Marriage

Divorce is fruit of bad roots. Most marriages begin in lust or being in love with being in love. You need to find the one you are compatible with. Unconditionally. People don't seem to understand that. Marriage is not, no matter what you believe, just a commitment to the other person. It's a commitment to God that you love that person as Christ has loved the church. That's how it was designed from the beginning. No matter what you believe. So, maybe you married the "wrong" person. When you married that person, they became the right person and now, you must be the right person for them. Marriage is work. Hard work. Not magic. Marriage is communication. Not assuming the other should know everything I'm thinking. Marriage is open and sometimes painful. No secrets. NO SECRETS. I'm referring to "normal" marriages, for lack of a better word. I understand that one must seek outside help for an abusive relationship. I understand your safety and childrens safety are of priority. But, even then, with Gods help, a marriage can be saved and flourish. It's a matter of the heart. Only God can intervene there. Every story is different. You can't just throw a blanket on it and say there's your answer. But, no matter what is in the past, you can change the future. Be open and slow to anger. Breathe. Listen. Pray for help. Ask for forgiveness. Be forgiving. You are a team. Not 50-50 but 100%-100%. All in. One more thing. Find an older mature person of the same gender as you that has a good marriage that you can go to. Someone who has beaten the typical challenges of life and marriage. One who is walking upright and true with God. Not your stupid friends at the bar. Not the ones that talk bad about their own marriages and try to give you advice. Someone you can respect and trust.

Baseball, Coffee and God

    A certain Sunday school teacher stood before his class and placed a large, empty pickle jar on a table. He then dropped a baseball into the jar and asked,"Is this jar full?" With puzzled looks on their faces, they shook their heads.
   He then dropped in a bunch of golf balls. "Now is the jar full?" The young people began to chuckle and replied,"Yes...", not knowing where their teacher was heading with this. "Are you sure?" he asked. Some changed their answer and reasoned their choices.
   As they discussed, the teacher brought out a bag of corn and poured it in the jar. The kernels filtered down into the gaps between the golf balls and some reaching the baseball. "Now is the jar full?".
  They all agreed that now the jar was full and nothing more could go into the jar. With that, the teacher then brought out a cup of ground coffee and poured it into the jar. He then gave the jar a couple taps and the coffee settled down between the corn and golf balls leaving no room at the top of the jar. Patting the coffee down so that it was even with the top of the jar, he asked,"Now is it full?"
  "YES!" they exclaimed exasperated by this nonsense.
  "You see", he explained,"if this jar is your life, you have a full life. The ground coffee is the stuff that doesn't really matter. It's like Facebook. There's stuff there that grabs your attention and occupies your time, but, it really doesn't matter in the long-run.
   "The kernels," he continued,"are the the things that do matter. Your material needs. Clothes, money, job or school. Things you should care about but shouldn't obsess about.
   "The golf balls," ignoring the comments about obsessing over clothes,"are the important things in your life. Family, relationships, your health. These things require your attention. Although, most of the time, these are the things you take for granted. When was the last time you really noticed your parents? Took out your ear buds and asked them about their day?"
   "And the baseball?" someone asked.
   "The baseball is what we take for granted the most." Pointing to the baseball in the jar, the teacher continued, "Although the baseball is a huge part of our life, we give it the least amount of attention overall. The baseball represents our relationship with God. In Matthew 6:25-33, Jesus says,   
²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?... ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." 
   "By 'seeking' Him first, all the things in your life fall into place. I'm not saying it will all be butterflies and cupcakes, but, you can have order if you start your day with seeking God first. Pray, read your Bible. Sincerely seek God"
   With that, he pulled out another jar just like the first. He then poured a cup of ground coffee in the jar. Followed by a bag of corn and the same number of golf balls as . Not all the golf balls fit in the jar and 2 or 3 fell to the table.
  "What about God?" a young man asked.
   "Exactly Jesus' point! If you aren't putting God first in your life, where does He fit in?!"

How about you? Is your life full? Are you occupied by the things that don't matter? How do you start your day? With God or coffee?