By Cindee Johnson Have you ever run out of gas? It was just a year ago when my husband Dave and I did. We had a lot of life happening. Between buying a house during a worldwide pandemic, caring for critical needs of an aging parent, and managing my own health concerns, we failed one day to notice just how low our gas tank had dropped. Once we did, it was too late. As we pulled to the side of the Interstate, realizing our mistake, we had a good laugh. So did our daughter and son in law when they came to rescue the parents.
But, that wasn’t the first time in our relationship we dangerously were running on empty. And, then, it was no laughing matter.
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By Kermit Rowe The finale of Encompass Connection Center’s recent Valentine’s Day virtual Gala, attended by 126 supporters and beneficiaries of our 16-year-old relationship ministry, featured staff member Jenny Hamilton and her husband, Mike, doing a touching rendition of the wildly successful worship song “The Blessing.”
It led me to think deeply about the blessing of holy matrimony, and what the Bible says about it. Obviously, the blessing of having my wife Nancy in my life the past 40 years quickly came to mind. She has been a constant blessing. But I also know that the word “blessing” is used so loosely in today’s culture, that its true meaning can easily be cheapened or even lost. By Kermit Rowe I like to call it “The Flip.” It is as unnatural as it is powerful. But if a couple can make “The Flip,” then the future growth of their relationship and happiness takes an upward trajectory.
What I am speaking of is a change of focus in our relationship. If we are honest, when we enter a relationship with a significant other, we do so with the expectation that this person will make us happier in our life. We love them, but a big component of that love often is how that person makes us feel. But what if we changed our approach, turning to a divine truth to transform our relationship and home? By Lavern Nissley So, how’s that for a blog post title just over a week before the day of love? Yet, it truly reflects my heart on the emphasis of singling out one day a year for an inferior type of love that has a truly bizarre origin.
Go ahead, please click through to hear me out. Then watch the brief video at the end about a Virtual Date Night we're planning for couples February 14, 7-8 pm. By Lavern Nissley Dave Wilson and I were chatting briefly after a men's breakfast. He was telling me about how he doesn't know what to tell other men when they ask him the secrets of being married 40+ years. But he knows what husbands should NOT do! I asked him, "So, what are your top three things NOT to do? He very quickly listed them By the way, Dave and Cindi have been married 46 years. By Lavern Nissley
The Five Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman have been a cherished resource and wake up call for thousands of couples around the world. If you own a smart phone, there is now a fun, innovative way to take the Five Love Languages into a new frontier. Want to know more? Get ready to download a cool new free app. By Lavern Nissley
If you had to build 3 very simple sentences, a subject and a verb, starting with the word "love", what would you come up with? Here are several examples: Love hurts. Love heals. Love trusts. Love tries. Love listens. All good and pretty accurate. But not what we're emphasizing in this post. Want to know the verb we're highlighting in a new social media campaign? |
HostsLavern & Ronda Nissley are co-directors of Encompass. Married since 1978, both enjoy coffee, riding their tandem bicycle and working together to build strong relationships. TOPICS
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