Advent

Advent 

Advent- the celebration the arrival of Jesus as long awaited Messiah and anticipation of His return as King of Kings.

The joy and promise of Christmas can sometimes be eclipsed by the depression and unfulfilled expectations held deeply in our hearts.  The longing for a world where joy is not just the image on our Christmas photo and peace extends to every nation is something that all creation has been groaning for since the cosmos was broken by sin.

But God is not slow in fulfilling His promises!  Over two thousand years ago He gave us the Son.  A baby born in the fulness of time to be the manifestation of all our hopes and dreams.  A baby born in a far away place carrying the hopes of the world.  That baby grew to be a man who would take on the sins of the world and for the joy set before Him endure the cross.

As Christmas comes we wait for Him to return.  To take the government upon His shoulders, to Champion peace on earth and to reign forever.  Only mercy and love cause Him to delay.  His desire this Christmas is that all would recognize the gift of Christ on that first Christmas.  To dedicate their lives to Him and for more to be saved.  

He waits because their is still love to be shown, the gospel to be presented and salvation to come.  Make this Christmas the best by sharing not out of financial abundance but soul saving love. The love of the Father so extravagant He gave us His Son.

Our Family Fights Week 4 Devotional

Marriage is not easy. Do you remember your vow of loving each other for better or for worse? You are guaranteed to face tough times together as a couple, but you cannot give up when times get tough. It’s not an option. This week you will read from God’s Word about the importance of not giving up in your marriage and discuss ways you can do this in your marriage.

Day 1: Matthew 5:31-32, Mark 10:1-12
It seems many married couples have lost their will to fight. We see evidence of this in the growing divorce rate. God’s Word tells us divorce should never be an option. When times get tough in your marriage, the word “divorce” should never enter into your vocabulary. Your marriage is worth fighting for. Never give up!
Talk: Discuss with your spouse how you’ve seen divorce impact your family and the families of those you know.
Pray: Ask God to help remove the word divorce from your vocabulary and give you both the will and determination to never give up when times get tough.
Do: Look up your wedding vows or find some vows online that you both like and recite them to each other. Take time to write new vows that will help shape the vision for the future of your marriage.

Day 2: Ephesians 6:10-20, John 10:7-10
God never promised us an easy life. As followers of Christ, we will face difficult times. The same goes for our marriages. We have a spiritual enemy whose purpose according to John 10:10 is to steal, kill, and destroy. Our spiritual enemy wants to take you out and he would love nothing more than to take your marriage out as well. Just knowing the fact that your marriage will be attacked will help you fight for your marriage.
Talk: Discuss with your spouse some of the ways you feel your marriage is under spiritual attack.
Pray: Ask God to help you recognize when your marriage is under attack and guide you on the best ways to fight for your marriage.
Do: Work on a simple project together or do one of your chores together. As you work together, enjoy a time of quality conversation.

Day 3: Nehemiah 4:1-23
Family is worth fighting for. Your marriage is worth fighting for. Don’t give up when times get tough and instead do as Nehemiah said, “...fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” If you are heading towards divorce, fight against it. If your relationship with your spouse is strained, fight against it and seek restoration. If you’ve been hurt by your spouse and you’re holding a grudge, fight against it. Let that grudge go and forgive them.
Talk: Admit any grudges you have with your spouse and forgive them. Discuss those areas of your marriage that need restoration. 
Pray: Ask God to equip you with the tools you need to fight for your marriage when it comes under attack.
Do: Commit to staying actively involved in reading God’s Word together and praying together by choosing a new reading plan or devotional to begin next week.

Day 4: Titus 2:1-10, 1 Peter 5:1-5
When it comes to growing your marriage and fighting for your marriage, you can’t do it alone. You need other married couples mentoring both of you. Allowing a more mature, wiser couple to speak into your marriage during both the good and bad times is essential to having a long and healthy marriage.
Talk: Discuss these questions with your spouse: who are some couples that you admire for their strong marriage? What can we learn from them?
Pray: Ask God to bring the right couples into your life that will help grow your marriage.
Do: If you don’t have a couple mentoring your marriage, decide with your spouse on a couple you can approach to ask to become your marriage mentors. If you already have marriage mentors, do something special for them today to thank them for the positive influence they have on your marriage.

Day 5: Matthew 19:1-6, Genesis 2:4-25
Over the past few weeks you’ve learned from God’s Word how to fail proof your marriage by doing these five things: seeking God, fighting fair, having fun, staying pure, and never giving up. Sure, these five things sound easy to do, but it will take a lot of work from both of you, but your marriage is worth it. Don’t let your marriage become part of rising statistics. Remember that God placed you together just as He placed Adam and Eve together in Genesis 2. You were designed to complement each other, to be companions, to love each other, and to carry out God’s divine will for your marriage and your lives.
Talk: Discuss what next steps you need to take in order to ensure that you continue to grow and protect your marriage.
Pray: Thank God for all you’ve learned about each other and your marriage over the past few weeks. Ask Him to help guide the next steps you take towards a long, healthy marriage.
Do: Do something special to express your love to your spouse and your devotion to ensuring that your marriage lasts for a lifetime. 

Our Family Fights Week 3 Devotional

All married couples fight. That’s a fact of life, but to have a long and healthy marriage you must learn to fight fair. This week you will read about and discuss with your spouse ways you can fight fair.

Day 1: Proverbs 18:1-13
When it comes to fighting within your marriage, it’s not if you will fight, but how you will fight. You must learn to fight fair. In fact, God has given us rules about how to fight fair in the Bible. One of the most important rules is to always stop and listen carefully to your spouse during an argument.
Talk: Recall your first fight and discuss how your fights have changed since then.
Pray: Ask God to grow your ability to listen and to instill patience within you.
Do: This week, take turns listening to one another. Allow your spouse to share whatever they want and listen without interruption as they share.

Day 2: Ephesians 4:25-32, James 3:1-12
God’s Word tells us that the tongue is a powerful weapon. In fact, the tongue is described in Proverbs as being as sharp as a double-edged sword. As a result, you must guard your words faithfully when you fight fair.
Talk: Compare how each of your families dealt with conflict while growing up and share how that shaped the way you handle conflict.
Pray: Ask God to give you the right words to say to your spouse when you fight fair. Ask Him also to help you speak life-giving words to your spouse at all times.
Do: Express your love to your spouse by writing a note of encouragement and sending it to them via letter, text, or email.

Day 3: Ephesians 5:21-33, James 1:19-27
In order to fight fair you must handle your anger righteously. Reacting with only your emotions will escalate your fight. Instead, be slow to anger as the Bible says in James 1:19 because it will lead to resolution and healing. 
Talk: Discuss with your spouse the best way and time to approach each other when addressing an issue in your marriage.
Pray: Ask God to reveal to each of you times where you haven’t fought fair and to help you restore any damage to your marriage caused by these fights.
Do: Create a simple list of ground rules based upon what you’ve learned from God’s Word to use when you fight. Keep this list in a place where both of you can see it to remind you how to fight fair.

Day 4: 1 Peter 3:8-12, Romans 12:9-21
Married couples that fight fair work towards resolution. Couples that do not fight fair press for victory. When we confront each other, we should always confront to bring about healing and never to win.
Talk: Recall one of the silliest things you’ve fought about in your marriage. Why do you think couples so often fight about silly things?
Pray: Ask God to reveal your faults when it comes to fighting with each other and ask Him to help you improve in those areas.
Do: If you’ve recently experienced something good in your marriage, then be intentional today about celebrating it. Feel free to be creative in how you celebrate. If you feel you have nothing recent to celebrate, then celebrate something good from your past and talk about how that moment affected your marriage.

Day 5: Matthew 18:21-35
When you fight fair, you both must be willing to apologize and forgive each other. By doing so you will be able to quickly put the hurt behind you and move towards a resolution and restoration.
Talk: Discuss some of your recent fights. Apologize to each other for your unfair words and actions. Take time to forgive each other as well.
Pray: Ask God to help you forgive and to have a heart of forgiveness.
Do: Show how much you love and appreciate your spouse by doing something special for them today. 

Our Family Fights Week 2 Devotional

One of the most important things you must do to have a long and healthy marriage is to simply have fun. Even though you will endure tough times as a couple, you should always strive to find ways you can have fun and keep the romance as strong as it was the day you walked down the aisle. This week you will read about and discuss the importance of having fun and the types of fun every couple can enj

oy.

Day 1: Ecclesiastes 9:7-10, Proverbs 17:22
Without fun and intimacy marriage becomes a business relationship. It’s simply two people existing in the same house with two separate lives. No one falls in love having a bad time or being bored. Fun is not a luxury in marriage. If you don’t make time for fun, you may not have a marriage to make time for.

Talk: What things are keeping you from having fun? Discuss ways you both can remove these barriers.

Pray: Ask God to help you remove the things that are keeping you and your spouse from having fun together.

Do: Go on a date night tonight or work together to plan a date night for one night this week. Make a commitment to stick to the plan!

Day 2: Song of Solomon 4:1-16, Song of Solomon 7:1-9
The Bible shows us that there are three types of fun every married couple must enjoy. The first is to spend time face-to- face talking with each other. Remember those days when you would stay up to 2:00am talking? Strive to bring back that type of conversation. Don’t spend your time always talking about your busy schedules, things to do, and frustrations. Talk about the things that are most important in your lives and marriage. Compliment each other and build each other up with your words. Express your love through words like we find in the Song of Solomon.

Talk: Talk about how you felt the first time you met your spouse and share with them the reasons why you fell in love with them.

Pray: Thank God for the qualities you love most about your spouse. Pray that God will continue to develop those qualities even more.

Do: Play a game together today and enjoy a time of conversation as you play.

Day 3: Song of Solomon 7:10-13
Another type of fun all married couples should enjoy is to spend time together. How can you expect your marriage to grow if you don’t spend time together? Husbands crave activity time with their wives. In fact, husbands are more likely to open up when they are doing something with their spouse that they enjoy. More importantly, spending time together can allow time for good face-to-face conversation.

Talk: Discuss the things you both enjoy doing most. Talk about how your interests have changed over the years.

Pray: Ask God to give you opportunities to spend more time together as a couple. Thank Him for all the great times you’ve already enjoyed together.

Do: Do something spontaneous with your spouse today such as going on an unexpected lunch or dinner, going on a drive to revisit some of your favorite places, or going on a walk together.

Day 4: Proverbs 5:1-23
The third type of fun that all married couples must enjoy is intimacy. Sex and intimacy within a marriage are vital components to having a healthy marriage. Many studies have shown that couples stray away from their marriage when intimacy is not present, as they attempt to find it elsewhere. It’s important to keep that passionate fire burning that you felt at the beginning of your marriage going throughout the rest of your lives together.

Talk: Discuss ways you can spice up your marriage and improve your intimacy.

Pray: Ask God to help make intimacy a priority in your marriage.

Do: Implement one of the ideas you discussed about how to improve intimacy in your marriage.

Day 5: Revelation 2:4-5, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Do you remember what it was like when you first met your spouse and the indescribable feelings you had at that time? Do you still have those same feelings today that you did then? Chances are your feelings are still strong for your spouse, but probably not at the same intensity they were in the early days. To get what you once had, you have to do what you once did. Think back to the romantic things you did in the early days and strive to bring those back into your marriage.

Talk: Share with your spouse the top five things you love most about them.

Pray: Thank God for all the fun you’ve had in your marriage and ask Him to help you have even more in the years to come.

Do: Spend some time looking at old photos or videos of your wedding or photos of your early days as a couple. Have fun reminiscing together.

Our Family Fights Week 1 Devotional

A long healthy marriage comes from seeking God—both individually and together. Over the next five days you’ll focus on the importance of seeking God in your marriage and find practical ways you can seek Him.

Day 1: Matthew 22:34-40
God is your “one” and your spouse is your “two.” You’ll never be fulfilled in life until you seek and meet the “one.” God is the only one that can bring true fulfillment.
Talk: Share a time when God felt very real to you.
Pray: Pray that both of you will develop a renewed passion for God.
Do: Briefly write your story of how you came to know Christ as your Savior and then share your stories with each other.

Day 2: Matthew 6:25-34, Jeremiah 17:5-8
You must seek the “one” with your “two.” Not only should you spend time alone with God daily, but you should also spend time with God together.
Talk: What things keep you from seeking God? What are some ways you can remove those distractions? Pray: Ask God to help you remove the things that are keeping you from seeking God both individually and together.
Do: Agree on a time you will seek God together each day through reading the Bible and praying together.

Day 3: 2 Chronicles 7:11-18
To seek God together you must pray together. Sure, it can be awkward to pray together at first, but consider this: it’s hard to pray with someone you’re mad at. It’s harder to want a divorce from someone you’re praying with. It’s even more difficult to have an affair when you’re seeking God together.
Talk: What things in your marriage do you want to bring before God in prayer?
Pray: Pray about those things you discussed with your spouse about your marriage.
Do: Make a list of things you prayed about. Keep this list in a place where it will remind you to pray together. Feel free to add to your list as things come to mind.

Day 4: John 1:1-18, Psalm 119:97-112
To seek God together as a couple, you must read God’s Word together. God is woven into every area of your life. To realize and understand that fact, you must start with reading the Bible daily because it is through His Word that God speaks to us.
Talk: Why is it important to read the Bible together? What should that look like for your marriage?
Pray: Pray for God to give you both the discipline to pray and read His Word together every day.
Do: Pick one of your favorite Bible verses or passages and read it aloud to your spouse.

Day 5: James 4:1-8, Proverbs 3:1-6
Not only are praying and reading God’s Word vital steps toward seeking God together, but you must also worship together and create your own spiritual traditions. More importantly, you must do life together with God as a couple.
Talk: What should it look like for your family to do life together with God? What types of spiritual traditions should you start or revisit?
Pray: Pray that God will reveal Himself to each of you in the details of your life because it’s easier to seek God when you believe ynou will see Him.
Do: Go on a walk outside together and worship God by enjoying His creation. 

POWERFUL PRAYER

Prayer like so many other things in my life seems to get pushed down the priority list until it sits on the bottom of my priorities like the chocolate on the bottom of my Starbucks cup from my cafe mocha. Thick, powerful and un-utilized there is this resource available in my life that would make life richer, faith stronger and dreams bigger if only I would shake up my priorities and allow prayer to mix into all I do. Don't get me wrong, I start my day with prayer. But focused times of seeking divine intervention seem far and few between. I am thankful for prayer partners and the power God displays when they pray for me. I am grateful for advocates who lift me up. I am willing to lift others up when they ask. I am also hesitant to ask others for prayer. Jesus is clear that we have a spiritual adversary who seeks to steal, kill and destroy; yet I often find myself fighting him on earthly terms. If I work harder, read more scripture, serve more people I recon God will take care of me because I am so important in the Kingdom. The truth is I must fight on my knees, serve through the guidance of the Holy Spirit and take this fight to the heavenly realms where it belongs. Lord, this week I am praying for the prayer to be the priority!

FREE!

Now that ain't workin' that's the way you do it You play the guitar on the MTV That ain't workin' that's the way you do it Money for nothin' get your chicks for free Money for nothin' get chicks for free -Dire Straits- Free has got to be my favorite word. Something for nothing. Undeserved Favor. The right place at the right time. I love it when that happens! It does not even matter what it is, I just like free stuff. The thing is, most free things cost the someone. Free t-shirt, the company pays for it. Free parking, the tax payer pays for it. Free lunch, the sales man pays for it. Free is never really free; except for when it is. It is free to forgive those who offended us. It is free to smile at someone as they walk by. It is free to lift someone up in prayer. Feel free to bless someone this week and see how free it makes you!