How popular is that!

Now if your counting I will skip reason eight and go on to reason nine and ten as to why we are still married.  Maybe if I can bring it out correctly we will discuss number eight later.  This one might bring me some strange looks.  Let's consider the animals for a moment.  Male and Female God created each and every species.  In every specie of animals both male and female have roles that contribute to the success of a union.  I heard that there is a spider whose only means of mating is rape. They hide in the brush and bait females with a food trap, then they literally jump on them and mate.  HOLD ON, don't be jumping to no conclusions.  The point I am making with this harsh reality is that both male and female spiders are content with this arrangement.  Sometimes it is the female that does the hunting and the males lie around doing nothing.  The reality is that both sexes in the animal world live out their existence within their roles.

Gaylene and I have both agreed to do our part to make our marriage work.  We have roles in our relationship that we have simply accepted as to what contributes to a healthy marriage.  Does this mean I only do what I feel is my role.  Absolutely not.  This is what sets humans apart from the animal world. We need to contribute within the agreement of the couple, our roles or parts.  And since we Love our partners, help them in theirs.  I think it is so important to work out what we will bring to the relationship, and to do it with joy, knowing we are pleasing our mates.  Gaylene and I have found that what we bring to the relationship and how we please our mates is what pleases God and so God blesses these marriages.  So reason number nine......Take Joy in pleasing your mate.  Even if you have maintained the yard for years, or made meals forever!  There is a greater lesson here I want to get across. 

There is a story of a man who died and went to heaven to find two signs above two different lines. One sign said: "ALL THOSE MEN WHO HAVE BEEN DOMINATED BY THEIR WIVES, STAND HERE." That line of men seemed to stretch off through the clouds into infinity.

The second sign read: "ALL THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER BEEN DOMINATED BY THEIR WIVES, STAND HERE." Underneath the sign stood one man.
He went over to the man, grabbed his arm and said, "What's the secret, how did you do it? That other line has millions of men and you are the only one standing in this line."
The man looked around with a puzzled expression and said, "Why, I am not sure I know. My wife just told me to stand here."

Seriously.......Men be leaders in your marriage. #1 responsibility

But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:3

responsibility number  2 Love your wife unconditionally.

Ephesians 5:25 reads, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her."

and responsibility number 3  Serve your wife.

John 13: 1-17  According to the New Testament, being head of your wife does not mean being her master, but her servant. Again, Christ is our model for this type of leadership. Jesus did not just talk about serving; He demonstrated it when he washed His disciples' feet.

Is Family Important! (discretion required)

Gaylene and Aaryn went to winnipeg today to their chiropractor appointments.  So I am sitting by myself in the sun room enjoying the quiet and wonderful evening.  What a great summer we have had!  No wonder it is flying bye so fast,  I kind of left you hanging at 7 reasons we are still married, as our trip ended before I could give you three more.  Our family was kind enough to hand over the crystal on sunday and we enjoyed the evening being together with some of our family.  How important is Family?  Well forgive me if I am wrong.  I say it is of no importance.  Now before you jump all over this, and because I only have a couple followers, this will seem like a ripple in a lake, let me explain.  If you will do a search on Amazon you will find approx. 20 000 books written on the subject on overcoming marriage problems.  It is estimated that 42 percent of marriage will end in divorce.  According to studies, evangelical Christians who attend church on a regular basis divorce 35 percent lower than secular couples.  Do you think that maybe the Bible has something to say about marriage??  While Amazon sells thousands of copies of these 20 000 marriage improvement  books, should we not go to the book that actually shows results?
     Reason number 8 for having been married for 25 years is not relying on family to keep it.  Sure it is a blessing to have strong Christian Family around you, but being a Christian and relying on God's Word wipes out any negative, dysfunctional family's influence.  I have come to realize that my Relationship with God needs to, and should be of greater importance than family members.  My family that is not walking with God, have zero influence in what our marriage is and has become.  In fact Gaylene and I pray that our influence on them is what will change them.  Our marriage gets stronger when we see how much others need Jesus.  God has modeled marriage after his own relationship with the Church.  How can any dysfunctional family hold a candle to that?  I choose not to Give Family any credit to my marriage.  Family is a Blessing from God and has great value in the work of the Holy Spirit in this world so others see Christ at work in us.  Great Families are the results of His work in action.
    Hey I'm no expert!  Just give me God and my best friend Gaylene, and together we will go another 25!

In Season and Out of Season (the big visit)

In 2 Timothy 4:2, http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Timothy+4%3A2-3&version=NIVwe are instructed to be ready in all circumstances to stand up for what we believe.  Some of us have deceived ourselves into thinking that "others" will do the work that needs to be done.  I have been thinking about this over the last few days, and felt I would put my thoughts on paper so to speak.  We must understand firstly that all Scipture is for all believers.  I do not feel that certain people need to read certain passages because of who they are.  Pastors,Deacons,Wives, and Husbands come to mind.  It is true that the Bible speaks to specific people, but still relates to all people. For Example: Wives submitting to husbands.  Husbands need to submit to the authority of God, as the Church is in submission to Christ. 
To be honest I have been struggling with this as I am all to aware, of the dangers of feeling a need to do something to validate our standing with God. If I am really saved by Grace only, and not by what I do, then how do I avoid the sense of guilt for not doing what we think we need to do? 
Last week, I had the opportunity to come face to face with a JW.  Yes a Witness at my door!  The wheels started turning and since we had company over, my first response was to ignore them and hoped they would go away.  However after collecting my thoughts, they were exposed to their many and I must say MANY errors to their cult.  After they thanked me for my time and left with questions they could not answer, I realized what had happend.  This happens to all of us, when we submit our wills to God.  To always be ready to respond in all circumstances.  It is not of the Spirit to guilt ourselves into doing something, which rarely works, but when we allow the Spirit to work through us in his time, we can actually respond to 2 Timothy 4:2-3.http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Timothy+4%3A2-3&version=NIV

Back, but never recovered

There are three things in life you never get back.  Time, Words and Opportunity.  I am back at home, to the daily routine and scheduling of our lifestyles.  In a effort to come up with some great reasons as to why we do the things we do, and reason number 6 why Gaylene and myself are still married, these three treasures I have held on to.  Time never turns back.  We can never replace our years we have, and so I try to make every effort to make Time count.  Always looking ahead on the ultimate goal and striving to make a difference in someone's life. Time passes us bye whether we use it or miss it.  Words like Time can never be taken back.  A Rough word to someone or maybe your spouse that makes them angry or hurt, can never be taken back. Words mend, bond and build relationships, Words also tear down, erode and seperate. My choice but in either case, Words can not be taken back.  Opportunities come and they go.  When you miss the boarding time of your flight, this opportunity is gone. So many times I have used the saying, If I had only done this... or if I had only said that.  If only I had made a different choice I would have done better. 
Gaylene and I are still married, in large by a conscience choice to make these three things work for our marriage.  Time,Words, and Opportunity.

Good to be Home!

6300km

We are in Portage

The God who Serves Us

None of us find it easy to forgive.  I am sitting here in the lobby of a hotel and started thinking of how many times we complain, or voice our complaints to the front desk.  The front desk is there to serve much like God serves us.  Many Christians may find this hard to say, but God serves Us. If we think about how many times we have had experiences that worked themselves out for the good, we often use lines such as, "Well God sure had a better plan, or God knew what he was doing".  God is a Serving God! God is the front desk of a hotel.  We ask for extra towels, fix our TV, ask for internet, toothbrush,cots,bedding,discounts,free breakfast and even ask to extend our stay by a few hours when we just can't get out!  How incredible selfish!  I see people leaving the hotel with Smiles on their faces, walking past the front desk.  And I see people walk past the front desk with a cheerful "Good Morning".  After all, we have been served.  Maybe we had a good night sleep and the bed was good, so our thanks is a "Good Morning".  If our God is the front desk to the hotel why do we only visit the front desk when we need something.  Why do we complain so much to the front desk, when things are not quite right?  God is a Serving God, and he does serve us.  The problem lies within ourselves.  We boast of our accomplishments, our victories and our fine children.  We take them out past the front desk to breakfast, "Compliments of the front desk!"  Leave our towels on the floor and beds a mess, garbage on the floor, and leave it to the front desk to "Clean our rooms". 

I am thank-ful this morning for our serving God.  He serves me in ways I do not even know.  He is always on the line when I pick up the phone.  If God is a Serving God....can we at least learn to forgive others who have hurt us, cheated us, lied to us, or talked behind our backs.  Instead of going to the front desk to complain, why not thank him today with a tip to the maid, who cleans up your room.  The God who cleaned up you life and gave you Salvation, deserves to be praised!  The fifth reason I feel we can stay married for 25 years is forgiveness.  Don't wait to be served.....If you are wrong don't wait for the towels to arrive.....Forgive already! Gaylene and I often hurt each other, and often can forgive within minutes, by not waiting for the spouse to set the mood for forgiving.  It is always up to me to "forgive"

Stupid people

Okay enough serious stuff.....Today I declared.....People are stupid! Now I of course I would never say that in public or call my friends that, but think about it.

Why do I drive away from a drive through with no napkins. And in the same day have a lane closed and traffic being slow to a crawl have people try to get by and cut in line.... Tell me why it is safe to eat and drive and not talk on the cell phone. Hey I was looking for a irrigation system that shot water onto the highway so I could wash the vehicle. I also find myself squeezing every drop of gas possible into the tank and doing it all the time.

Okay it is late....but the fourth reason we are still married after 25 years is the fact we both are stupid people and admit it. We all do dumb things and we have learned to accept each other in spite of our shortcomings.