Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places
This Week’s Quick Hits:
With 2020 in our rear view mirror, COVID was not the only thing that happened that year. Can you answer these five 2020 pop culture questions?
Who performed at the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show?
Two senior members of the English Royal Family announced that they wished to become financially independent and step back from life in “The Firm.” Who were they?
What film won Best Picture and was also the first foreign language film to win this award?
What recording star won song of the year, album of the year, and best new artist at the Grammys?
What former politician was unmasked on “The Masked Singer” TV show?
Bonus Question: According to the UN, there are 195 countries in the world, but only 10 of them have four letters. Can you name them?!
Is it Selfish to Have Boundaries in Your Marriage?
Listen:
“5 Money Mistakes Couples Make”
Money and finances seem to be an issue for every couple at some time in their marriage. Join Lindsay and me as we look at common mistakes couples make with their money.
Watch:
“Best Friends or Best Enemies?”
Have you ever been jealous of your spouse’s success? Sometimes it is difficult to stand in the shadows when your spouse is in the spotlight. Yet part of being a team is rejoicing with each other’s success. Join me in this week’s vlog as I look at how to stay best friends throughout your marriage.
YouVersion:
We have a brand new YouVersion plan!
What is the best thing you can do for your marriage? Prayer. God is the only one who can ultimately change your hearts and your marriage for the better. Inviting Him to do those things is the best thing you can do for your marriage. Join us as we pray over five areas of your home!
Insights:
Looking For Love in All the Wrong Places
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 2:2
In 2017, about 50% of adults living in the United States were married. The all-time high was 72% in 1960.
Couples who marry today are most likely to get divorced in the first two years of their marriage or in years five through eight.
73% percent of divorced couples say lack of commitment was a contributing factor.
Baby Boomers are now the age group most likely to divorce.
Those four statistics paint this picture of marriage: Fewer people are marrying. Of those who do marry, a lot of them never make it to their second anniversary. A huge number of couples divorce because the commitment they had on day one somehow vanished. Finally, the group who gave birth to our Gen X population and were their model of marriage are now calling it quits.
Statistics reflect our culture, and those statistics tell us that marriage is a mess. Every couple that stands at an altar exchanging vows thinks they will be different. Their marriage will go the distance. Their love will never fade. Yet what they think will happen and what really happens is often different. Many of them will one day just be another one of those divorce statistics. Some much sooner than others.
I have looked at marriage statistics for years. I’m an optimistic person so I always hope that the new year will give us some encouraging statistics that marriage is getting better. In some ways it has. There are fewer divorces today than in years past, but there are also fewer marriages. Looking for encouraging information about marriage is like looking for a Babe Ruth rookie baseball card. There are some out there but most of us will never get our hands on one.
As I counsel couples and watch the marriage culture where I live, I have lots of questions. Why do some couples have awesome marriages while others have train wreck marriages? Did all of the people in train wreck marriages marry the wrong person? Did they just get tired of each other? When their marriage did not meet their expectations, did they begin looking for someone or something else that would?
As we begin this new series, think about your marriage. Are you positive about your marriage? If not, what needs to change? What is your role in effecting the change?
God designed marriage to meet certain needs in our lives. When we begin looking for those needs to be met outside of our marriage, we get in trouble. One of the keys to an awesome marriage is turning toward your marriage and not away from it. Turning in may be difficult but the outcome can be everything you dreamed of!
Next Steps:
How positive are you about your marriage? Use a 1 to 10 scale with 10 being the best.
What is one thing you can begin doing today to turn toward your marriage?
Answers Trivia:
Jennifer Lopez, Shakira
Prince Henry and Meghan Markle
Parasite
Billie Eilish
Sarah Palin
Bonus: Chad, Cuba, Fiji, Iran, Iraq, Laos, Mali, Oman, Peru, Togo