2009 has come to a close and 2010 is ready to begin. Many people don’t anticipate 2010 to be any better than 2009 was which is a little nerve racking for those who don’t believe that Jesus Christ is in control. 2009 was a year of mixed emotions for me; I mean that with all my seriousness! In one year, I got married, bought a house, paid the last of $20,000 in credit card debt, my husband was laid off twice (yes in one year), worked a full time job while attending KSU online for my 7th year of college (yes, it’s not a type-o 7th year is correct), started a new venture in fitness classes, overcame some personal struggles, had training in some spiritual gifts all the while struggling in the normal financial, emotional, and physical hits life still throws at you. Some of these memories I will never remove from my mind 🙂 Others I never want to hear about again. And for some, they are still existing.
But 2010 has exciting times ahead. I will continue to have “firsts” with my new husband, a man who I swear is an angel sent from heaven to me. He is my best friend and I’m blessed to be able to wake up to see him first every morning and before I go to sleep he is the last thing I see. It’s amazing how God can bring someone a perfect mate who perfectly accentuates my good points and helps me along in my bad points.
Ephesians 5:22 (Excerpt from The Message)
Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.Ephesians 5:25 (Excerpt from The Message)
Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They’re really doing themselves a favor—since they’re already “one” in marriage.Ephesians 5:29-33 (Excerpt from The Message)
What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.
I graduate this year! Finally after 8 years I will be graduating with a Bachelor’s in Business Management and Entrepreneurship from Kennesaw State University. The next two semesters are not going to be the easiest because I’m cramming it all in to graduate, but I know the Lord will give me strength to get through it. God says to be educated, respect your parents, live well and your parents will be proud. While, I didn’t have to pay for all of my schooling, (only part of it, I was on Hope Scholarship), I still have given it everything I have. I push myself almost too hard and when I’m ready to give up my loving husband has always seemed to step in at just the right time to keep me going.
Proverbs 23:22
Listen with respect to the father who raised you, and when your mother grows old, don’t neglect her. Buy truth—don’t sell it for love or money; buy wisdom, buy education, buy insight. Parents rejoice when their children turn out well; wise children become proud parents. So make your father happy! Make your mother proud!
Having long term goals can become annoying, frustrating, feel so distant there is no point in continuing to achieve them… That is why it is so important to have positive people around you. When you feel down having someone who can lift you up is great to have 🙂 For me, my husband continues to be that person. In Acts, Paul gave the disciples hope when they were ready to give in providing “…constant encouragement, lifting their spirits and charging them with fresh hope.” – Acts 20:1 We should do the same. Whether you are the person doing the encouraging for someone else, or you are the person receiving the encourage, respect it, be thankful for it and for the knowledge and wisdom the Lord gives you to know when to encourage someone. When you feel the urge to be a shoulder for someone to lean on, listen to it! Don’t ever ignore it. Most of the time the encourage we give is through a non-serious event; however, your encouragement to someone could keep them from taking their own life or harming another. People get depressed and think life is over… sometimes it’s because all they want is a friend.
1 Thessalonians 5:13
Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.
Confession Letters 