"Celebrating Marriage"

  This will be my only post this week. We have a rare opportunity that we are taking advantage of. My parents will be celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary this year! What a blessing. We have made arrangements to get them up to my daughter/son-in-laws home and from there they will be taken to a special place we have arranged for them where all the great grandchildren and ourselves will be joining up with them to spend some time together.

  Marriage is such a blessing when coupled with the Lord! It takes work but the work is not so much toward one another as it is toward the Lord. If a husband/wife would reach out, learning to set their minds on things where Christ is seated, allowing the Lord to transform you into His image, our marriages would be something to behold. There would be NO flirting, no eyes on anyone else, no smooth talkers taking those in and a joy in the home. Made into the likeness of the Lord. Now that's a noble goal. But one thing about it, you can't do it yourself. You only can offer yourself back to the Lord, start the renewal of the mind so the Lord can start transforming you into His image, approving His will in your life which is good acceptable and perfect (Rom. 12:1-2). There are no short-cuts to this! There are no "step" programs for this! There are no games or gimmicks to accomplish this! It is simply a heart responding to His mercies and through that offering of yourself back, the Lord begins His work. You see it transform you in your marriage, in your jobs, in raising your children and loving/working in the body of Christ. That's the goal of the Lord. When the mind does not renew, is not set on things above, there will be no transformation and that's why we see so many times many in the body of Christ bring shame to Christ because their marriages are in shambles or ruin. They are no different than the lost, separated people of our world!

  Thanks to my mom and dad for their dedication to one another. I've never known them to waver from that dedication in their marriage. Never once! Thank you my Lord, for allowing them to live long enough to be able to celebrate such a blessing!