His principles and applying them personally to your marriage.

See verse 14, as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ.

For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church; and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.

• There is no one who can reach that goal, but it should be our focus.
• The comparison is the Bible standard of Christ and the Church.
• You have to take your attention off of couples around you and instead look to the example of Scripture.

• Living an example of the Gospel as a couple everyday.
  • An example to a lost and dying world that is watching you.
  • An example to your kids who are BTW lost and dying and watching you.
• Giving the resource of the Gospel to the world as a couple.
  • What you do everyday to advance the light of the Gospel in a dark world.
  • The way we live, the choices that we make everyday advance the Gospel.
• Paul said, I don’t measure my life with any measure, except the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

1. What you are comparing may not be real.
2. Everyone is different.
3. You have a mission to focus on.

God has something amazing planned for your marriage….

The post How and Why You Should Avoid Comparing Your Marriage to Others appeared first on Fixer Upper Marriage.

Many marriages are broken. This is a brokenness that can only be repaired by the God of Heaven. Therefore, you must look to Him in prayer and the pages of the Bible to find the “fix” for the problems in your marriage. Join the Fixer Upper Marriage Class as we learn about things you should be praying for in your marriage from Galatians 5: 22-23. This is the final installment in a three part series about this subject.

FixerUpperMarriage.org/prayer3

For part one of this series:

FixerUpperMarriage.org/prayer

For the previous lesson in this series:

FixerUpperMarriage.org/prayer2

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: Against such there is no law.

This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have for he hath said, I will never leave thee, not forsake thee.

• Faithfulness is in God’s character.
• God is faithful to me all the time.
  • He has made promises to me that He will keep no matter what happens.
• God is faithful to me despite my own unfaithfulness.

If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.

• Consider the dangers of an emotional affair.
  
  • An emotional affair often precedes a physical one.
  • Signs that you are falling into an emotional affair. When a simple friendship turns into more. When you are investing emotional energy in someone besides your spouse.
    1. You contact this friend when you are not together.
    2. You talk to this friend about personal problems like your marriage.
    3. You create ways to be with this friend.
    4. You think about your friend when you are not together
    5. You compare your friend with your spouse.
    6. You neglect your spouse for this other friend.
• Don’t throw your marriage away for a fantasy.
  • Your new love interest has problems too.
  • The thrill and passion of the moment is only momentary. The thrill of doing something wrong without getting caught will is temporary.
  • In this day, people are throwing away their marriage for online fantasy.
    • The social media “friend”.
    • The pornograhy that is fills the internet.
      • According to the non profit organization Enough is Enough 30 percent of internet industry is pornography. see Enough.org (https://enough.org/stats_porn_industry)
      • See Matthew 5:28

1. Build security with your spouse.
   • Be aware that past mistakes can make your spouse insecure.
   • You build trust and security with transparency and live proof.
   • Learn to “check-in” with each other. For example, “I am going to be late getting home because…”
     • Although you may not like doing this, it helps to build trust.
     • This promotes accountability with each other. If your spouse knows what you are doing, there is no room for secrecy.
2. Be clear about your commitment.
   • Wear your wedding ring as much as possible.
   • This is a symbol to other people that you are taken.
   • If you come across someone and you feel a connection or chemistry with them, make sure they see the ring on your finger.
   • Be utterly clear, even RUDE if necessary. If things seem flirty, then it is OK to be rude because your marriage is more important.
3. Escape potential compromising situations.
   • If you are in room with someone by yourself, leave.
   • Sometimes temptations are closer than you realize, including close friends or even family members.
   • Don’t be afraid to walk away or leave to protect your wedding vows. Your marriage is more important than any social group.
4. Be together.
   • Spend time with your spouse.
   • Every moment you are together is a chance to honor your commitment and your love.
   • Being together protects you from unfaithfulness.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

• Jesus was so meek that in John 13 in the story of the last supper, He washed and dried the feet of His disciples!
• Meek does not mean weak, but it means strength in the face of your own pride and self desires.
  • A man who is meek is not weak, but filled with strength and power.
  • The opposite of meekness is pride.
  • Meekness and humility is the forgotten Christian virtue of our day.
• According to Noah Websters 1828 dictionary Meekness is a noun that means, Softness of temper; mildness; gentleness; forbearance under injuries of provocations.  See WebstersDictionary1828.com

• We are programmed to be proud of our assertiveness and arrogance.
  • You can see it in the phrases that we use.
    • I will let you have it.
    • I will give you a piece of my mind.
    • I will show him a thing or two.
  • You can see it in the attitude that we have.
    • We are self-assertive in our minds.
      • It is all about my rights, my image, and what I deserve.
    • We are filled with self-interest
• Girls from childhood are taught to be the opposite of meekness.
  • They are taught to be aggressive, to fight, to take charge.
  • The Bible however, teaches something entirely different.

But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:

• Marriage is filled with conflict because we care more about me than we.
• It is no wonder marriages are filled with fighting today- there is no meekness.

• Your pride wants you to restore your reputation, but meekness wants to reconcile.
• Your pride wants to rehearse all the wrongs done to you, but meekness wants to forgive and forget.

• The things that typically control us.
  1. The sin nature
  2. Human appetites
  3. Fleshly desires
• The thing that should control us.
  • We should have discipline and self control with the help of the Holy Spirit.
  • The reason word disciple sounds so close to discipline is because they are so related.
  • This is why we have to pray for these things in marriage, because we need His help.

In your words…

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

In your mood… Moodiness is ungodly since He is always the same.

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

In your thoughts…

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

In your temper…

He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.

In your eyes…

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

3 Additional Things You Should Be Praying About in Your Marriage.

1. Pray that you will stay faithful to one another.
2. Pray that God will teach you meekness.
3. Pray that God will empower you with temperance.

God has something amazing planned for your marriage.

The post 3 Additional Things You Should Be Praying for in Your Marriage appeared first on Fixer Upper Marriage.

Marriage is filled with challenges that are beyond our knowledge and ability to navigate alone. Just like the many problems that can come with fixing up a house, you will experience many problems in your marriage as you seek to “fix up” your love. However, there is help available from the great Designer of love and marriage, God. We find this help through prayer and the awesome Word of God! Join us via live recording as we continue learning about things you should be praying about in your marriage.

https://FixerUpperMarriage.org/prayer2

For the first lesson on this subject visit:

http://FixerUpperMarriage.org/prayer

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Longsuffering- (adjective) Bearing injuries or provocation for a long time; patient; not easily provoked. (http://webstersdictionary1828.com/)

And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

• Your longsuffering is a reflection of His character.
• Marriage is an incredible opportunity to learn and practice longsuffering.
• Living together with a lifetime commitment with all your bad habits and personal flaws has a way of testing your longsuffering.
• For example I snore loudly, and obsess over things I don’t understand.
• In living together as a married couple you learn to understand about God’s longsuffering to us and how to be more like Him.
• Is compatibility a myth? When you consider how much we change throughout life- Is it possible for you to know the future me? It is possible to have longsuffering and commitment to your spouse.

• For example, I used cliffsnotes in high school literature class instead of reading the assignments. However, in the process I cheated myself out of a better grade and the experience. I later discovered that I love American Literature by the way.
• You may find some “cliffsnotes” for marriage, but you will cheat yourself out of the experience and joy of working through your problems together. You can just get a passing grade and miss God’s best for your marriage!
• There is folly in starting over in marriage. This may seem easier than working through your problems together, but you cheat yourself out of the experience of overcoming your differences.

• It may take time to have a good marriage, but you can do it by following the principles of God’s Word and depending on Him every day. This is not an overnight process, but it is process that makes us more like Jesus as we seek it.
• Consider your excited friend who has discovered that new amazing diet. They have lost 20 lbs and can’t stop talking about it. However, you are just not interested at the moment because you don’t have to money, time, or energy.
• Your spouse may not jump right on the Fixer Upper Marriage train with you. Nevertheless, you can continue to patiently do your part and you may be surprised at all the things that God can do for you.

Gentleness (noun) 1. Genteel behavior. 2. Softness of manners, mildness in temper; sweetness indisposition, meekness. 3. Kindness, benevolence. 4. Tenderness, mild treatment. (http://webstersdictionary1828.com/)

And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was no in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

• Before I knew Him I was afraid of Him.
• However, once I appropriated His shed blood for my sin, once I asked Jesus into my heart and got to know Him a little, I found out that He is incredibly gentle.
• He does not treat me the way that I treat Him.
• He does not talk to me the way that I deserve to be talked to.
• He speaks to me gently, sweetly, and kindly. Many times I find myself on the altar at Church or on the couch in house asking Him for help and forgiveness because He has gently spoken to my heart.
• Marriage is the best opportunity in the world to learn how to practice gentleness. There is no other relationship so intimate, so demanding, and so rewarding as marriage!

• Instead of attacking your spouse, learn to start conversations with gentleness and things will go a lot better for you.
• Don’t speak from your emotional flooding, but speak with deliberateness and calmness. Stop and think before you speak. Also, stop and pray before you respond.
• Allow prayer to be your filter when speaking about an emotionally charged issue.
• You may temporarily solve a problem by hollering or nagging, but you will just have to keep hollering and nagging about the same things.
• However, you can change a behavior permanently with gentleness. This is why God uses gentleness when dealing with you.
• Gentleness comes from a place of understanding.
  • For example, while working for the Post Office I deal with people sometimes who are obsessively track their packages. It helps me and my customer when I remember how I track my packages when I am expecting something, this gives me some level of understanding. In this way I can be firm and gentle at the same time.
  • Picturing yourself in your spouses position will help you to understand and be gentle and firm when they make mistakes.
  • Since my wife is a homemaker, I can understand why she would want to talk so much to me when I get home from a long day at work.
    • I can understand why the house is not spotless, dinner is not on the table, and the kids are running around in circles, when I remember the time she was sick and I had to watch them!
    • By putting yourself in your spouses position, you can better help to work through your failures and problems.
  • If you can try to understand, not excuse, the failures of your spouse it helps you to work through those things together with with gentleness, firmness, and patience.
    • Whatever that problem, or sin may be you can work through with gentleness
    • If you expect God to have some understanding when He deals with you, why don’t you have understanding when dealing with your spouse.

• For example, while working for the Post Office I deal with people sometimes who are obsessively track their packages. It helps me and my customer when I remember how I track my packages when I am expecting something, this gives me some level of understanding. In this way I can be firm and gentle at the same time.
• Picturing yourself in your spouses position will help you to understand and be gentle and firm when they make mistakes.
  • Since my wife is a homemaker, I can understand why she would want to talk so much to me when I get home from a long day at work.
  • I can understand why the house is not spotless, dinner is not on the table, and the kids are running around in circles, when I remember the time she was sick and I had to watch them!
• By putting yourself in your spouses position, you can better help to work through your failures and problems.
• If you can try to understand, not excuse, the failures of your spouse it helps you to work through those things together with with gentleness, firmness, and patience.
  • Whatever that problem, or sin may be you can work through with gentleness
• If you expect God to have some understanding when He deals with you, why don’t you have understanding when dealing with your spouse.
  
  

Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remebereth that we are dust.

Goodness (adjective) The moral qualities which constitute christian excellence, moral virtue, religion. (http://webstersdictionary1828.com/)

For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

• From the moment of salvation you begin to realize just how good he is.
• He was good to me even before I knew Him.
• He was good to me to allow me to hear the Gospel many times!
• I see the goodness of God more and more everyday.
• Marriage is the incredible opportunity to be good to someone else.
  • This is your chance to be like Jesus.
  • You wake up beside someone everyday that YOU can be good to.
  • You can find ways to be good to your spouse.
  • Your spouse should be able to says, “My husband/ wife is good to me.”
• 
  

• God’s goodness is customized just for you.
  • You should invent ways to be good to your spouse.
  • Goodness should be your ambition. Goodness should be your endzone! Goodness should be your goalposts! You score when you are good to your spouse.
• Use your time and attention to think of ways to be good to your spouse.
  • Try to make a list.
  • Just like God must make for us.
  • I will surprise them with my goodness.
• Learn how to be good in your marriage and you will find something that this world is seeking for!
  • How could your marriage fail when you are both trying to be good to each other.
• At the same time you are painting a beautiful picture of the Gospel to this world.

3 More Things You Should Be Praying for in Your Marriage.

1. Pray that longsuffering will be your goal.
2. Pray that gentleness will be your attitude.
3. Pray that goodness will keep you from failing.

God has something amazing planned for your marriage.

to be continued…

The post 3 More Things You Should Be Praying for in Your Marriage appeared first on Fixer Upper Marriage.

Sometimes you have to consult a specialist when you are fixing up a house. This is someone who has knowledge or capabilities that are beyond your own. A specialist may have access to equipment, tools, and resources that you don’t. Likewise, there is a specialist for marriage, and He is the God who designed it! Listen along with the class as we learn some things you should be praying about in your marriage. We find these things identified in Galatians 5:22-23.

FixerUpperMarriage.org/prayer

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

• God gives us the gift of physical love in marriage,
  • but lust is the Devil’s cheap replacement for that gift from God.
• Love is you giving yourself away, and lust is getting what you want.
• God’s design is that you make a commitment to one another and you chose to love each other and you enjoy that gift from God.
  • However, this world’s system says that lust is normal and acceptable.
  • For example, the TV characters sleep together barely knowing each other, but sex outside of marriage is lust.
  • Our cultures teaches us that all kinds of lust are acceptable, but God’s Word teaches us something different.

For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

• Pray that God will protect you and your spouse from the lust and influences of an ungodly world.

• My wife was the most beautiful woman in the world to me when we first fell in love.
• Also, my wife is the most beautiful woman in the world right now at the age and season of life we are in.
• I don’t want to be the gray haired man lusting after women half his age.
  • Therefore, I chose to let my wife be my standard for attractiveness.
  • Fortunately for me, I have a beautiful wife who loves me too
  • My wife was the most beautiful woman in the world when we first fell in love
• Godly love sees past faults, failures, and mistakes.
  • God chooses to love me, even though I am not very lovely.
  • Therefore, love your spouse, even when they make mistakes.
  • Your spouse is the one relationship in this world that is for life.
  • People will come and go, but at the end of the day it is you and your spouse left to work things out.
• Pray that God gives you this kind of love that is a choice, that is a commitment.
  • This is counter to the fantasy love where we accidentally fall in love and live happily ever after.
  • You make the choice to love and continue to love your spouse.
  • That you will love your spouse and that God will help your spouse to love you.

• There is joy in the moments that you have made together.
  • For Example, when talking about our upcoming 15th wedding anniversary yesterday we talked about all the funny things that happened.
• Just being able to laugh together is an incredible chance to strengthen your marriage.
• Make those joyful moments with each other.
  • Do things together.
  • Spend time talking to one another.
  • Put all the distractions to the side, and there are many distractions in life today.
  • Get some “face time” with your spouse.

• If you don’t have joy together it is a serious sign that something is wrong.
• For example when those lights come on in the console of your car that say things like “overheated”, “check engine”, “warning”. You can chose to ignore those things and ruin your car or get stranded by yourself somewhere.
• Joy is that warning light on the console of your marriage, “warning no Joy”, “Joy level is low”.
• One of the most hurtful things is for your spouse to see you laugh with someone else, when you cant laugh at home!

• My greatest joy is in serving the Lord.
  • For example, “I love to preach and teach God’s Word, because it is something that I can do to serve Him! He could have chosen the angels to tell the gospel and to teach His Word, but He lets someone like me do it.”
  • When you do what you do for the Lord, you will find the joy in it too.
  • There is a hymn entitle “Joy in Serving Jesus” the first verse goes like this:

There is Joy in Serving Jesus

As I journey on my way

Joy that fills my heart with praises

Every hour and every day

Whom having not seen, ye love, in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

• In a similar way, there is joy in serving your spouse
  • To do something completely for your spouse without expecting anything in return.
  • Find something that your spouse likes, and do it for them not expecting anything in return for it.
• You can get so caught up in your own happiness that you miss the joy of making someone else happy.
• Pray that God will allow you to bring joy to your spouse.

• To know that I am right with Him and He is not angry with me is an incredible.
• I have peace with God because of the sacrifice that Jesus made for me, not by what I do or don’t do.
• I have the peace of God as I maintain my relationship with him everyday.- I experience His peace in my life.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

• Try not to talk when you are angry.
• Talk through the problems in your marriage.
• Make peace with each other.

Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

• Your horizontal relationship with your spouse has everything to do with your vertical relationship with your spouse.
• According to the Bible, you cannot be wrong with your spouse and right with God at the same time!
• As a Christian your marriage is uniquely related to walk with God.
  • Running your spouse down, is not spiritual even if you sound spiritual doing it.
  • Complaining to other people about your spouse makes your wrong with God!
  • Mistreating your spouse makes you wrong with God!
    • “…dwell with them according to knowledge…”
    • “…giving honour to your wife….”
    • “…as being heirs together of the grace of life…”

3 Things You Should Pray for in Your Marriage

To be continued…

The post 3 Things You Should Be Praying for in Your Marriage appeared first on Fixer Upper Marriage.