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For Those With Ears - Entries tagged "Relationships"

ThuThursdayJulJuly21st2011

Blessed

Posted Thursday, July 21 2011 @ 10 AM byJoel Dugard Tagged Prayer Relationships 0 comments Add comment

Blessed.

If I were to sum up how I’ve felt over the past few days in just one word, that would probably be the one. Just…incredibly blessed. I’ve already had an action packed summer, between working at Harvest as an intern and connecting with friends and family before going back to school in Lynchburg, Virginia. But a few very special things have happened to me of late that have just caused me to go “Wow, thank you God!”

I hope that your summer has been filled with plenty of blessings, too. Be they special times with your family while on vacation, or just finding time to relax and rest up before the fall, there are plenty of blessings that come from our heavenly Father each and every day. It’s important to recognize, too, that God often uses other people to pass on his blessings to us. Personally, I can think of several people that helped me feel God’s deep love and care for me through the ways that they were able to bless me this week. Their generosity, be it through their finances, time, or energy, was used tremendously by God to fill my heart with joy for who he is, how he loves me, and how he continues to bless me.

But my challenge to you today is this: Consider the blessings that are happening in your life right now, and think and pray about the ways that God wants to use you to bless others. This was something that God challenged me on this week big time, and let me tell you, the payoff was enormous. After being able to give generously to someone else through a series of circumstances, my heart instantly was filled with joy, knowing that God had just used me to bless another. I say this, not to boast in my giving, but instead to encourage you as a testimony of the amazing joy that comes from a life of generosity. As I mentioned before, generosity doesn’t have to come through money. Your willingness to just spend time with someone or help them through a problem can be used by God to bless them in a big way and, in turn, bless you as well. In Proverbs 3:9-10, it says,

“Honor the LORD with your wealth, and with the firstfruits of all your produce; 
then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.”

That verse pretty much says it all. God gives generously to those who give generously. Think about that, pray about that, and then act upon that this week.

God bless.

TueTuesdayDecDecember7th2010

A Weekend to Remember

Posted Tuesday, December 07 2010 @ 7 AM byRoger Freeman Tagged Relationships 1 comments Add comment

There is always an expectation that we will get a return on our investment. No one wants to be like the guy who made a million dollars – out of two million! Most of the time we do get a return, in line with the saying, “You only get out of something, what you put into it.” That is for sure true in a marriage.

Many people go into marriage 50/50. I put in my half and she puts in her half and together we make a whole out of it. It doesn’t work that way! Marriage is for two adults who each bring their healthy whole and God puts their 100/100 together to make one new whole. The math doesn’t add up but that is how it works in God’s kingdom.

Margaret and I regularly invest into our marriage. Recently we went to “A Weekend To Remember” marriage conference sponsored by Family Life Canada. We have been asked, “Do you really need that after almost 30 years together?” Here is what we get from our investment:

1. Remember the basics! You don’t get to finesse the puck into the net if you can’t get to the net with the puck! (That’s a hint for all you sports minded dudes.) It is amazing how we can forget the basic elements that make a relationship work well. We need reminders about time and communication and our differences.

2. Get a handle on it! We often come away with a new way to verbalize issues. We have words to put to things we are dealing with, for ourselves and for others we talk to. We have a handle to put on a problem.

3. Resources! There are some great books out there that are standards, and there are new ones that bring perspective and insight. I picked up one on “Coffee dates for couples.” Time with my friend and coffee – now that’s a win/win!!

4. Away with reason! No, I don’t mean get rid of “reason,” I mean get away with purpose. It’s good to go away, not just for time as a couple, but to take time to think and talk about us as a couple. “How are we doing?” is a great question to ask regularly, even when the answer means we have some work to do.

Even after 30 years we have more to learn and apply. We have more to learn to help others. It is worth the investment! Want to invest a little yourself? There is another “Weekend To Remember” in Niagara Falls in February. That sounds like another win/win! Now is the time to plan! For more information go to www.powertochange.com