SUMites:

I’ve become a tech-no-nerd! And not because I want to be one. But this past week I’ve coded websites, downloaded and uploaded files, set designs and created artwork. I’ve migrated mailing lists paid for new web services, transferred domain names and am preparing our multiple websites to be mobile friendly…. just to name a few of the many tasks.

I’m telling you this because some things may look a little different. Some things may not be working exactly right. So, here is what I hope happens.

All of you who are receiving email blog posts, we changed providers because our last provider was including offensive ads. So, today, you should receive blog posts via Mailchip. If you want to receive our posts via email, sign up in the sidebar --->.

I’ve redesigned and transferred our existing sites, Winning Him Without Words and Mismatched & Thriving Ministries to our main host, Typepad. I’ve made both sites mobile friendly. (The links are previews, sites go live next week.)

We’ve changed our commenting service. You can join the host, Disqus by signing up or post with them as a guest. Register in the sidebar --->.

If you have problems, email me. Email link is in the sidebar under the search feature --->.

Thanks for your patience. I will be working on the SUM mobile friendly redesign in the next two weeks, so if you pop in and things are wonky, be patient. And for those of you who want to give $5 toward our web expenses, click on the; If you love SUM button in the sidebar --->.

At the end of the day, I hope all of our sites are beautiful, functional across all devices and that you continue to be blessed by the love and support of our amazing community.

Dineen & I love you deeply. Thank you for trusting us with your hearts and your time. Hugs, a frazzled techy, nerdy, Lynn

Greetings SUMites. I hope you’re having a beautiful Christmas season filled with love and holiness. Today I have a special treat for you. What you’re about to read below was sent to me by a fellow SUMites, Cindy. This email arrived in my inbox on Saturday. However, I didn’t get to read it until late Sunday evening. I was utterly moved by this story, and by Cindy, and by watching her share the love of God. 

I pray you are moved to outrageous and generous acts of loving kindness for other people. Hugs, Lynn

Connecting with Someone Who Just Needed a Little Help.
By: Cindy Martina (Fellow SUMite) 

While volunteering to feed the homeless a meal in Santa Ana, CA recently, the Lord moved me to help a man. I was serving punch when he came through the line. I noticed he was limping. When he came back for seconds, I asked him if he was okay. Tears started to fall and he said he had been hit by a car. 

I said, “Oh my goodness,” and I offered to pray for him. 

He said, “Thanks.” 

The next 20 minutes or were so very busy, finishing serving and then cleaning up that I was not thinking about him at all. However, when I went to my car to leave I saw him sitting on the curb. Seeing him there, I felt the “nudge” from God. I stopped my car, walked over to him and asked how I could help him. 

He began to cry. 

I was so moved (Holy Spirit ~ NO doubt) by this man. I offered my phone, but he had no one to call. Forgoing my plans to visit a friend, I sat down next to him and we tried to find him a place to spend the night. He had come to California with a carnival which had shut down. He stayed in a motel till his money ran out. He had been on the streets for three nights. All he owned had been stolen. I asked him if he drank. He said no. I asked him if he did drugs. He said no, he was Muslim. 

I hope and believe that I reacted like Jesus would have. I loved him. I drove him to the Salvation Army shelter, about four miles away. I prayed for him, in Jesus’ name, and praise God, when 3:30p.m. rolled around, he was able to get a bed. 

Two days later the Lord led me to offer to buy him a bus ticket home. When I offered this to him on the phone, he was overcome with gratitude. The next day I picked him up from the shelter, drove him to Greyhound and bought his one way ticket to Ft. Worth. I gave him plenty of reading material… Biblical articles comparing Christianity to Islam. A New Testament and some other little Christian booklets. I was able to tell him, in all sincerity, that God loves him, is pursuing him, and that God has a plan for his life. Then I sent him on his way with a prayer, a couple of hugs, and tears from both of us. 

I cannot put into words the blessing this whole experience was for me. I am just eternally grateful that God gave me this opportunity to be Jesus’ Hands and Feet. For one person. One person that I pray for daily and that I can’t wait to see again someday. And I expect to hear about all the marvelous works that God will do through his life.

Cindy <><

"...For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord..." ~Luke 2:11 (NKJV)

Good Monday Morning Sumites,  (This is a Community Miracle of the #SUMite Nation)

I have been praying to have the heart of God for a few months now. And as we move into the month of December, I feel God asking this community to LIVE THE GOSPEL. 

How do we do that? How do we impact people around us with the Gospel? 

The answer: WE LOVE

How do we love? 

Answer: GENEROUSLY

The video below is Todd White sharing his love with strangers. If you have ever watched the movie, Father of Lights, Todd appears in the last scene and it's a Holy Mind Blow.

This video is roughly 15 minutes long but it will inspire you to lavish love and give it generously. Take the time to listen and be inspired. 

You may say to yourself, I'm unable to be generous like Todd. How can I give like that? Well, my friends, give what you can. Be outrageously generous with what you have.

I have an experiment to offer you this December. See this photo?

Well, how about if each of us put a $1 or $5 or even $10 in a plastic ziplock bag. Include a blank sticky note and put at least 3-5 of these prepared bags in your purse or wallet. And then ask God to bring about an opportunity to share. Then leave a note taped somewhere, hand someone the ziplock with the money, or buy someone a coffee, pay for their groceries.

I did this once. I saw a women who I knew from church. Her and her husband were both unemployed. She was in the checkout lane at Walmart with her mother. They were counting change and looking for more money in their purses. I walked up, swiped my card in front of their astonished faces. They cried, I cried, the Walmart employee stood speechless as she watched.

or just ...... Allow God to direct you. I will make a bold promise. God will reward you and this Christmas will be the Best Christmas you have ever had.

I'm headed to Virginia on Wednesday. I'm loading my purse with prepared ziplocks and I plan to be generous. Sometimes anonymously but I'm hoping to love on someone in person to share "the Gospel" of love and generosity with strangers. 

God is a generous God. He lavishes his love and provision upon His children. The more we give the more He will give us..... And the more we give. The more He gives. What a fun and cool plan. I LOVE God's ways!!

Let's meet up here again in few weeks and share photos, experiences. But let's share how we loved God' and His people by our generosity. Email me your stories and photos of where you left bags. 

Please email me.

Are you up for this? Because those who dare to participate in this love experience will be the ones God blesses generously.

Here is my sticky note. I hope people will visit our #SUMiteNation on Facebook and Twitter to find out what it's all about. 

I love you. God is generous and wants you to experience the joy and miracles that happen when we love others with His generous and outrageous love. And people are so open to the love of God during this time of year. Hugs, Lynn

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Where We Discover The Power For Our Lives

Hello Everyone,

Now that we have finished our series, Out-Love Your Spouse, Dineen and I will return to random posting. I am always surprised that God leads me to new discoveries and allows me to experience His unending love, grace and adventure and more amazing is I get to share them with you. So stay tuned as we adventure through the Holiday months of November and December. We have some great stuff coming up.

Soon, I will be sharing a video I recorded with a friend of mine that address a serious topic, childhood sexual abuse. This interview is not about the abuse but about how God has worked through this woman. And it all came about when she went to report for Jury Duty. You don't want to miss it. 

HALLOWEEN - What Do We Do With Halloween?  Link to the post I wrote last year.

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On another holiday note....

I also want to collect some of your stories to share in later in the holiday season. 

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS ~ GIFTING MY GRATITUDE  

I share one of my random acts of kindness stories here, Gifting My Gratitude. If you have initiated, been the recipient of, or have witnessed one of these amazing displays of love, click here and share your story (This is our contact page at Winning Him Without Words). I find these are some of the most inspiring true stories of the goodness of mankind and the greatness of God.

I have gathered a few already and they will lift your spirits so that you soar above the clouds this holiday season. Please take 10 minutes and share with me your story or create your random story and then share.

I pray you are filled with the Holy Spirit this week and that you witness the outrageous, vibrant, passionate love of our Savior in wave after wave. Hugs, Lynn

Here is a small factoid I bet you didn't know about Dineen and I (Lynn). 

This blog was launched in May of 2006. Dineen was one of the first readers and she and I became fast friends. Within six months she and I became a team and have been writing and serving Jesus together ever since.

We talk via email, daily. And, I do mean daily. Sometimes more than 10 emails will fly between us. We also chat on the phone several days each week and we pray together over the phone.

We brain storm our ideas and share what the Lord is speaking to us on a given day. We agonize and pray together over the emails that arrive from people who are in crisis in their marriage and we celebrate with those who find healing in their hearts and marriages through the power and love our our Jesus.

We are best friends.

But up until today, Dineen and I have only met face-to-face for less than two minutes.

We connected at a Deeper Still Conference in San Francisco for only two minutes. Other than that we have never spent any significant time in the same room. 

Now think about this. We have written together here at SUM for four years and have even written a book together.

Do you find this fact as uncanny as I do????

Well, think it's just like our Lord to do something this different just so He can display the power of His will in the lives of two ordinary women.

But today, as you read this I am on my way to pick Dineen up from the airport and we are then off to spend time with our Acquisitions Editor, Kim. Kim is awesome and we both have a wonderful friendship with her. 

We will also meet some of the team at Regal Books, our publisher.  

So today Dineen and I are asking all of you our friends, to rejoice over this amazing reunion and to pray for us.

Please ask our Lord Jesus to bless our time together as we are going to plan our first broadcast for The Intentional Marriage, to be aired next Friday. Please pray for safety as we will spend some hours on the LA freeways. Yikes!

Pray we remain humble and only seek to glorify the name of Jesus.

Thank you all of our friends. You can bet your names will be chatted about as we talk about all of our online friendships. We will thank Jesus for you.

Also, I plan to Twitter @LynnDonovan and Facebook (Lynn Donovan) about our adventure. Tune in and see a few photos and follow us as we journey with the Lord to serve His Kingdom.

Be blessed, Lynn

Hi Everybody, Wondering if y’all could help me again…. You were awesome a week ago when you shared your thoughts in this post. I heart you! 

 I am thinking I have never written down the unique struggles that unequally yoked spouses face. So, I thought I would ask. This may be a tough assignment because many spiritual struggles manifest themselves in many ways in a marriage relationship. But, tell me what you think is a unique marriage struggle that is specific to your faith and your spouse’s unbelief. 

This is what comes to my mind off the bat.

• Attending church alone. 
• Organized churches rarely provide support or teaching specific to our unique marriages. 
• Social events (list some specifics for me on this one) such as attending a church event and what it’s like when you go with your spouse to a social event such as a Superbowl party where no one is a believer. 
• Language (cussing and or expression)  
• What about media choices???? 

Okay, let’s hear your thoughts on this and be real. 

We 'll take a look at some of these issues in the future and some awesome scripture the Lord has placed heavily on my mind of late. 

THANK YOU so very much for making SUM a place where we each help one another grow closer to Jesus and to honor Him through our marriages. I love you so very much. 

Be blessed, Lynn 

PS. I’m waiting for the Lord to lead me about our next series. Until He directs, watch for some randomness around here. *grin*….. and randomness can sometimes be really great. 

Have a great week. Write me if you need prayer covering. Hugs, Lynn

Hi Lynn and Dineen here! 

We have a story to tell you. And as always then we need your help. 

Many of you who have joined us on this strange and unexpected journey of unequallyokedome, may not know how Spiritually Unequal Marriage was started. So, today we want to tell you about the beginning. 

This blog began May, 1, 2006 after I (Lynn) attended a writer’s conference. It was the last day of the conference, the last lunch, my bags were packed and following lunch I was heading to the airport to return home. 

Well during this lunch, I sat down with several young women who were all talking about their blogs. They all blogged. I barely knew what a blog was and thought only teenagers blogged. But these women were discussing how it is part of their ministry and writing for the Lord. 

As I sat listening, they tried to explain this strange new world and all of a sudden, I heard the Lord speak directly and clearly to my heart. “Lynn, you are going to do this… You are going to do this…” I started repeating, “I’m going to do this, yes, I’m going to do this” 

I came home and Spiritually Unequal Marriage was born. 

I hit publish on my first post and prayed this blog would be a hopeful resource for others, like me, who struggled with their unequally yoked marriage. Over the years prior, God healed me, my marriage, and I learned to live with joy. The Lord told me to share the hope and encourage others. 

I stepped out in total FAITH. I didn’t have a clue. 

 Here is my first post: 

This website is dedicated to our Lord and to men and women who live every day in a spiritually mismatched marriage. It is my prayer that this forum will be the place where Christians can find support, encouragement, and practical resources to thrive in their unequal marriage. I pray that when you visit this site you will be inspired and offer your own insights into God’s design for a healthy marriage in the midst of different viewpoints. 

This is still how I feel today and it’s how Dineen feels as well. 

Amazingly, as this was happening, God put the idea about a blog for the unequally yoked on Dineen’s heart, and led her to me, and we became partners. She completes me. She began writing here within months. 

Our mission is very simple: To serve the Lord Jesus Christ and to honor Him with our words. And, to do all we can to give others help, hope, encouragement and healing in their lives and marriages. 

It is our passion with our entire heart. 

Well God has done such amazing things and you, our friends, who come here to read and share your lives, have helped so many others and especially us. We are all together serving the Lord through this online community. 

So, today the Lord has asked us to take our passion to others who haven’t found us on the internet. This week Dineen and I began working on a book, Wild Hope, a discussion of ten Christ-centered principles to help a woman thrive in a spiritually mismatched marriage(working title). We are thrilled to work with Regal Publishing and our awesome Editor, Kim. (Thanks again Kim for serving the Lord and allowing us to get our message of hope out to others). 

So, we can’t do this without YOU!!! We are gonna need your ideas, your suggestions, your prayers and input, just like we always need you. We must have the manuscript finished quickly, in less than 90 days from today. Please pray for the Lord to grace us with His amazing words, that the work we do will change the lives of those seeking help. The book is slated for a release in January of next year. 

Today, we specifically need your help with chapter two. Can you please share with us some of the crazy, zany, stupid, waste of time, efforts you undertook to save your husband? You know how we always try to save our men. As if Jesus needs our help anyway. *Sheesh* 

I will tell you one of my zany periods of “saving my man for Jesus.” I left 3X5 cards around the house covered with scripture in hopes my man would read them and suddenly see the light. It didn’t work. In fact, it probably annoyed him and it annoyed me more that he didn’t read them. 

Okay, so share what silly things you did which may have been a hindrance to your husband’s faith journey. 

Thank you sooooo much, from the bottom of our hearts, for allowing us to be part of your lives. We love you and look forward to how the Lord will move in your marriage in 2010. 

Praying and believing, Dineen and Be blessed, Lynn

Mistletoe, what an amazing concept! Hang a little twig over someone's head and snag a kiss. I guess that makes sense. Nothing says romance like a poisonous sprig of parasitic vegetation.

Kissing under the mistletoe dates back to a 17th century English custom. Back in the day, a berry was removed every time a kiss was made, which meant there were no kisses when there no berries. We seem to have since forgotten about the berry removal - allowing us to concentrate on the kissing!

So on your next visit to the store, pick up this poisonous, good for nothing, parasite and hang it in the MOST conspicuous place in your house. Then grab your spouse, your kids, the dog, the hamster, (okay, not the hamster) and SMACK away!

God bless and Merry CHRISTmas. Lynn