MARRIAGE BOOT CAMP

"This know also, that in the last days periolous times shall come, for men will be lovers of their own selves...lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God." II Tim. 3: 1-2, 4 KJV


I think someone needs to start a Marriage Boot Camp! I have just heard of another marriage that is headed for divorce court because the woman was tired of being married....tied down.

What was she thinking marriage was going to be? I can tell you...a Hollywood version of what it REALLY is! She was expecting moonlight and roses, looking into each others' eyes over a candlelight dinner, dancing in each other's arms every night to "I'll Always Love You", passionate romance and a husband who looked like he stepped out of a magazine ad for Calvin Klein. Instead she got a reality show called "A DAY IN THE LIFE OF MARRIED COUPLE"....alarms going off at 5 am, husband looking scruffy with morning breath, breakfast to prepare, lunches to pack, garbage to gather, litter boxes to clean out, grocery shopping to do, meals to be cooked after a long day at work, laundry that is never ending, errands to run, constant exhaustion, too much month at the end of the paycheck, bills that never stop, and that is all before a baby comes on the scene!!

That is why I think couples should have to go through marriage boot camp. They should have to go somewhere for 6 months and without consumating a marriage, they should have to be forced to deal with all the demands a normal couple would undergo. They should be given a certain amount of money (which by the way is never enough), and with it should have to pay an imaginary house note, car notes, and bills that a normal couple would encounter. Then just when they think they have the hang of it, they should be thrown a curve with one of them losing their job, cutting their pay in half. They should have things break, someone get sick or some other common stress that married couples face. There should not be much money for going out to eat, clothes or other luxuries. Then, before they pass the course, they should be given kids. Just a couple (not their own, of course, but I'm sure they could find a few people who would gladly farm theirs out for a few days) for long enough for them to experience what it's like to never have a moment of privacy and to know what it's like to walk the floor with a colicky baby or clean poop from multiple services before you've had your morning coffee.

Yep, a good dose of reality might just reduce the number of cases of divorces and couples who are ready to throw in the towel before it's hardly had time to get wet.

Marriage is a commitment. I just don't think most of those heading to the altar these days get that. It's not just something a woman cooked up so she can play bride and plan a wedding. It is meant to be for life...'til death do us part'. It does NOT mean that if you get tired of your spouse or if life gets hard or if it's not turning out as you imagined that you can bail. It means that you stick it out, you work at it TOGETHER, that you esteem the other greater than yourself and most important of all, you depend on the only One who can hold your marriage together...the Lord!

A CHOICE

I Will Do Something New

Melanie Chitwood

“Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past. Behold I will do something new, now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.’” Isaiah 43:18-19 (NAS)

Devotion:

Several years after a friend weathered a huge storm in her marriage, I asked her, “How do you not remember and not get angry all over again when you’re reminded of the hurt your husband caused you?”

Her answer was simple but not easy: “I choose to believe that God loves me, my husband, and my children. And I choose to trust God.”

The key word here is “choose.” Today’s key verse in Isaiah is also about choosing. In our marriages, we can choose to remember the hurtful times, or we can choose not “to call to mind the former things.”

Let’s look at some real-life examples where we can chose to look ahead rather than behind:

I can choose…

to forgive my husband for forgetting my birthday.
not to repeat in my mind the hurtful words my husband said in the heat of an argument.
to appreciate my husband for what he does now, rather than wishing he’d send me flowers like he did in the beginning of our marriage.
to be merciful and gracious when my husband loses money in an unwise investment.
not to hold grudges.
to forgive my husband for unfaithfulness.
not to wonder if I married the right man.

We can make choices like these every day in our marriages, and as we do, I believe we will see God do something new and miraculous in our marriages. After all, He’s the God who makes a “roadway in the wilderness” and “rivers in the desert” as our verse says.

I saw my friend choose to trust God during the storm in her marriage. Then, over and over again, I’ve seen her choose to look ahead to the new things God promises to do in her marriage, rather than dwell on the hurts of the past.

I’m inspired by my friend’s ability to rejoice over the new life God brought to her marriage. As our conversation concluded she said, “What we went through was absolutely heartbreaking, but I prayed to see it through God’s eyes. I believe that God can make all things new, that God can work all things to our good if we believe in Him. God transformed our marriage as I rested in Him and trusted Him.”

Dear Lord, I rejoice that You make all things new! Lord, You can even raise a dead marriage to new life. Lord, I choose to look ahead not behind in my marriage. I choose not to call to mind hurt from the past. I can’t wait to see what good things You bring to my marriage as I trust and obey You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Related Resources:
Do You Know Him?

Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas

What a Husband Needs from His Wife by Melanie Chitwood

Listen to P31 Radio Show

Application Steps:
Right now, what hurt or anger can you leave behind so God can do something new in your marriage? Pray now, confessing to God that you’ve been holding on to hurts of the past, and ask Him to begin a new work in your marriage.

FIREPROOF

When Sherwood Baptist Church decided to reach their Georgia community by making a movie, they never dreamed the direction that God would end up taking them! They made a movie, entitled FLYWHEEL for less than $20,000 and it so impacted their community and others who saw it, that they decided to invest a little more and do a little higher quality movie. Hence the production of FACING THE GIANTS, which was an immediate hit at the box office. Finally, a Christian movie that depicted real people, in real life situations, handling things according to the Word of God! How refreshing!

Now their latest production is being released with quite a bit of fanfare tomorrow night....FIREPROOF, the latest in Sherwood's productions features former Growing Pains actor, Kirk Cameron and is sure to be not only a hit, but a means that God will use to transform the lives of many families across this country! It is one you do NOT want to miss.

I hope you will take the time to read the information below on this movie. You will find it an added blessing as you watch the movie and be sure to tell a friend or co-worker about it today. Urge them to see it, or....better yet....take them with you! May God bless you as you go to see it and may God bless Sherwood Baptist Church and all who were involved in bringing us this Christ-honoring movie!!!!!!!!!!!


Behind the scenes of 'Fireproof'
OneNewsNow - 9/25/2008 9:00:00 AM

Interested in knowing some of the "behind the scenes" stories surrounding the making of Fireproof, the latest movie from Sherwood Pictures? Interviews with Alex and Stephen Kendrick, actors Kirk Cameron and Erin Bethea, even the head makeup artist -- and stories about how God showed up numerous times in the making of the film, which opens in theaters on Friday, September 26.

Behind the scenes of Fireproof, Take 1

Behind the scenes of Fireproof, Take 2

Look for our review of Fireproof on Friday, Sept. 26