Monday, August 29, 2011

Marriage Monday

Only one more week until the drawing for an awesome giveaway!  One fabulous woman will receive a beautiful hand made apron (we all want to look pretty while cooking, right?) and Tastefully Simple soup and bread mixes.  Check here for details!

This month my grandparents celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary, my parents celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary and last week my husband and I celebrated out 14th.  So I have been thinking a lot about what makes a lasting marriage.  This day in age marriage is throw away.  Get marriage today and divorce tomorrow, no big deal.

I asked on my Facebook page what people thought made a lasting marriage.  Some of the answers I got were: forgiveness, determination to stick it out, and a Christ center marriage.  I couldn't agree more with these answers!

My husband and I have had our fair share, and maybe more than our fair share, of disagreements.  We come from completely different backgrounds and we married very young.  We have had financial problems, trust problems and health issues with a child.  All of these can break a marriage, if those three things listed above are not present.

We have to be forgiving.  We take our loved ones, our spouses in particular, and expect perfection from them.  Then when they let us down, we are so slow to forgive.  My friend said we need forgiveness and a terrible memory.  When your husband lets you down, and believe me he will, forgive.  God forgives us so we are to forgive our husband.

We need to be determined to stick it out.  Unless you are in an abusive relationship (in that case, seek help, if need be email me and I will help you find help) you need to keep a mindset of never giving up.  Divorce should never, ever come out of your mouth.

We need to have a Christ centered marriage.  Pray daily for your spouse but also pray that God will help you to be the wife He called you to be.  Pray with your spouse, read the Word together, and attend church together.  Always talk to God about your marriage and about what He wants you to do.  Remain Heaven minded, even in your marriage.

I want, unless He returns, to celebrate a 35th anniversary and a 54th anniversary.  But to do that, I must remember these three ingredients for a lasting marriage.  The next time you pray, pray for these three things in your marriage.  The next time you and your husband have a disagreement, remember these three things.  Let's have marriages that honor God.

Sweet Blessings~

10 comments:

  1. Hi Jenifer - The way I always visualize it for myself is the triangle - one corner me, the other my husband and God at the top corner. The closer we try to get to God, in the triangle the close we get to each other - as the sides of the triangle.
    Great post
    God bless
    Tracy

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  2. Great post! God should always be the center of our marriages that's the only way they'll work.

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  3. I love Tracy's analogy! What an amazing view of our relationship with our spouse AND with God!

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  4. I couldn't agree more! I can't imagine my life without my husband all because I couldn't imagine my life without my Lord! I too, love the triangle analogy Tracy posted! thanks for this thought. I think I'll go give my hubby a kiss!

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  5. You're so right. I wish more people today would place more value and worth on a marriage, working hard at it even when it isn't easy, especially when children are involved.

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  6. I want a marriage that honors God! These are great tips, thanks for sharing and happy anniversary :)

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  7. These are definitely three things that are needed for a healthy marriage. My hubby and I are NOT perfect, but we have Jesus. :)

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  8. This is an excellent post. It shows that God has to be part of everything in our lives.
    Congratulations on reaching these very important milestones. 54 years is amazing. God bless you and your family!

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  9. Jesus has not always been for front in our relationship. But once he became it I found our relationship changed. I will never forget praying for the first time in front of my husband I was a little nervous and told him what I was going to do. He just smiled and was like ok why are you telling me. :)

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  10. Happy Anniversary, Jenifer! You are so pretty and your wedding dress is beautiful and you have a very handsome man at your side.
    What you have said here today is so true. It takes it all and we must leave our selfish life behind, it is no longer about ME, now it's about him and us. It scares me when I see young women who are so self-centered, especially when I know they have been raised by parents who indulged their every whim.
    Hugs, Cindy

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