From Our Hearts

A successful Godly marriage comes with a price—the price of time. If you want your relationship with your beloved to be that of a biblical story, you are going to have to be willing to make time for it. In the beginning of a courtship, we purpose to make time for each other. Once the reality of bills, family, house repairs, and “what’s for dinner tonight” take hold, it is then we seem to forget there is so much more to marriage.

Redemption is an ongoing process. It has to do with so much more than our initial salvation. We need to know the answer to the question, “Does our ongoing deliverance from the power of sin come from our best efforts to keep God's law or is it also by trusting in the Lord Jesus as we did when we first met Him?”

Our nation’s founding fathers approved the wording of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. This declaration gave the people of this newly formed country a freedom they had not experienced before. Though it took many years for it to become a holiday that is readily celebrated, it has always been a pivotal time in our nation’s history.

We are blessed to be able to live in Hawaii on a part-time basis. Besides the weather, the residents are the friendliest people in the world. Even with all the tourism, the Hawaiian people, made up of all races, are kind, courteous, and helpful. This has certainly been our experience, and others have validated our observations. The residents seem to be genuinely happy!

DEVOTION: This may be a tender topic for you, but if your love has drifted … there is hope. What if We’re Thinking About Divorce? It may surprise you to know this, but there was a time in our marriage when we each entertained thoughts of divorce. We were the proverbial flailing couple who was going down…and taking two young daughters with us. We lost sight of our direction.

DEVOTION: The words, “honor your father,” appear many times throughout the bible. In fact, it’s one of the ten commandments right alongside, “honor your mother.” In fact, it is the first command that provides a promise, “… so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Ephesians 6:1-4 Honor is defined as, “To highly respect or greatly esteem.”

DEVOTION: “Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice in the wife of your youth.” Proverbs 5:18 We read this verse of scripture and sometimes wonder how can we accomplish such a thing? Does marriage really work like the Bible tells us? Life has changed. We’ve changed. Maybe there is some truth to that. However, I challenge you to consider why it has become your truth.

DEVOTION: It is a chilling thought to one day realize that your children are observing your life, logging your activities, and repeating your actions, whether good or bad. I know from personal experience that what I observed from my own father’s behavior served as both a positive and negative influence on my role as a husband and father.

DEVOTION: There have been many stories of the damage severe weather, flooding, and tornadoes have caused lately. We stand in prayer with each and every person affected. The Lord is with you! While watching a recent news story about the devastation, I was reminded of a story a young father once shared with us. He told us the story of how God gave him revelation in regard to his children.

DEVOTION: When we view prayer as explained by God through the language in the Bible, we must keep in mind that prayer has always been the principle means by which man, created in God’s image, has evidenced sentiment toward Him. From the earliest times, prayer has been an integral part of the worship of God.

DEVOTION: There is so much devastating news coming through the media every day now. The tragedies of the Coronavirus and the subsequent shutdowns of entire countries including our own; the destructive storms and tornadoes; famine; unemployment; and so many more are or daily reality. How can we find peace in such turmoil? How We Can Obtain This Peace?

DEVOTION: In late fall of 1990, Operation Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm. That meant war. I still remember holding my breath as President George H. Bush addressed the nation on television and spoke the words every military family dreads. He was authorizing the call-up of reservists. Jim was an Army Reservist. As a registered pharmacist, he was assigned to the Medical Service Corps. After 25 years of routine monthly meetings and after Jim finally qualified for army retirement, we were not prepared for what could happen.