LET’S LOVE GOD TODAY!He Deserves it!

MAKING A MARRIAGE WORKIt’s Worth it!

A good marriage is the union of two good forgivers– Ruth Bell Graham

GOD’S DESIGN

• Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”…

YOUR GREATEST ASSET

• Being in love with God more than with anything or anyone else.

• Being willing to do anything He requires to please Him

• Finding your greatest satisfaction in Him.

“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord

searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought.

If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.”

1 Chronicles 28:9

They say it takes a village to raise a child. That may be the case, but the truth is that it takes a lot of solid,

stable marriages to create a village

– Diane Sollee

As for his secret to staying married, my wife tells me that if I ever

decide to leave, she is coming with me

– Jon Bon Jovi

For wherever you go, I will go,And wherever you lodge, I will lodge,

Your people will be my people,And, your God, my God

– Ruth 1:16

AN ONCE OF PREVENTION

• “My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger…” James 1:19

Ultimately the bond of all companionship, whether in marriage or in friendship, is conversation

– Oscar Wilde

COMMUNICATING LOVE• Communicate to Connect: Listen well

• Give lots of positive eye contact

• Speak affirming words often

• Touch each other often in ways the other enjoys

• Brag about them to others in their presence

Be presidents of each other’s fan clubs

– Tony Heath

It is sometimes essential for a husband and a wife to quarrel – they get to know each other better

– Goethe

Sex is a conversation carried out by other means. If you get on well out of bed, half the problems of bed

are solved

– Peter Ustinov

KEYS TO INTIMACY• Forgive Quickly. Even if they are wrong

• Affirm much. Criticize little. Overlook a lot

• Let them be them. You be you.

• Communicate caring often each day

• Give them full attention every day for 30 minutes

• Pray for each other together twice a day

A CULTURE OF PARTNERSHIP• Know what your spouse likes. Give them that!

• Ask them to talk abut themselves often

• Create shared traditions

• Create shared life vision and shared projects

• Partner with others to protect your marriage!

If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day,

so I never have to live without you

– Winnie the Pooh

David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or

discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you.

He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.

The divisions of the priests and Levites are ready for all the work on the temple of God, and every willing person skilled in any craft will help you in all the work. The officials and all the people will obey your

every command.”

1 Chron. 28:20-21

WHY STAY MARRIED?

• Your love for God

• Your commitment to your vows to God

• Your love for your spouse

• Your love for your family and your descendants

The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother

– Theodore Hesburgh

I am convinced that if we as a society work diligently in every other area of life

and neglect the family, it would be analogous

to straightening deck chairs on the Titanic.

– Stephen Covey

DON’T GIVE UP!

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time

– Thomas Edison

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through

every circumstance

– I Corinthians 13:7