Weekend Devo—Do You Believe in Miracles?

In the vein of Lynn's wonderful Donovan Chronicles, I have a funny story for you about the Miller Clan. The other night my family and I tried out a new Chinese restaurant—new to us. I'm always looking for good Chinese food, which I seem unable to find in my neck of the woods. Doesn't make sense since we live in Silicon Valley, but I think it's more about that I grew up on the East coast and Chinese food is different there. We called those soft fried noodles Lo Mein. Here they call them Chow Mein. And the best sauce for egg rolls—Duck Sauce—you rarely find it.

Anyway, we checked out this restaurant and enjoyed our meal. (Thumbs up!) With our bill we got our traditional fortune cookies. Always a good laugh to see what these silly pieces of paper say, but I will tell you God has used a couple of these in the past to show His sense of humor and give a small affirmation. God can use anything!

My husband opened his, then chuckling, holds it out for me to read. "You will soon witness a miracle."

I totally forgot I was in the middle of a restaurant and laughed out loud (a big guffaw!), snatching the fortune and declaring my plans to blog about it—about how my atheist husband got a fortune about miracles. I love God's sense of humor.

The story gets even better. Yesterday's Air 1 verse of the day was this:

"Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles he performs for people!" ~ Psalm 66:5, NLT.

God has this way of using stuff like this to let me know He's up to something, and it usually comes in threes so I'm waiting for the third one. (grin)

In the meantime, I know God is working in my hubby's life in ways I've yet to see. All I can say is, "Bring it on, Lord!"

Praying and believing,
Dineen

Hey, Help Us Out

Hi Everyone,

My friends I hope you can help me out with two things.

1) Next week Dineen and her daughter will be visiting the Donovan Clan home once more. Lord have mercy on poor Dineen. She has to put up with my zaniness. Anyhoo, we will be taping our show, The Intentional Marriage, while she is here. 

We LOVE to answer questions from all of you. So, please today, ask us anything. Write your questions in the comments and we will answer them next Friday on our show. The last time we did this you all provided some fantastic questions. I'm wondering if you have questions about raising children, how to defend your faith, how you deal with other Christians who are well meaning yet don't understand what you are really dealing with. Okay, now it's your turn. Ask away and make them hard. *grin*

2) Dineen and I will have a book signing in the Temecula area next Saturday. Oh please, if you are anywhere near us, please stop in. We have prizes and treats and would love to hug your neck and get a photo.

Also, Dineen and I have been discussing a few topics which we are feeling led to write about beginning in May. Who wants to really understand "The Genesis Woman?" Also, I'm toying with some thoughts on how you can turn a bad day into a good day and uplift your soul. All kinds of stuff ahead.

Finally, I have been deeply touched by the emails and comments that arrived this past week from our single readers who are trying to live out their faith in the wild world of dating. Wow, do I ever esteem them and praise their efforts to submit to the Lord's teaching. I am thinking of writing more on that subject. Doing some research on it now.

LOTS ahead. So join the community. Leave a comment and let's really work out somethings in our lives. To bring us peace and joy. To bring salvation to unsaved spouses and mostly TO HONOR THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

Hugs, Lynn

Thankful Thursday - Hope

I'm so excited that Thankful Thursday is back here at Spiritually Unequal Marriage for the month of April. I put up my TT posts around 5:oo PM PT on Wednesday so the gals who live on the other side of the world, can join the fun while it's still Thursday where they live.

In April we meet here at Spiritually Unequal Marriage in May we are over at Laurie's, Women Taking A Stand and June at Iris', Grace Alone.

At Home With The Donovan Clan:

Several days ago I stood in the bathroom working my usual routine, blow dryer, make up, hair spray, hair spray and ……. more hair spray. (I heart BIG hair -- Loved the ‘80s) Okay, I’m dating myself here.

My husband, at the time, was also working through his morning ritual. Please join in on our conversation.

“Yes, you do snore.”

"I DO NOT snore,” I replied resolute in my voice. *I grin*

Now you have to understand this conversation. My husband can snore with the best of ‘em. One time he snored so loud while on a business trip, the guy next door checked out and move down the hall. Yep. Ahem. Sorry Honey, probably didn’t want me to share that tidbit of info with the world. Moving along…..

“You are the one who snores loudly, “ I quip back.

He looks into my eyes through the reflection of the mirror, grinning as if he knows a telling secret of mine, “You do to….. snore. I heard you last night.”

Not to be outdone, I stubbornly reply with a telling grin across my face, “I reject that lie,” as I begin to giggle knowing I am about to be had.

My husband turns, faces me squarely, and pronounces, “You snore. That’s the truth and the truth will set you free.”

I look at him stunned for a split second then I bust out laughing as my man quotes scripture at me. I start laughing so hard my stomach hurts. I reach up and give him a high five, “Honey, are you speaking scripture?” I giggle and hoot. “Dude, I’m impressed. There is hope for you yet.”

He’s laughing. I’m laughing. All is right with the world.

We went on with our morning routine with joy in our hearts and a giggle in our step.

As I recall this silly exchange and now share it with all of you, there is a smile resting upon my lips. My man is a fun guy but you know what really makes me smile?

Somehow, he is hearing the truth of scripture.

Someway God is sticking it in his brain.

Someday that scripture will become more than a funny retort in our morning habit.  

Something will happen to cause my man to surrender to Jesus.

I have hope.

I have a GREAT BIG hope that all the years of praying and loving this man, none are wasted. I have hope that the Bible verses that sometimes escape my lips in everyday and ordinary conversation are landing squarely where Jesus wants them to land, on his heart. I have hope that Jesus always hears my prayers for my husband’s salvation.

I have hope.

A GREAT BIG God sized hope.

I serve the Creator of the Universe. He is my hope. He is my joy. He is my laughter. He is optimism for today, tomorrow, and my eternity. He is my hope over my past, my sins, my mistakes, my failures. He redeems it all and then uses it all to reflect just how powerful and how fully loving He really is.

I have a hope that transcends understanding and it makes me smile.

It has been a great privilege to host Thankful Thursday this month. I love all of you. I can’t wait to read your posts on HOPE. Love and hugs, Lynn

PS. Sometimes I DO snore, but only very quietly. Don’t tell. *grin.*

 

Let's Not Fool Ourselves

 

Yesterday, Lynn wrote a great post about Missionary Dating at the Internet Cafe. She and I have talked about this frequently because we want to be clear that walking willingly into a mismatched marriage is not God's will for our lives.

So I'd like to add to this topic from the sense of the heart and spirit. Here at S.U.M. we talk about our struggles in our mismatched marriages and how to trust God to help us thrive in them. But today I want to talk to those who are knowingly dating or considering dating and unbeliever. Here are some things I truly want you to think about.

• If you are reading this blog, you are more than likely pursuing a relationship with Jesus. Your faith is important to you. And you’ve probably experienced that unspoken connection to other believers that is so unique to the body of Christ. You can't share that kind of connection with an unbeliever. You can't share the essence of who you are with that person because they just won't get it. Maybe this doesn't sound like a big deal to you right now, but it will be.
  
  Right from the Garden of Eden God intended for us to have this connection, for the two to become one. One in spirit. We can't be one in spirit with a person who isn't a believer. This is our greatest heartbreak in a mismatched marriage. We cannot share the very core of who we are with that person.
  
  
• Think ahead. Imagine that you wind up marrying this person, thinking he or she will surely come to faith at some point. Are you willing to wait 10, 20, or 30 years? Are you willing to deal with the constant struggle and prayer for this person to come to faith even if it doesn't happen until the very end of their life? Or not at all? Can you live with that possibility?
  
  This may seem harsh but it is a reality we deal with in a mismatched marriage. We have a role to play to be a sacred influence to our unbelieving spouse but it's not easy. As women we do not have a spiritual leader to walk with and have his protection over us. We are a lone warrior fighting against the enemy's persistent determination to keep our unbelieving spouse from coming to know Jesus. We fight every day.
  
  
• Think ahead even more. Do you want children? If so, then you want them to know Jesus and have an eternity secure with Him. What if your spouse is opposed to you taking them to church? Opposed to you sharing your faith with them because they feel it's all misconceptions or not even true? Children bring a whole new dynamic to a marriage. Children change perspectives and priorities. Often for women, children bring us back to a fervent faith in our desire to raise our children to know God. That's not the case with an unbelieving spouse and they may very well oppose you, especially if they are of another faith and belief system.
  
  
• Don’t even go there. Maybe you think you can “lightly date,” but don’t fool yourself. We’ve heard in movies that the heart chooses whom it will love. Well, that’s partly true. Love is a choice, but why put yourself in a position where you may fall in love with an unbeliever? That will only cause you and that other person unnecessary pain. Spend time with friends. Save dating for it’s true intent—to get to know someone you’d like to get to know better in the sense of building a love relationship with the goal of marriage. Don’t let yourself get sideswiped by your heart or the enemy.

My intention here is not to make anyone feel condemned but to bring out the truth. For those of us walking the path of being spiritually mismatched, we do experience God's power working in our lives and marriages. Our situations have forced us in many ways to be more intentional about our faith and our marriages. We work hard to make our marriages work.

But it is not a path we would recommend you take. Quite the opposite because we know intimately the heartache and that obedience to God is best path, no matter what decision we face. We know this because that means we are following God's will and His will is always best. Always.

So if you are in this place, not married to an unbeliever but dating or even considering marrying one, step back. Pray. Seek God honestly about what you are doing. Be willing to do whatever He asks you to do because you know that His plan for you is always for good (Rom. 8:28). Trust Him with your future.

Praying and believing,
Dineen

Missionary Dating?

So...... I must live under a rock at times.

I was listening to the radio a few days ago and the radio host threw out the term, missionary dating.

Read more at the Inernet Cafe, Marriage Counter, today.

 

Feel the Passion- He is Risen Just as He said

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.

While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 

He is not here; he has risen!

     He comes on His terms, not ours.

         Will you accept what He asks of you..... 

The Tomb

Saturday:

Jesus body was int he tomb during the Sabbath, and the Pharisees hired Roman guards to keep watch of the tomb.

The Tomb. Was it really empty?

 

The Via Dolorosa

The Via Dolorosa (Latin for Way of Grief or Way of Suffering)

Friday

Early in the morning, Jesus was tried by the Sanhedrin, Pilate, Herod Antipas, and Pilate again. He was led to the cross and crucified at 9:00 a.m. and died at 3:00 p.m. and was buried later that day. Christ the Paschal Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7) died at the time when the Israelites were sacrificing their Passover lambs.

(Video is graphic but with truly remind us what Jesus suffered for our redemption

It's difficult to watch this let alone think Jesus walked this road for you..... for me....

The Last Supper ~The Passover

Each day between now and Easter Sunday I will post a Chronological Look at the Passion Week. Remember to stop in here every morning, pause for five minutes, and think upon what is happening on this particular day nearly two thousand years ago. Reflect, pray, get out your Bible, and then add your thoughts here in the comments. 

Look up scripture verses and share them. Write your prayers. Let’s bring to life again the week of Easter and thank Jesus for the most profound event to ever take place. His death and resurrection, which is the reason we have hope and a life.

Let’s get started:

Thursday

Jesus and His disciples prepared the Passover lamb, and they had their Passover meal in the Upper Room. Jesus shared powerful truth with His disciples and offered and intercessory prayer in their behalf. They arrived at the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus suffered in agony waiting what was to come. Later that night Jesus was betrayed and arrested. He was tried first by Annas and later by Caiaphas and other religious leaders.

What would it be like to sit in this room? To share this meal? To try to comprehend all the Jesus was sharing?

Whoa. I'm undone?

It's dark in the garden...... It's Thursday, but Sunday's comin'.

Wednesday ~

Each day between now and Easter Sunday I will post a Chronological Look at the Passion Week. Remember to stop in here every morning, pause for five minutes, and think upon what is happening on this particular day nearly two thousand years ago. Reflect, pray, get out your Bible, and then add your thoughts here in the comments. 

Look up scripture verses and share them. Write your prayers. Let’s bring to life again the week of Easter and thank Jesus for the most profound event to ever take place. His death and resurrection, which is the reason we have hope and a life.

Let’s get started:

Wednesday

On the way to Jerusalem, the disciples saw the withered fig tree. At the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus' authority and wisdom was questioned by some religious leaders. That afternoon Jesus went to the Mount of Olives and delivered the Olivet Discourse. Two additional things occurred on that day: (1) Jesus predicted that in two days He would be crucified at the time of the Passover; and (2) Judas planned the betrayal of Christ with some religious leaders.

I'm fascinated by the mention and remention of the fig tree. After all the miracles recorded and witnessed by the disciples, why does the fig tree stand out to them and why is it referenced so prominently? 

It's Wednesday and in two days he will be crucified..... It's Wednesday but Sunday's comin'.

Thoughts? Lynn