Rough Road or Happy Trails?

    Lately I have been pondering my relationship with my husband. Now a couple years ago when I was introduced to Titus 2  principles our marriage was in need of some assistance. It was hard to hear at first that I had the power to make my marriage a happy marriage without changing my husband. It was me. God's Word struck me in the heart like a fiery dart cutting through ice. I drove home a different person convicted of my sins. How that hurt.
    That drive home was truly the beginning of our transformation. I knew I needed to let go of the steering wheel and let my husband be the man God created him to be.  I needed to zip my lips and stand BEHIND my man.  He is the protector and provider, yet I was always trying to tell him how to do his job.
     I like to be well prepared when I leave for a trip. My bags are packed, the car is in running condition, fuel is in the tank and I am ready to roll. Marriage is a lifetime trip, a journey to prepare for and one you have to keep your eyes on the road for. I look for danger signs, hazards and points of interest.
     Let's look at our marriages and apply what we know of cars to it. The Holy Spirit is our GPS. If we don't have Him as our navigator we will get lost. That is the most vital thing, without directions we'll never know where we are headed. You can make every preparation and still get lost. Your work will be for nothing.
    One of the hardest parts for some of us strong-willed gals is letting our husband not only sit in the driver seat, but allowing him to drive. My husband in the past has told me not to be a "side-seat driver". Oh, how I like to tell him how to drive, which way to go and "use your blinker". That's where I still have to try hard to be a good wife.
    Being a godly wife doesn't come easy always. Some days it seems it's never easy. We all have our sinful nature to deal with. Next time you speak with your husband watch how many times the word "me" comes up. When your husband walks through that door and you give a warm welcome asking how his day was, it brightens up his day. It washes some of the day's worries away.
    Every car needs to have four good tires. If you hit a bump in the road with a bad tire the consequences can be deadly. So it goes in marriage. Without a firm foundation in Christ our marriage may not be able to handle the "bumps" in the road  and we will end up getting off the next off-ramp at Divorce Street. 
    Another hazard is when we ignore our GPS, the Spirit, and wind up taking a detour right into Sin City.
    God has been gracious enough to provide a road map in the Bible. Are we going to be wise enough to heed His advice and commandments?  God has given us security within the sanctity of marriage. It us up to us wives to pay attention to our husbands, follow the directives given in Titus 2:3-5. "Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."
     Are you prepared for your trip? My marriage has gone from good to glorious in a matter of 3 years. Yes, we hit bumps, sometimes we are on cruise control, other times we try harder and have to shift into overdrive to make it up the mountain. We always do and always will. My husband is my driver. My family and I are thankful for him. The greatest part is both of our love tanks are brimming to the top. My prayer is that every marriage could be as wonderful as God intended it to be. What a glorious thing!

Book Review: Overcoming the Chaos

    I recently received a free copy of Living with Confidence in a Chaotic World by Dr. David Jeremiah from Booksneeze courtesy of Thomas Nelson Publishing. Dr. Jeremiah paints a vivid picture of what is wrong with the world today within a few pages. Then he takes you through the Bible verses that you can rely on to bring hope, comfort, courage and assurance to defeat the world's anxiety.
    As I began reading the first few pages I began wondering if the whole book was going to be so abrupt and to the point. I feared Dr. Jeremiah was going to start predicting the end of times.  Though he forewarns of the inevetibility of the end, the book is more focused on how to survive as Christians until then. 
    God has given us all that we need in the Bible to face life, yet often life gets so crazed we fall into our sinful nature and rely on ourselves for the answers. In Living with Confidence in a Chaotic World the reader is given God's promises and instructions on dealing with the grim worldly problems.  When financial outlooks, terrorism threats, corruption and the plethora of other problems seem to be getting worse everyday we are to view them with an eternal view. Paul instructed the churches to encourage and support one another almost two thousan years ago. That instruction still applies.
    Christians are to stay connected, consistent and hopeful among other things.  When we apply what Dr. Jeremiah writes we will find courage and confidence in our faith. Some glorious day we will be able to stand in front of Christ with due reverence and know we did what we were meant to do on this earth for him. I am truly blessed for having read Living with Confidence in a Chaotic World.