Weekend Kindness
Reaching Others Through Kindness

SANCTIFY YOUR MARRIAGE WITH PRAYER AND THANKSGIVING.

None of us are exempt from trials. We all face hard times in our marriages. What do you do? Grumble and groan? Complain and criticize? Talk negatively and nastily. Oh it is so easy to do this, because this is how we feel. But here’s the secret. Take it to the Lord in prayer. Thank Him. Trust Him. All your groaning and blaming one another will not solve the problem. God is your Deliverer! You can trust Him. Learn to hang on to God and look to Him as your source. Don’t trust in your husband’s ability alone, but in the Lord.

Make it your habit to pray and praise the Lord together daily. If you pray daily together, you’ll keep free from “the little foxes that spoil the vines” that eat away at your marriage. Make your home a house of prayer and thanksgiving. Matthew 18:19 is a wonderful promise for married couples. “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.” Notice these words – “If two of you…” The two of you together can claim great power and miracles in your relationship and in your home as you faithfully pray together.

And never forget the exhortation in Ephesians 4:26, “Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” If you have an argument or get upset with one another, don’t act like a baby and put on the silent treatment. Sort it out. Say “I’m sorry.” Forgive one another. Never go to sleep until you have restored the relationship. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

~Nancy Campbell~

SWEETEN YOUR MARRIAGE.

Ouch! This is a challenge to me. If I start to get a little harsh, Colin will say, “Come on, Darling, be sweet to me.” And I do have to be reminded! But he never lets me get away with sharp words. He always pulls me up to be gentle and sweet.

How do you sweeten your marriage? With words – sweet words, soft words, encouraging words, cheerful words, positive words, helpful words, supportive words, kind words, wise words, forgiving words, loving words, pleasant words and life-giving words. You can’t miss having a successful marriage if you put this secret into practice!

I am always challenged by Song of Solomon 4:11 where the Bridegroom speaks to the bride and says, “Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue.” What drips from the honeycomb? Sweetness! What kind of words drip from your tongue?

A dear friend called in this morning and shared this quote with me: “People turn their best side out: they are delightful in company, but snarly at home. There they give vent to their dissatisfaction, their temper, their grouch. They are scent-bottles abroad, vinegar-bottles at home… To be a Christian at home one must learn to ‘keep sweet’.”

Your words will gradually kill your marriage or they can keep it alive with love. It’s your choice. Proverbs 18:21.

~Nancy Campbell~

SERVE YOUR HUSBAND.

This is meant to be a time of sharing my secrets. Can I share with you what I believe is one of the most destructive forces in a marriage? It is the sin of selfishness! The secret of a successful marriage is selflessness and serving. If you are trying to get something out of your marriage for yourself, you will never be satisfied. It doesn’t work that way. Forget about yourself and think of all the ways you can serve and satisfy your husband. This will bring you joy and freedom. This will release your husband to love you. Even Jesus, the Son of God, did not come to be served but to serve. He was our example. Read Philippians 2:6-8.

Stamp on all the works of the flesh that poke their way up in your life – your self-pitying, self-centered, self-gratifying, self-serving, self-pleasing, self-opinionated self! They destroy the marriage.

Marriage seminars are good. Marriage counseling is good. But they are not the total answer. I know couples that have been to loads of marriage seminars and still have problems in their marriage. All you need to do is forget about self, start serving and your problems will disappear!

Make your home a refuge where your husband can find peace and harmony from the strife of the workplace. Daily prepare a nutritious and appetizing meal for him. There is nothing more soothing than coming home to find the table set nicely, the meal ready with delicious smells floating from the kitchen, a peaceful atmosphere, and everyone ready to sit down to the evening meal.

~Nancy Campbell~

SUPPORT YOUR HUSBAND.

We are to complete our husband, not compete with him. Genesis 2:18 says, “And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone: I will make him a help meet for him.” The word “help meet” is “neged”. It means, “part opposite, counterpart, over against or before, other side.” God made us opposite to our husband. We have a different task. It would have been unnecessary for God to make another creation like Adam to do the same thing as him.

I believe that one of the most fundamental understandings of a successful marriage is to know our role in the marriage. God ordained the husband to be the Provider, the Protector and the Priest of the home. He created the woman to be the Nurturer, the Nourisher and the Nest builder. The husband is the Breadwinner; the wife is the Bread baker! The husband is the King; the wife is the Queen.

(more…)

Isn’t it ironic?  I start a series about planning for the future and how it can be unpredictable, and God decides that my time with my current company is to come to an end.  So lets just say that my plans are rapidly changing to account for the difference in what is my immediate future.

So, I will get back to the talk about how to plan for the future, but first, back in August I wrote a series of posts on where I have been and that I believed that God was taking me somewhere different—that my family were about to take on a new challenge.  It was basically a “here’s where I’ve been, and here’s where I’m going series.”

(more…)

SUBMIT TO YOUR HUSBAND’S HEADSHIP.

I guess we might as well start with the one that most women want to avoid! However,it’s one of the secrets so I can’t leave it out! We may not always like what God says but it’s the only way that works. Let’s find out more.

1) Submission is Biblical.

Many couples today believe they can get along doing things their own way, rather than standing on God’s truth. But man’s way doesn’t work. I listened to a preacher the other week who quoted the fact that the percentage of divorce amongst Christians is now higher than the world. How devastating! But this is the fruit of man’s ways.

(more…)

It is impossible to know the future.  So why do we plan for it?

I think that God laughs at our plans for the future, since He can see beginning from end.  So how do we plan for the future when we don’t know it, and try to be in God’s will?

I think that there’s a way where we can have the comfort of a plan while allowing for God to work consistent with the way He’s been at work in our lives. It just takes some more work, and emphasis on what’s really important.

Come with me as we explore planning with God in mind.