I was thinking…how awesome that God reached all the way from heaven and chose me to be His daughter and then miraculously grew up my sweet Bob just for me. I was thinking that before marriage I might have or could have questioned this decision of “is he the right one?” But after marriage, he is the right one. God hates the d…… word. I was thinking how momentary marriage is. I want to make the most of it and forget the little things. I want to smooch a lot. tee hee. see more in Brides.

Psalm 14:1,5b,6b [NAS]

The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” …for God is with the righteous generation. …the Lord is his refuge.

Oh, the folly of wicked men and how wonderful and awesome that God reached all the way from heaven and chose us to be His daughter and then miraculously grew up our man just for us. How wonderful, how marvelous, is our Savior’s love for us.

We have a momentary marriage. Let us make the most of it. Forget the little things. Hug a lot and smooch a lot. Smooching has been shown to cause significant changes in levels of chemicals oxytocin, which affects pair bonding, and cortisol, which is associated with stress. What bride is void of some moments of stress? The best medicine is to go smooch our man a lot.

Matthew 12:37 For by your words you will be justified and acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned and sentenced.

One day we will meet God face to face. What joy that will be. Don Wyrtzen’s song “Finally Home” says it all.

Just think of stepping on shore, and finding it heaven; of clasping a hand and finding it God’s; of breathing new air, and finding it celestial; of waking up in glory, and finding it home.

I ask myself:

1. Have I taken time to smooch today?
2. Have I allowed daily stress to crowd my time for giving him thanks for the little things he does?
3. Have I guarded my words that they are encouraging.
4. Have I focused on being finally home? Oh joy.

Marriage is “Joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

Nahum 1:7 God is good!

I was thinking… When we as brides feel discouraged and perplexed, It is important to focus on serving others.  Encouragement can be seen in the story of the frogs. In this story of frog brides, one gives up and dies and the other lives victoriously. I was thinking… What victory would come to my hubby if I chose to encourage him. I was thinking how many I know chose to give up and die. Oh sad…see more in Brides

Psalm 13:5, 6[NAS]

…I have trusted in Your loving-kindness; my heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.

When brides feel discouraged and perplexed, it is good to quickly call upon God for His deliverance, and soon her heart will be filled with rejoicing. It is important to focus on serving others. One way is to be her husbands encourager by saying “I love you” a lot. Encouragement can be seen in the story of the frogs.

A group of frog brides were walking through the mall when two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frog brides that they were as good as dead. The two ignored the comments and tried to jump out of the pit with all their might. The group kept telling them to stop because they were as good as dead. They continued to jump.

Finally, one of the frog brides took heed to what the others were saying and gave up. She fell down and died. The second frog bride continued to jump a hard as she could. Once again, the others yelled at her to stop the pain and just die. She jumped even harder and finally made it out.

You see, this frog was deaf, unable to hear what the other brides were saying. She thought they were encouraging her the entire time.

A bride can encourage her husband to excel in wondrous ways. Brides are a helpmate. “I love you” is a simple way to start. Then move to more creative venues. Joy!

“I love you” is one of the “secrets” of the happy marriage that husbands and wives can be. Never let him leave without saying “I love you.” Show him ways you love him daily. Words of affirmation are great pictures (showing) of “I love you.”

Matthew 12:36 But I tell you, on the Day of Judgment men will have to give account for every idle inoperative, non-working word they speak.

I ask myself:

1. Do I creatively show love to my husband daily?
2. Am I willing to trust God when I feel discouraged?
3. Do I try to focus on others especially my husband?
4. How can I encourage him today?

Marriage is “Joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

Nahum 1:7 God is good!

  I was thinking… when we brides hear our husband bragging about himself (some good thing he has done or accomplished) we tend to want to mother him and help him see just how braggadocios he is. When actually all he needs is more affirmation from his bride. I was thinking…in our society where marriages are declining, I can try to do my part in my marriage. Husbands always seek “praise” from their wives before anyone else. “…marriage sustains your love.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Proverbs 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my firm impenetrable rock and my redeemer. I was just thinking…  I wonder. how many ways I can affirm my sweetheart today????????? see more in Brides

Psalm 12: 6,7 [NAS]

The words of the Lord are pure words; as silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times. You, O Lord, will keep them; You will preserve him from this generation forever.

Generation to generation, marriages are declining. We are surrounded and outnumbered by the wicked (society). Trusting God and His promises and His protection for our marriage is the only way to survive. We must stand strong on God’s Word and remember that our marriage is not ours but belongs to God and is to reflect Him. “And the man and the wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” Enjoy!

Brides today need Gods help more than ever. A husband needs affirmation and encouragement as he attempts to lead his home. When we hear our husband bragging about himself or seeking affirmation from others, it is a sure sign that we need to give him more. Husbands always seek “praise” from their wives before anyone else. One famous motivational speaker shared that after presenting his talk to over 500 recipients, many flocked around him to say how meaningful it was and how good he did. As great as it was to hear from them, the one that he could hardly wait to find in the crowd, was his wife. He could hardly wait to hear her say, “Good job honey.”  It is so important that we find good to say about our husbands and say it.

As you gave the ring to one another and have now received it a second time from the hand of the pastor, so love comes from you, but marriage is from above, from God. As high as God is above man, so high are the sanctity, the rights, and the promise of love. It is not your love that sustains the marriage but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison, 27-28.)

Proverbs 19:14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my firm impenetrable rock and my redeemer.

I ask myself:

1. Do I look for ways to encourage my husband?
2. Am I an example to others, (generations to generations) in my marriage?
3. Do I affirm the good in my husband and ignore the irritations?
4. Do I seek to please God in all my ways in my marriage?

Marriage is “Joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

Nahum 1:7 God is good!

I was thinking…that we brides can stand firm in our confidence that God’s plan is that the husband be the head of the home. I was thinking…some brides say the husband is the head of the home but she is the neck which turns the head? I was thinking…many husbands refer to the place where he lives as “the wife’s house.” I was thinking…hmmmmmm many husbands are not comfortable expressing their God given drive in their own homes so they looks elsewhere; a garage, a den, or even another place where they can feel at home. See more in Brides

Is the furniture comfortable for him or does he feel like an intruder? Is the decor a reflection of our personal taste or a combination? Do we display his “trophies” or hide them. One woman whose husband loves to hunt and bring home the “treasure” has his monstrous mounted moose head on the wall of the living room where everyone sees it upon entering their 5,000 square foot million dollar home with the decorations suited for it. She very proudly tells inquirers where it came from, and when it was acquired, hence bragging on her husband and his contribution to their “home.”

Psalm 11:1,7 [NAS]

In the Lord I take refuge; for the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.

God is our exclusive refuge. In Him we can be confident. He is the standard for all spiritual integrity. We can stand firm in our confidence that God’s plan is for the husband to be the head of the home. This confidence allows us to trust God when times are tough. Is our husband the head of our home or do we let him know in a variety of ways that he is the head but we are the neck which turns the head? Does he refer to the place where he lives as “home,” or “the wife’s house,” or “our home?”  Sometimes a man who is not comfortable expressing his God given drives in his own home finds a garage, a den, or even another place where he can exercise his headship.

Is the furniture comfortable for him or does he feel like an intruder? Is the decor a reflection of our personal taste or a combination? Do we display his “trophies” or hide them. One woman whose husband loves to hunt and bring home the “treasure” has his monstrous mounted moose head on the wall of the living room where everyone sees it upon entering their 5,000 square foot million dollar home with the decorations suited for it. She very proudly tells inquirers where it came from, and when it was acquired, hence bragging on her husband and his contribution to their “home.”

God gives us Christ as a foundation of our marriage. “Welcome one another, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7)…Don’t insist on your rights, don’t blame each other, don’t judge or condemn each other, don’t find fault with each other, but accept each other as you are, and forgive each other every day from the bottom of your hearts. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison, 31-32)

We must remember that being who we are is more important than worrying about who our man is.

I ask myself:

1. Do I defer to his preference for furniture?
2. Is the home comfortable for him to relax in?
3. Am I willing to put his needs before my own?
4. Am I the woman God designed me to be?

Marriage is “Joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

Nahum 1:7 God is good!

  I was thinking… When a bride refuses to honor the “fitting rule” for family, everything becomes up side down. I was thinking…how often when a bride thinks she can’t possibly live in a marriage such as hers ; when she takes control and demands that things be different or else; when she forces that her husband obey her wishes; when she demands that her husband bow to her command, she robs him of his dignity. God will never give us more than that which will accomplish His plan for family. God has said wives are to fit into their own husbands ways. There is a reason and He will have His way with us.  One of the axioms of life is that we can only change and control self, not others. The kind of marriage we experience is not determined by what our man does or how he acts, but what kind of woman we are. I was just thinking… see more under Brides.

Psalm10:12-18 [NAS]

Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up Your hand…The Lord is King forever and ever;…Oh Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear to vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror.

There is evil all around us, but God is an awesome God and a loving King. He hears the desire of a brides humble heart when she desires that her marriage honor and glorify God, not selves.

God established the role for wives in marriage. He says wives are to be subject to their own husband, as is fitting in the Lord. This is not punishment for wives. It is complete freedom to become the godly woman He created her to be. In marriage two individuals become a family. God has established that there be rules in a family. The first rule after loving God with all ones heart is to love the other. When a wife refuses to honor that rule for family, everything becomes up side down. When she thinks she can’t possibly live in a marriage such as hers; when she takes control and demands that things be different or else; when she forces that he obey her wishes, then God will use stronger means to accomplish His plan for that marriage. By demanding that her husband bow to her command, she robs him of his dignity. God will never give us more than that which will accomplish His plan for family. God has said wives are to fit into their own husbands ways. There is a reason. He will have His way with us. 

One of the axioms of life is that we can only change and control self, not others.

Proverbs 21:23 He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from troubles.

I ask myself:

1. Do I trust God to work in my marriage?
2. Am I trying to change my husband to fit my mold?
3. Have I damaged our family dignity?
4. Am I willing to submit to the rule for family that God ordained for my good?

Nahum 1:7 God is good!