This video only takes a few minutes (if that) to watch. But, if you really listen (I mean REALLY listen) and follow Christ (not in name only but in the way you spend your money and live your life) this video will change your life (and mine).
“Help me… Lord… to not spend my life pursuing the American dream but to spend my life pursuing YOU! In Jesus Name, Amen.”
Since
we are coming up on Valentines Day, I wanted to write a little
something about my precious wife and our life together.
Many of you who follow my wife’s blog read what I wrote back in
November. Thank you for your wonderful comments. I hope it was a
blessing for you to read as it was for me to share. I thank God for
this truly amazing woman that He has blessed me with. Our
journey together has had ups and downs, but through it all we have had
our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love He has given us for
each other. Georgene has had to endure a lot of changes in our lives
over the last few years, but has never complained about anything. I am
truly blessed to have her for my wife, my best friend, my companion and my sister in Christ.
I love what it says in 1 Peter 3:7…
“Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way,
showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs
with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be
hindered”. I have tried to honor God’s Word by doing this in our
relationship, although I’m sure I have failed repeatedly.
The love we have for each other is a reflection of God’s love for us. If
we didn’t have God leading and guiding us, we probably wouldn’t be
together.
To have a successful marriage you need to focus on what you
can put into your marriage rather than what you can get out of it. My
wife is a lot better at that than I am. John MacArthur once wrote, “The husband who submits to the Lord by being filled with the Holy
Spirit is able to love his wife with the same kind of love, Jesus has
for His bride, the church. The Lords pattern of love for his church is
the husbands pattern of love for his wife.” Christ’s love for the
church was a total love, a sacrificial love. He completely gave
Himself up even unto His death on the cross for us. Although it is
impossible for us to love our wives as much as Christ loves His bride,
it is a pattern for us to follow.
God doesn’t love us because we
deserve it, all we deserve is His punishment for our sins. You may feel sometimes that your
spouse doesn’t deserve your love, but in fact you are commanded to love
them anyway. There is not a married couple out there that doesn’t have
disagreements at times, but they greatly diminish the longer you are
together, especially if you pray together and study Gods Word together.
I believe our marriage is blessed by God because we love Him, serve
Him, and because we were called by Him.There is no greater joy than to
live our lives together for the Lord.
Gentlemen, it is okay to say, “I’m
sorry” or “I was wrong”. Try it sometime … you might just enjoy the response
you get from your wife. James 4:6-7 says, “But he gives more grace.
Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the
humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he
will flee from you”. If you will first submit yourself to God,
resisting the enemies attack on your marriage will be a lot easier. And
believe me, Satan would like nothing better than to come between you
and your spouse because if you are fighting each other, you are not
submitting to God. Be in unity of mind as it says in 1 Peter
3:8-12, “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly
love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil
or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you
were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For “Whoever desires to
love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his
lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good;
let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the
righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the
Lord is against those who do evil.”
If your marriage is not what
you want it to be, pray for your spouse and then pray that you are doing
everything that the Lord would want you to do in your marriage and for
your spouse. Pray for God’s will in your marriage, not your will. If we
will walk in humility towards our spouse, we will deny self, and give
of our self to our spouse, (I’m still working on this one). Men be
patient, loving, and caring toward your wife… live with them in an understanding way as it says in 1 Peter
3:7— Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding
way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are
heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be
hindered.
Wives submit to your husbands, as it says in 1 Peter
3:1-6—– Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that
even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by
the conduct of their wives— when they see your respectful and pure
conduct. Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair,
the wearing of gold, or the putting on of clothing— but let your
adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty
of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn
themselves, by submitting to their husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham,
calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not
fear anything that is frightening.
I am blessed to have a
wonderful Titus 2 wife, and I just wanted her to know how much I love
and cherish her.
Happy Valentines Day Sweetie,
Kevin
*~*~*
A phrase has continued to roll around my brain lately……the phrase is ‘going without knowing’. The quote comes from Hebrews 11:8 .. “Abraham went out.. not knowing where he was going”. My thoughts though have not been centered on Abraham so much .. but on his wife Sarah. For where the husband goes.. the wife (should) follow. Abraham was called to go out to a place.. he went out not knowing where he was going… and Sarah followed.
Now … my present situation … in no way compares to the rigors that Sarah endured in her years of desert tent living. Yet the Lord has used her life to encourage me in my present situation and I have found strength as I’ve meditated on the details of her journey.
For whatever was written
in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through
perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have
hope” Romans 15:4
Sarah followed Abraham. She left her family, friends and the comfort of her home… (otherwise, why the mention of tents?) to follow her husband into a land of uncertainty. I’ve wondered what she felt as she was leaving her homeland and her family knowing the likelihood of never seeing them again this side of heaven. Would she miss her home? Was she fearful of the unfamiliar and what lie ahead? Did she question Abraham’s decision? Yet, she left and followed her husband into the unknown. I have felt many of these same emotions the past few months yet God has given me my assignment… to submit to my husband… to go where he goes.
I made a vow to my husband more than 25 years ago. I promised .. for better or for worst… in richer or poorer… in sickness and in health… till death we do part. I made this covenant not only with my husband but before the Lord. I’ve lived in low conditions with him in the early years of our marriage. I’ve followed him into the land of prosperity where we lived a very abundant life. I’m now following him into a land of uncertainty…one filled with many unknowns concerning his health and what our future will hold financially now that he is disabled. I have found God’s grace to be (over the top) abundant and sufficient.
When the Scriptures mention Sarah in 1 Peter 3:5 they state that she put her hope (trust) in God. You know…I personally believe that submission is 99% (100?) trust in the sovereignty and character of God. Our hope cannot rest alone in our husband’s wisdom, strength or ability but in God’s power to order even the smallest details of our life… down to our very next breath… out of His great love for us and for His glory. Our hope must remain in God and the fact that He is sovereignly leading us through our husbands.. especially as we are ‘going without knowing’.
The bottom line is that we exist for God’s glory. 1 Cor. 10:31 So, ultimately our marriage is not so much about our needs being met but about obeying God’s Word in order to bring Him glory. Sarah brought glory to God as she submitted to her husband and followed him into the unknown.
I would imagine that a wife’s contentment in her lot in life must be of great comfort to her husband.
So with that introduction….
Many of you have asked if we’re settled. Bless you! Yes, we are 99% settled into our new little ‘bungalow’. We are comfortable, happy and content. God’s grace is sufficient. My husband is still suffering from a lot of pain but since he is not working he is able to take his medication regularly which keeps things manageable. We received our first denial letter from the disability department. We were told to expect this but I must admit that my heart sank when I first read it. I dug my heels into the Scriptures and drew strength from God’s Word. We’ve already sent for the appeal papers.
I promised pictures ….
This is my kitchen…. the door to the left is our entrance from the barn. The door in the middle of the wall is the restroom. You can’t see it from this picture (I’ve shown it below) but my ‘office’ is to the right ..next to the sink. The door leading to our living room/dining room/ bedroom is behind the office. I’ve had to become VERY creative with my space since we’re living in a place that is smaller than our garage was in our last home. Normally I would not put a bookshelf in my kitchen but it was the only place I could fit my beloved friends (books). 
I used to own 2 smaller bookshelves and another one this size filled with books. I narrowed them down to my favorites (which are double stacked) to fit on this one bookshelf.
This is my ‘office’ below. I have some of my office supplies in the cabinets above. My file cabinets are in our clothes closet. The printer is down below the table. I paid bills in my ‘office’ this past week and amazingly enough my ‘system’ worked just fine.
This is our LIVING ROOM / DINING ROOM/ BEDROOM! 
I’m sorry the picture turned out so dark. The table to the left is my Aunt’s which was a blessing since our table was too large. We stored our couches and love seats. I was able to fit a bench under the window for extra seating. If you look in the right hand corner you’ll see the tip of the bed.
…and here is the rest of the bedroom. We had to block off an entrance because our bed was too big. I’m thinking of ways to use a backdrop on the wall behind the bed to cover the door. Any ideas?
Our bathroom does not have any closed storage so I found these baskets at a discount store. I also added the curtains. My granddaughter gave me the picture below with Scripture on it for Christmas. It says to “Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS”! A good daily reminder!
The picture below is my ‘extended kitchen’ which is outside our ‘bungalow’ in the barn. There was no room for the fridge in the kitchen. I’m using my fabric cutting table (right hand corner) as my kitchen ‘island’. Instead of dragging everything into the kitchen to chop I will use my cutting board and chop things near the fridge. There is a sink behind the cutting table. I have our food stored in both cabinets on the sides of the fridge. Cooking in my kitchen(s) reminds me of a cross between camping and hotel living. I’m making the same meals.. I’m just doing things a bit differently.
So there you have it! Home Sweet Home! I’m learning HUGE lessons of contentment in my SMALL home!
Since my husband and I are living in such close quarters these days it kind of has the feel of a second honeymoon.
