I have been viewing, reading and listening to the material found at http://ultimatehusband.com/
I can't recommend more the great insight and understanding I have received from this website, it underpins a lot of the truths which I have read from John Gottman's books on marriage but ultimate husband comes from a biblical point of view.
I think gaining an understanding and being able to feel what our spouses feel has to be the most powerful source to change in our lives. As a husband to the most amazing woman in the world, I am committed to changing my behaviours which don't respect my wife's feelings and emotions.
Though I have been married 26 years, this is very much a new experience for me and only now in my late forties am starting to truly recognise how insufficient I have been towards my own wife.
I pray that the latter half of my life be greater than the former as I pray yours also may be!!!
James
Thursday, 30 November 2017
Monday, 27 November 2017
Collateral Beauty
Can beauty come from grief or loss or even death? In the midst of our loss this is hard to imagine, yet this is precisely what Jesus was saying when he said for something to be born it must first fall to the ground. It must die in order to bring forth the life which is within it. 1 Peter says that within each of us is an incorruptible seed. This is the very seed of Jesus who first laid down his life for us and as Romans says became the "first born of many brothers". When we die to self and our own will we give that seed in us the opportunity to bring forth new life.
At the core of empathy is being able to feel as others feel. To feel what others feel however requires that we are able to put the feelings of others first or at least at the forefront of our own feelings. When I stood at the altar almost 27 years ago and pledged my true love to my wife, I was putting her in front or above me, and she in turn said she would do the same for me. At what point do we cease to do this? At what point does God cease to do this for us? God's love today has not and will not cease for His creation, the power of the cross and all it represents continues to remind us of God's unwavering and unfailing love for us.
So, can beauty come from grief? Yes it can as we choose God's will over our own. By putting others first we are choosing the way of the cross and God's own will and desire for creation. I believe if we are able to demonstrate this to everyone around us then we will truly know the will of God. I know there have been times in my life that I have not done this, when I was focused on my own circumstances instead of those around me. This I think is the carnal or corrupted man trying to reveal itself again. Whilst I am alive I choose to learn, I choose to be a disciple of Christ!
God Bless you
At the core of empathy is being able to feel as others feel. To feel what others feel however requires that we are able to put the feelings of others first or at least at the forefront of our own feelings. When I stood at the altar almost 27 years ago and pledged my true love to my wife, I was putting her in front or above me, and she in turn said she would do the same for me. At what point do we cease to do this? At what point does God cease to do this for us? God's love today has not and will not cease for His creation, the power of the cross and all it represents continues to remind us of God's unwavering and unfailing love for us.
So, can beauty come from grief? Yes it can as we choose God's will over our own. By putting others first we are choosing the way of the cross and God's own will and desire for creation. I believe if we are able to demonstrate this to everyone around us then we will truly know the will of God. I know there have been times in my life that I have not done this, when I was focused on my own circumstances instead of those around me. This I think is the carnal or corrupted man trying to reveal itself again. Whilst I am alive I choose to learn, I choose to be a disciple of Christ!
God Bless you
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)