Yay! Another month to celebrate.
Whew! It is not easy but it is indeed, BEAUTIFUL!
In spite of differences and complications, still the TRUTH remains, LOVE will always lead me back to him.
Differences. Differences. Differences.
GOD IS ON OUR SIDE!!! GOD flooded me with wonderful email devotionals. Now, after you read them, don't tell me it's not GOD.
Whew! It is not easy but it is indeed, BEAUTIFUL!
In spite of differences and complications, still the TRUTH remains, LOVE will always lead me back to him.
Differences. Differences. Differences.
GOD IS ON OUR SIDE!!! GOD flooded me with wonderful email devotionals. Now, after you read them, don't tell me it's not GOD.
by Dennis and Barbara RaineyMay 24
The Gentle Art of Confrontation
Ephesians 4:15
But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ.
No family is without conflicts, and when we let conflicts simmer without confrontation, they have a habit of boiling over and affecting our spiritual lives.
William Wordsworth said: "He who has a good friend needs no mirror." Family members can learn to be each other's best friend by learning the gentle art of confrontation. Blessed is the marriage where both spouses feel the other is a good friend-one who will listen, reflect back, understand and work through whatever needs to be dealt with. Occasionally all this requires loving confrontation.
Of course, we must face the fact that some of us don't want to be confronted. Some people would rather be comfortable than Christlike. Many of Barbara's best statements to me are the ones that hurt a bit, but I need to hear them because they keep me on the right track.
Learning loving confrontation starts with love. As 1 Corinthians 13 points out, love expects the best of others. There's no way to confront someone else productively if you expect the worst or have a chip on your shoulder.
Loving confrontation is not nagging. It states its position without dragging it out for days. Being nagged at is no fun. Someone has said it's like being nibbled to death by a duck.
Christian confrontation doesn't accuse; it focuses on "I" language, with my saying plainly how I feel. It avoids "You" language, which inevitably sounds condemning. There's a world of difference between saying, "I really don't like arriving at church late-can I do something to help?" and "You always make us late!"
Also, keep in mind that the people you love, but need to confront, are not your enemies. Your mate is never your enemy. Christian confrontation requires that you speak the truth-but always in love.
Prayer:
For the courage to confront-lovingly-and also for the wisdom to know how to speak the truth in love.
Discuss: Areas of agitation you try to suppress in order to keep a smooth relationship. Are you being honest with yourself or those you love? When should you bring up a problem issue?
May 22 (not full article - same devotional title and authors from above)
Faith: Key to Oneness
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Faith makes a marriage work. It's an invisible but active ingredient in a marriage that is growing spiritually. It's the catalyst that causes you to implement biblical principles into your relationship, trusting God to use your obedience to build oneness.
May 21 (same devotional title and authors from above)
Cleaving and Commitment
Genesis 2:24
For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
A lot of people have taken romance to the classified ads these days. One that I ran across points out the need for commitment. It was from a young man who was courting a young lady and it really mirrored our times. It read:
To Mary. My love for you would climb the highest mountain. My love for you would cross the hottest desert. My love for you would cause me to swim the widest stream. My love for you would cause me to die at the stake for you. Love, Jim. P.S. I'll see you Sunday, if it doesn't rain.
That's the way a lot of people are today. Their commitments are about six miles wide and one inch deep. One reason why we have lost romance in our relationships is we don't understand commitment, and we don't practice it in everyday life.
I'll tell you when commitment is really tested-during what I call the "marriage drift." That's what takes a relationship from the balcony, when you're being swept off your feet, to the battlefield, where you turn against your mate.
When God calls a man and woman to "cleave" to one another, He means for them to make a lifelong covenant that could only be broken by death. They leave one relationship (with their parents) and establish a total dependence and commitment to a new person.
Commitment enables two people to get to know each other and to work through life's difficulties when they face them. If you don't have commitment, you're going to find a way out of that marriage relationship. Today it's easier to get out of marriage than it is to get out of a record club.
Prayer:
Reaffirm your wedding vows to one another in prayer by acknowledging your absolute commitment to your spouse.
Discuss: Have you seen the "marriage drift" occur in your relationship? How?
LOVING ACTIONS
Increasing Your Intimacy 100 Percent...
"In a nurturing and healthy relationship, you perceive that your ideas and insights are valuable, and you learn how to negotiate and listen to the other person's views. You hear things like 'What a great idea!' 'What do you think about this?' and 'Your opinion means so much to me.'"
- From "It Takes Two to Tango" by Gary and Norma Smalley
All excerpts from "It Takes Two to Tango" are copyright 1997 Gary and Norma Smalley, and are used with permission.
Find more relationship resources at http://www.smalleyonline.com
LOVING ACTIONS
Resolving Conflict and Dealing with Anger...
"The most insecure people are those who can't distance themselves from their loved ones enough to discipline them. Loving discipline may put a temporary emotional distance between people, but if we balance that hard-side correction with softness, we won't lose love. If anything, we'll enrich it."
- From "It Takes Two to Tango" by Gary and Norma Smalley
All excerpts from "It Takes Two to Tango" are copyright 1997 Gary and Norma Smalley, and are used with permission.
Find more relationship resources at http://www.smalleyonline.com
Did you like these email devotionals? Just visit Crosswalk to subscribe to them. They're very timely and useful. GOD's anointing and revelations are overflowing. Desire them in your marriage.
Confront and Support
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman
05-23-2009
"Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company" (Acts 15:37-39).
Conflict in the workplace, in ministry, or even marriage is inevitable because you are working closely with one another. God has wired each of us with different personalities that can view circumstances differently. One person can see a situation and conclude something totally different from another.
There are times when differences and conflicts just cannot be resolved. It doesn't mean that one person or the other is evil or sinful. It just means that the difference of opinion or the personality clash has no solution.
We see an example of this in the relationship of Paul and Barnabas, two partners in Christian ministry who had a sharp disagreement regarding a young man named John Mark. In Acts 15, we see that Barnabas wanted to take John Mark on a missionary journey. However, Paul refused. John Mark had disappointed him once before and Paul didn't want to give him another chance. In the end, Paul and Barnabas agreed to disagree and to part company. Paul went one way; Barnabas and John Mark went another. Sometimes, that's the only solution to a disagreement.
There's a postscript to this story: In 2 Timothy 4:11, Paul writes from his prison cell in Rome and tells Timothy, "Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry." Sometime after the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas, John Mark redeemed himself and became a valued partner in Paul's ministry. In fact, as Paul faced execution in Rome, he wanted his friend John Mark at his side.
Whenever there is disagreement, make sure you maintain support of the person at the same time you disagree with their position. Avoid personal attacks and implying motive behind someone else's position. This will allow you to disagree and still maintain a relationship.
If you wish to subscribe, please click Prime Time
My desire to share them is overwhelming. I hope I encouraged you to subscribe to them. hehehe! I really trust the authors and their experiences. I experience them, too. GOD uses other people to help others with their trials. Please let me know if you have subscribed to them already so I'd stop posting. hehehe! I daily look forward to these email devotionals. Whenever I'm at work, I always think about the amazing things that will be revealed to me from these.
Back to Cody, I'm so glad that we get to celebrate another month and that we're happy today. Cody's aunt is doing better. My dad is doing better, as well. Still more prayers though. Thank you. I do not like to be fake so I'd like to let you know that even a beautiful relationship undergoes predicaments but our FATHER IS OUR VICTOR!
Cody, thank you for making me learn more from you. Thank you for sharing your convictions. Thank you for the love, patience, commitment and faithfulness. You are incomparably amazing. Thank you for being a leader to me. I know GOD has a purpose why HE gave me to you. You are the one. GOD has constantly revealed that to me. GOD DESIRES TO SEE US TOGETHER FOREVER! GOD UNITED US YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER! You are my GOD's Perfect Choice, GOD's Perfect Will in GOD's Perfect Timing. I will never regret I met you. I will always be thankful for your greatness in my life. I LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH! HAPPY 13TH MONTHSARY, MY FOREVER CODY!
FATHER, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING! YOU ARE OUR FIRST LOVE - NO ONE ELSE BUT YOU!!! YOU DESERVE ALL THE GLORY IN THIS RELATIONSHIP!!!
ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD!!!
P.U.S.H.
When you feel GOD's love, OVERFLOW!
In everything, LET GOD BE YOUR FIRST!
The Gentle Art of Confrontation
Ephesians 4:15
But speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ.
No family is without conflicts, and when we let conflicts simmer without confrontation, they have a habit of boiling over and affecting our spiritual lives.
William Wordsworth said: "He who has a good friend needs no mirror." Family members can learn to be each other's best friend by learning the gentle art of confrontation. Blessed is the marriage where both spouses feel the other is a good friend-one who will listen, reflect back, understand and work through whatever needs to be dealt with. Occasionally all this requires loving confrontation.
Of course, we must face the fact that some of us don't want to be confronted. Some people would rather be comfortable than Christlike. Many of Barbara's best statements to me are the ones that hurt a bit, but I need to hear them because they keep me on the right track.
Learning loving confrontation starts with love. As 1 Corinthians 13 points out, love expects the best of others. There's no way to confront someone else productively if you expect the worst or have a chip on your shoulder.
Loving confrontation is not nagging. It states its position without dragging it out for days. Being nagged at is no fun. Someone has said it's like being nibbled to death by a duck.
Christian confrontation doesn't accuse; it focuses on "I" language, with my saying plainly how I feel. It avoids "You" language, which inevitably sounds condemning. There's a world of difference between saying, "I really don't like arriving at church late-can I do something to help?" and "You always make us late!"
Also, keep in mind that the people you love, but need to confront, are not your enemies. Your mate is never your enemy. Christian confrontation requires that you speak the truth-but always in love.
Prayer:
For the courage to confront-lovingly-and also for the wisdom to know how to speak the truth in love.
Discuss: Areas of agitation you try to suppress in order to keep a smooth relationship. Are you being honest with yourself or those you love? When should you bring up a problem issue?
May 22 (not full article - same devotional title and authors from above)
Faith: Key to Oneness
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Faith makes a marriage work. It's an invisible but active ingredient in a marriage that is growing spiritually. It's the catalyst that causes you to implement biblical principles into your relationship, trusting God to use your obedience to build oneness.
May 21 (same devotional title and authors from above)
Cleaving and Commitment
Genesis 2:24
For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
A lot of people have taken romance to the classified ads these days. One that I ran across points out the need for commitment. It was from a young man who was courting a young lady and it really mirrored our times. It read:
To Mary. My love for you would climb the highest mountain. My love for you would cross the hottest desert. My love for you would cause me to swim the widest stream. My love for you would cause me to die at the stake for you. Love, Jim. P.S. I'll see you Sunday, if it doesn't rain.
That's the way a lot of people are today. Their commitments are about six miles wide and one inch deep. One reason why we have lost romance in our relationships is we don't understand commitment, and we don't practice it in everyday life.
I'll tell you when commitment is really tested-during what I call the "marriage drift." That's what takes a relationship from the balcony, when you're being swept off your feet, to the battlefield, where you turn against your mate.
When God calls a man and woman to "cleave" to one another, He means for them to make a lifelong covenant that could only be broken by death. They leave one relationship (with their parents) and establish a total dependence and commitment to a new person.
Commitment enables two people to get to know each other and to work through life's difficulties when they face them. If you don't have commitment, you're going to find a way out of that marriage relationship. Today it's easier to get out of marriage than it is to get out of a record club.
Prayer:
Reaffirm your wedding vows to one another in prayer by acknowledging your absolute commitment to your spouse.
Discuss: Have you seen the "marriage drift" occur in your relationship? How?
LOVING ACTIONS
Increasing Your Intimacy 100 Percent...
"In a nurturing and healthy relationship, you perceive that your ideas and insights are valuable, and you learn how to negotiate and listen to the other person's views. You hear things like 'What a great idea!' 'What do you think about this?' and 'Your opinion means so much to me.'"
- From "It Takes Two to Tango" by Gary and Norma Smalley
All excerpts from "It Takes Two to Tango" are copyright 1997 Gary and Norma Smalley, and are used with permission.
Find more relationship resources at http://www.smalleyonline.com
LOVING ACTIONS
Resolving Conflict and Dealing with Anger...
"The most insecure people are those who can't distance themselves from their loved ones enough to discipline them. Loving discipline may put a temporary emotional distance between people, but if we balance that hard-side correction with softness, we won't lose love. If anything, we'll enrich it."
- From "It Takes Two to Tango" by Gary and Norma Smalley
All excerpts from "It Takes Two to Tango" are copyright 1997 Gary and Norma Smalley, and are used with permission.
Find more relationship resources at http://www.smalleyonline.com
Did you like these email devotionals? Just visit Crosswalk to subscribe to them. They're very timely and useful. GOD's anointing and revelations are overflowing. Desire them in your marriage.
Confront and Support
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 2, by Os Hillman
05-23-2009
"Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company" (Acts 15:37-39).
Conflict in the workplace, in ministry, or even marriage is inevitable because you are working closely with one another. God has wired each of us with different personalities that can view circumstances differently. One person can see a situation and conclude something totally different from another.
There are times when differences and conflicts just cannot be resolved. It doesn't mean that one person or the other is evil or sinful. It just means that the difference of opinion or the personality clash has no solution.
We see an example of this in the relationship of Paul and Barnabas, two partners in Christian ministry who had a sharp disagreement regarding a young man named John Mark. In Acts 15, we see that Barnabas wanted to take John Mark on a missionary journey. However, Paul refused. John Mark had disappointed him once before and Paul didn't want to give him another chance. In the end, Paul and Barnabas agreed to disagree and to part company. Paul went one way; Barnabas and John Mark went another. Sometimes, that's the only solution to a disagreement.
There's a postscript to this story: In 2 Timothy 4:11, Paul writes from his prison cell in Rome and tells Timothy, "Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry." Sometime after the disagreement between Paul and Barnabas, John Mark redeemed himself and became a valued partner in Paul's ministry. In fact, as Paul faced execution in Rome, he wanted his friend John Mark at his side.
Whenever there is disagreement, make sure you maintain support of the person at the same time you disagree with their position. Avoid personal attacks and implying motive behind someone else's position. This will allow you to disagree and still maintain a relationship.
If you wish to subscribe, please click Prime Time
My desire to share them is overwhelming. I hope I encouraged you to subscribe to them. hehehe! I really trust the authors and their experiences. I experience them, too. GOD uses other people to help others with their trials. Please let me know if you have subscribed to them already so I'd stop posting. hehehe! I daily look forward to these email devotionals. Whenever I'm at work, I always think about the amazing things that will be revealed to me from these.
Back to Cody, I'm so glad that we get to celebrate another month and that we're happy today. Cody's aunt is doing better. My dad is doing better, as well. Still more prayers though. Thank you. I do not like to be fake so I'd like to let you know that even a beautiful relationship undergoes predicaments but our FATHER IS OUR VICTOR!
Cody, thank you for making me learn more from you. Thank you for sharing your convictions. Thank you for the love, patience, commitment and faithfulness. You are incomparably amazing. Thank you for being a leader to me. I know GOD has a purpose why HE gave me to you. You are the one. GOD has constantly revealed that to me. GOD DESIRES TO SEE US TOGETHER FOREVER! GOD UNITED US YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER! You are my GOD's Perfect Choice, GOD's Perfect Will in GOD's Perfect Timing. I will never regret I met you. I will always be thankful for your greatness in my life. I LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH! HAPPY 13TH MONTHSARY, MY FOREVER CODY!
FATHER, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING! YOU ARE OUR FIRST LOVE - NO ONE ELSE BUT YOU!!! YOU DESERVE ALL THE GLORY IN THIS RELATIONSHIP!!!
ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH GOD!!!
P.U.S.H.
When you feel GOD's love, OVERFLOW!
In everything, LET GOD BE YOUR FIRST!
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