Marriage Retreat

Over the weekend, Josh and I were able to attend the "When Sinners Say I Do" marriage conference in Minnesota. The time was so rich with biblical truth, passionate worship, long car rides that provided ample time for conversation, and just the blessing of being with my hubby. I'm so glad that we were able to go.

There's much that I could share but one thing that really stands out to me as I consider the messages that we heard: sin and weakness in marriage are an opportunity for ministry. They are an opportunity to reflect the Gospel, especially the mercy of God that is seen best at the cross. Dave Harvey talked a lot about the fact that we, as sinners, are not receiving the wrath of God that we deserve. Because of our sin, we deserve to be separated from God forever in hell but because God is rich in mercy, even when we were dead in our sins, He chose to send Jesus to pay our penalty. What mercy! In light of all the mercy that we've been given by God, how could we not respond in mercy to our spouse or to our children or to our friends or even to our enemies?

I've just been reflecting on this truth tonight and wanted to pass it on. I'm so grateful for the mercy that God has shown me! Lord, help me be merciful to Josh in light of all the mercy that You've shown me.

Oh, and if you're married or about to be married and you've never read, "When Sinners Say I Do" by Dave Harvey, buy it! By God's grace, your marriage will be different as you seek to apply what you read. There's no other book on marriage that Josh or I would more highly recommend and no other book on marriage that has helped me more than this one.

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Winning My Heart, One Potato at a Time

My husband most definitely knows how to bless me and make me fall in love with him all over again. What did he do this time? He not only went to the grocery store for me in search of things like "exactly two pounds of potatoes" and "ten ounces of pearl onions" and brought home each and every item on the list, he then helped me slice and chop it all. And he did it with joy, despite the fact that he is possibly even more tired than I am right now.

It made me think about how often I take for granted that God has blessed me with the best husband in the world and how much I lack the servant-mindset of Christ. Josh actually enjoys serving me; it's not a chore for him. I, on the other hand, can adopt a "martyr" mentality about serving him. I think I deserve some huge accolades if I actually keep the kitchen relatively clean and do a couple of loads of laundry for him. Not only do I think I deserve praise, I think I've done my quota and can't possibly be expected to do any more for the day. It's not an attitude of delighting in serving my husband like he delights in serving me. It's most definitely not the humble, outward-focused attitude of Christ, described in Philippians 2.

"Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Even though this mindset is one that I am often far from possessing, I am blessed to have a husband who is modeling this for me daily. I don't want to take that gift for granted.

Thank you for the ways that you sacrificially serve me, Babe!

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