We have been writing two articles a week to help spouses do life together forever. It has been a privilege to share with you what the Bible says and what research says about how to do life together forever.
In 2017, we will be taking a break from writing. In the meantime, feel free to search through the extensive list of topics available to help you have the marriage you truly want.
God bless you with a Happy New Year and a 2017 filled with love, peace and joy!
1 Around the time of Elizabeth’s amazing pregnancy and John’s birth, the emperor in Rome, Caesar Augustus, required everyone in the Roman Empire to participate in a massive census— 2 the first census since Quirinius had become governor of Syria. 3 Each person had to go to his or her ancestral city to be counted.
4-5 Mary’s fiancé Joseph, from Nazareth in Galilee, had to participate in the census in the same way everyone else did. Because he was a descendant of King David, his ancestral city was Bethlehem, David’s birthplace. Mary, who was now late in her pregnancy that the messenger Gabriel had predicted, 6 accompanied Joseph. While in Bethlehem, she went into labor 7 and gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped the baby in a blanket and laid Him in a feeding trough because the inn had no room for them.
8 Nearby, in the fields outside of Bethlehem, a group of shepherds were guarding their flocks from predators in the darkness of night. 9 Suddenly a messenger of the Lord stood in front of them, and the darkness was replaced by a glorious light—the shining light of God’s glory. They were terrified!
Messenger: 10 Don’t be afraid! Listen! I bring good news, news of great joy, news that will affect all people everywhere. 11 Today, in the city of David, a Liberator has been born for you! He is the promised Anointed One, the Supreme Authority! 12 You will know you have found Him when you see a baby, wrapped in a blanket, lying in a feeding trough.
13 At that moment, the first heavenly messenger was joined by thousands of other messengers—a vast heavenly choir. They praised God.
14 Heavenly Choir: To the highest heights of the universe, glory to God!
And on earth, peace among all people who bring pleasure to God!
15 As soon as the heavenly messengers disappeared into heaven, the shepherds were buzzing with conversation.
Shepherds: Let’s rush down to Bethlehem right now! Let’s see what’s happening! Let’s experience what the Lord has told us about!
16 So they ran into town, and eventually they found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the feeding trough. After they saw the baby, 17 they spread the story of what they had experienced and what had been said to them about this child. 18 Everyone who heard their story couldn’t stop thinking about its meaning. 19 Mary, too, pondered all of these events, treasuring each memory in her heart.
20 The shepherds returned to their flocks, praising God for all they had seen and heard, and they glorified God for the way the experience had unfolded just as the heavenly messenger had predicted.
(VOICE)
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
Christmas can be one of the most stressful times of the year for couples. Between deciding which family to spend Christmas with, how much to spend on gifts, who is doing what part of the cooking, and busy work schedules, your marriage relationship can begin to suffer.
Couples end up spending less time together. When they are together, they are focused on making decisions or engaged in Christmas activities. Many times a harmful and destructive negative pattern of interacting begins to develop. Before long spouses are considering if they really love each other any more.
Christmas Survival Plan
We recommend each spouse develops a Christmas Survival Plan before the holidays. Making decisions before the holidays about how you will handle yourself during the holidays will help you make it through the holidays with less stress. Here are some of our suggestions
When we took our vows, we promised to love each other in sickness and health, for richer or for poorer, forsaking all others, until death do we part. We have shared in sermons and in our Life Together Forever seminars that it is our heart’s desire to be with each other to the very end.
To wake up one morning and have a discussion about whether or not Roy has the right upper dentures.
To chase each other around the room with our walkers.
We want to be there for each other for the very end.
This past year we have seen the marriages of people we love end well. Devra’s parents marriage showed us to how to love to the very end when her father passed this summer.
Lisa was about to explode. Her husband of 8 years came home early from work, plopped down on the couch and asked, “what’s for supper?” After a full day of caregiving for her 18 month old and kindergartner, she was tired and stressed. And his first communication with her was one that really pushed her buttons.
As an intelligent leader who had held her own in a corporate job before focusing on raising children, she knew she would have a better chance of telling him how she feels if she kept her emotions in check. So she asked him if they could talk and began telling him about her stressful day of caregiving. In the middle of her report she realized that his eyes were moving from the television to his phone and back to the television. He was facing the television and rarely turned his head toward her face. And she felt like she was not being heard.
What Lisa wanted more than anything else in that moment was to experience what we call “full body attention”. She wanted him to show her in every way possible that she had his undivided attention. She wanted to know that there was nothing in the world more important or of a higher priority to him than what she had to say.
Full Body Attention
Full body attention is how we tell our spouse they are the most important and highest priority in our world in that moment.
Marriage is hard. Relationships are difficult. If you do nothing it devolves into pain. If you try to do something, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. And sometimes encouragement seems to be missing from our friends, family members and spouse. It is up to each spouse to find encouragement and find hope in a difficult challenging moment.
That is exactly why we develop and share relationship tips. Originally we developed over 150 but now we have more than enough for one a day for a year. And we post them regularly to encourage couples for free on our social media posts.
How can you get your free relationship tips?
Like “LifeTogetherForever” on Facebook.
Follow @MarriageChamp on Twitter
Follow LifeTogether on Pinterest
Share LifeTogetherForever on Instagram
Enjoy these tips to give you a pick-up in your relationship day by day and week by week. Use them to continue to create the relationship your heart desires most!
We had a great time as the guests on a conference call with marriage ministers and marriage counselors from all across the globe. One pastor asked the question, “What are the few things I can tell couples that will get their stale marriages moving in the right direction?”
We believe that every can take action now, immediately, to make their marriage better, stronger, and closer. Here is how we answered the question and what we recommend every couple do to move toward each other and the marriage they deeply desire.
Ways To Move Toward Your Spouse
Christmas is the one time each year all over the world that attention is paid to the story of Christ coming to earth. It is ultimately a story of sacrifice and love. It is because He came into the world that we understand grace, mercy, and unconditional love. It is because He came into the world to die, be raised and give us redemption that we find peace and joy no matter the circumstances.
Christmas time is a painful time for many. It holds memories of those who have passed as well as those that have left our lives. Many have horrible memories of the holidays with stressful family times. We end up sitting next to someone at the dinner table we would not have in our lives if they were not related. We have uncomfortable conversations about topics we usually avoid.
Christmas time is stressful with all of the long To-Do lists. Decorating, Christmas shopping, wrapping, Church programs, card writing, cooking, traveling, etc.! It is a tough time of year!
Keep The Meaning of Christmas This Year