Purpose Driven Marriage?
This Week’s Quick Hits:
Let’s kick off this last month of 2021 with some December Trivia!
Answers below
Which soft drink was served for the first time on December 1, 1835?
Which historic battle commenced on December 16, 1944?
Where were five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers comprising Flight 19 lost on December 5, 1945?
What other soft drink was invented on December 30, 1851?
What famous female singer was born on December 2, 1981?
One Fact:
The US has a number of Christmas-related month-long observances, with the most important being National EggNog Month, National Fruit Cake Month, and National Impaired Driving Prevention Month!
Simple Ways to Connect With Your Wife
Read:
The Judge’s List by John Grisham
John Grisham’s first novel, A Time To Kill, is still my all time favorite, but I really like the fictional character Lacy Stolz, who Grisham introduced to us in his previous book, The Whistler. Lacy works for the Florida Board of Judicial Conduct and one of her judges comes under suspicion when accused of a 20 year old murder by a mysterious woman. The book is a page turner and Grisham’s first venture into the world of a serial killer. In all of his books, Grisham is a master storyteller.
Listen:
The questions for this episode came from our recent poll on Instagram. We asked for your questions and you gave them to us! We will talk about frequency, sex drive, talking to your kids about sex, whether anything is not okay for a Christian couple in their sex life, and more! Don’t miss this one!
Watch:
Most of us have the tendency to fight the differences we see in our spouse, which does nothing to enhance our marriage. What if we took the time to look at things from our spouse’s perspective? How could that make a difference? That’s what I am talking about on this week's vlog. Join me on the Awesome Marriage Youtube Channel.
Streaming:
This is the fourth in a four-part series where I share the four pastors I listen to each week. Pastors Craig Groechel, Matt Chandler and Levi Lusko were my first three. Today Pastor Dylan Dodson joins my list. Dylan is the pastor of New City Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. Dylan is a good friend and I love all that is going on at New City. In his messages, Dylan is open, transparent and insightful. His messages are powerful and kingdom driven. Dylan and Christina have two great children, Finley and Roman. Here is a link to Dylan’s latest message.
Insights:
Purpose Driven Marriage?
There are lots of books that you can read, podcasts you can listen to, and videos that you can watch to help you find your purpose in life. These can also help you look at your purpose from a number of different angles. It could be purpose in your career or purpose in your relationship with God or purpose in something else. Almost twenty years since it was first published, The Purpose Driven Life, by Pastor Rick Warren, continues to be a standard for people trying to understand their purpose in life.
I think the bottom line is that each of us really do want our life to count. We want to make a difference, whether in our family or the world. As Christians we believe God put us here for a reason and we want to know that purpose in order to begin fulfilling it.
So if we believe God has a purpose for each of our lives, can we take that a step further and say that God has a purpose for our marriage? What if we borrowed that idea from Pastor Rick Warren and said that each couple that God has put together can have a “purpose driven marriage?” Think about it. What would that mean to you and your spouse? If the most important relationship in this life is our relationship with Christ and the number two relationship in this life is with our spouse, don’t you think God might have a purpose for your marriage?
I don’t have all the answers to this one. It’s just a thought in my mind but one that intrigues me. Actually, I would like your input as we pursue a “purpose driven marriage.” As I look at our marriage, I see that it has served many purposes over the years. Some of them benefitted us and some benefited others.
Some examples of “purpose” that have benefitted us - companions, friends, lovers, confidants, partners, supporters. Then there are some that have benefited others. First our children as we joined together with purpose to raise them in the way we believed God wanted us too. Then God has brought couples into our lives for us to mentor. This is always humbling and Nancy and I feel we get much more than we give, but God has given us incredible opportunities to pour into others marriages. I also believe God has a purpose for us today as we share with others what we see as His plan for marriage.
I hope by now some thoughts are running through your mind. Think about these questions.
What is the purpose of your marriage today?
What has been the purpose in the past?
What might it be in the future?
As Christian couples, I believe we have purpose and if we do then one of the greatest gifts in marriage would be discovering it together and then with God’s help living it out.
I would love your input on this. What do you see as your purpose? Has God given you different purposes in different stages of your marriage? Are you stuck and just cannot find what that purpose is? What are your thoughts and ideas? Can we define a “purpose driven marriage?”
Now it's your turn!
Try it this week:
A Next Step:
What is the purpose of your marriage today?
What has been the purpose in the past?
What might it be in the future?
December Trivia Answers
Dr. Pepper
Battle of the Bulge
Bermuda Triangle
Coca Cola
Brittany Spears
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