In order to gain a little more freedom and creativity, I've moved to WordPress.
Please redirect your bookmark here: http://coffeencaramel.wordpress.com
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Monday, August 29, 2011
31 Days to Build a Better Spouse
One of the things that really struck me was the very first paragraph of Day 1 {emphasis is mine}:
As I began praying for my own husband a couple years ago, I honestly didn't understand why God kept pointing all my prayers back to myself. It took me a while to figure out that God was going to change my heart in preparation of changing my husband's, but I'm so glad he did. It's a wonderful thing to know that Manny and I are on the same page in how to manage our household and raise our boys. I know this would not be the case if God had changed him without changing me first!
Before I can begin to ask God to change my spouse – to pray for his godly character to be developed and matured – I must be willing to be changed myself. I must humble myself before God, submitting to His sovereign will, and allow Him to use my prayers to change my own heart.
Pichea, Ashley. 31 Days to Build a Better Spouse (Kindle Locations 134-136).
Each day starts with a short quote or song lyrics that are relevant to the daily topic. Good, solid advice is then interspersed with and backed up by scripture. The day's reading wraps up with a brief prayer to get you started. From salvation to strength, and humility to respect, I honestly think Ashley includes all the topics that we would normally thing of to pray over our spouse, and a few we probably don't.
31 Days to Build a Better Spouse touches on all the characteristics God wants us to have. Characteristics that, with His leading, will help us become a person after His own heart.
I really enjoyed the topic of Obedience:
It is not enough to know what the Bible says – we must also allow it to change how we live.
Pichea, Ashley. 31 Days to Build a Better Spouse (Kindle Location 559).
How true this is!
Folks, we can talk and talk and pray a thousand times a day, but if we aren't modeling Godly behavior in our own life, what incentive is there for our spouse to be obedient to God's will for his or her life?
I have really enjoyed my time with this book and look forward to being able to go back and read it through one day at a time when I can focus on each prayer topic daily. In fact, I'm going to share my book with my husband and ask him to pray these prayers over me as I pray them over him.
This is a great book and I highly recommend it for anyone with a spouse or spouse-to-be, regardless of gender. So go get your own copy and start praying!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
