Tag: Spiritually preparing for Marriage

  • No Struggle, No Strife

    No Struggle, No Strife

    A long-time friend is a single man that has never been married, and we converse quite often. He is very handsome, financially stable, and over forty. He’s kindhearted, and He prays often for others. I’m impressed with his level of compassion and humility towards God, but I remain perplexed about his attitude towards marriage. I…

  • Keep Ice Cream in the Freezer

    Keep Ice Cream in the Freezer

    Years ago, as I was just beginning to learn the principles of faith from God’s Word, I was struck by the number of sisters in Christ that I knew who were complaining about being single. They wanted to be married and felt they had been single long enough. They were told they didn’t have enough…

  • Remember, God is Watching

    Remember, God is Watching

    Why do two people decide to get married? I will venture to say that most of us will choose to utter those profound two little words, “I Do!”, because we believe we’ve met someone we don’t want to live without. Our wise mothers and grandmothers will school us on this topic. They will tell us…

  • A Happy Wife Keeps a Happy Home

    A Happy Wife Keeps a Happy Home

    Proverbs 21:9(NLT) says, “It’s better to live alone in the corner of an attic than with a quarrelsome wife in a lovely home.” It’s amazing to think that this was written thousands of years ago, yet it is so relevant that it could have been written today. The wisdom of this verse was given to…

  • When You Least Expect It, It Shows Up

    When You Least Expect It, It Shows Up

    How many couples do you know that say they met their husband or wife at a time in their lives when they weren’t expecting it? I’ve heard it said many times. Some would argue that it doesn’t matter if a person is looking for love or not. What matters is that when they find love,…

  • The Master’s House is Still Open

    The Master’s House is Still Open

    Luke 13:24-27(NLT) 24“Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail. 25 When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will reply, ‘I…

  • Listen Carefully to the Truth

    Listen Carefully to the Truth

    Hebrews 2:1(NLT) “So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.” After hearing her mother’s lighthearted but firm warning, a twenty-three-year-old daughter chuckled and told her over the phone, “You’re going to ruin my first date before it starts.” Her daughter had met a very…

  • Do You Ever Wonder?

    Do You Ever Wonder?

    Do you ever wonder if the path you’re on is just not getting you where you want to go? Does it seem like you’re traveling rocky terrain and you can’t seem to build the type of momentum you expected? Many single believers feel this way about relationships and finding the right person. They’re wondering why…

  • Caution and Compassion

    Caution and Compassion

    Isaiah 55:6(NLT), “Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near.” This week I spoke with a gentleman whose heart had been “broken into little pieces”, as he put it. He’d been in a long-term relationship with a woman for several years, and it had fallen apart. It…

  • Looking Forward to What Lies Ahead

    Looking Forward to What Lies Ahead

    Philippians 3:13-14(NLT) “13 No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”…

  • Showing God Your Proof

    Showing God Your Proof

    We are in the last weeks of what has been a very difficult year for most. I’ve spoken with many single women that have described it as “a time of my life that I never want to see again!” In most cases, this is because of the difficulty of handling things without the support of…

  • The Right Heart Will Put You at the Right Place at the Right Time

    The Right Heart Will Put You at the Right Place at the Right Time

    Luke 19:5-6(NLT) “5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” 6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He…

  • Work, Waiting, Want, and Will

    Work, Waiting, Want, and Will

    Ecclesiastes 11:4-5(NLT) tells us, “4 Farmers who wait for perfect weather never plant. If they watch every cloud, they never harvest. 5 Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all…

  • Learning Who We Are

    Learning Who We Are

    Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for making us complete in the Lord Jesus Christ. Through him, everything that we need You have supplied. Ephesians 1:3(NLT) says, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.”…

  • Tell Your Flesh to Stand Down

    Tell Your Flesh to Stand Down

    I watched an interview of an actress promoting her new movie. She had also recently celebrated her first wedding anniversary with her husband. She talked about how supportive her husband has been of her career, and that its one of the reasons she didn’t hesitate to say ‘yes’ when he asked her to marry him.…

  • Delight in God!

    Delight in God!

    Dear Heavenly Father, Just about everyone I know is rushing through their lives, trying to get to their promised land quicker. This journey through prayer and waiting isn’t the mammoth deliverance that You brought about through Moses in Old Testament times. All of us have mini versions of the Promised Land, and those versions are…

  • Jesus Christ Is Our Blueprint

    Jesus Christ Is Our Blueprint

    Dear Heavenly Father, You are holy, holy, holy. There is no other like You, and You alone are worthy of all praise, glory, and honor. Thank You for being our Heavenly Father, and for blessing us the way You have. Thank You for the finished work of Jesus Christ, our precious Lord and Savior. Because…

  • Speak the Truth About What You Want

    Speak the Truth About What You Want

     One of my sister-friends and I were talking on the phone the other day and I noticed she didn’t sound quite like herself, so I asked her what was wrong. She didn’t hesitate to reveal what was on her mind and heart. It was as if she had been waiting for someone to give her…

  • Is He the Blessing You’ve Prayed to Receive?

    Is He the Blessing You’ve Prayed to Receive?

    When I was a little girl, I got burned on my ankle, and it hurt something awful. It happened one hot summer day in August, right before I started first grade. My aunt was in the front room of my great grandmother’s house straightening her hair. I watched in awe as the smoke billowed up…

  • Stumbling in the Dark

    Stumbling in the Dark

    Over the summer, we had a pretty bad tropical storm that rolled through my area. It knocked down trees, power lines, and most of our state was without power for several days, almost a week. My family and I were blessed, because we were without power for only two days; it was challenging to say…

  • Jesus Christ Is the Answer!

    Jesus Christ Is the Answer!

    My daughter was talking to me the other day about a woman she met at work. The woman is new to the job and my daughter had to train her. They clicked right from the start. My daughter thinks her new co-worker is a quick learner, attractive, and very easy to talk to. They spoke…

  • Good Love Starts from Within

    Good Love Starts from Within

    A very good friend and sister-in-Christ told me one day, “When a man truly loves a woman, peace in the relationship will follow.”  I remember thinking to myself, “How in the world did she come to this realization?” At that time in my life, I wondered what she must have gone through in her own…

  • The Patience and Wisdom to Choose Well

    The Patience and Wisdom to Choose Well

    Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for the rich bounty of Your blessings. Every morning that we arise with the soundness of mind and the activity of our limbs, we are blessed beyond measure. We live to see another day and have the opportunity to give You the praise You so richly deserve. Ephesians 1:3-4(NLT) tells…

  • Masterpieces of God’s Love

    Masterpieces of God’s Love

    I haven’t seen my girlfriend since the pandemic began. She recently did some work on her home and wanted me to see it. Instead of stopping by for a visit, I asked her to send me pictures of the restorations. When I phoned to tell her how good everything looked, she said it wasn’t what…

  • When You Least Expect It

    When You Least Expect It

    One sunny summer day, my sisters’ and I had spent the afternoon shopping. Our hands were filled with bags as we were getting in our car. My oldest sister was driving and had just gotten behind the wheel. My middle sister, the most notable shopaholic among us, was finagling bags to try and open the…

  • The Key to Our Success

    The Key to Our Success

    Matthew 14:29(NLT) “And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.” When I was much younger, I thought I had a nice singing voice. I imagined myself going to an awards ceremony, walking up on stage and winning a Grammy or…

  • Well Worth the Wait

    Well Worth the Wait

    My children, like most I imagine, are very inquisitive little creatures. No matter where we go, I can always count on this one question, “Where are we going?” They ask it even before they can buckle their seatbelts and then ask it while I’m driving. If they think the destination is close, they’ll ask, “How…

  • Strongholds of Human Reasoning

    Strongholds of Human Reasoning

    This Fall will make it three years that Sharon and Greg have been dating, and they’ve planned a trip to the mountains to celebrate. Sharon hopes that Greg will propose. Before going away, she’s also planning a flight to visit her girlfriend in South Carolina who has recently divorced. Sharon really wants to be there…

  • On the Minds of Single Believers

    On the Minds of Single Believers

    Getting married is on the minds of many single believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we can be crystal clear that God’s promises are a sure thing. Psalm 145:19(NLT) tells us, “He grants the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cries for help and rescues them.” This is a tremendous source…

  • Lay the Foundation, Build on It, and Finish It!

    Lay the Foundation, Build on It, and Finish It!

    Many will probably agree that when it comes to priorities, after our relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, our relationship with our spouses is next in line. This is biblical and based on the order God has set. In the last few years I’ve heard and watched many couples talk about their struggles…