Jon (minus) Kate

there's been a lot of buzz surrounding the failing marriage of jon and kate gosselin lately. and really, it is tragic. i hope they get some good marriage counseling, (OFF CAMERA).

with as much stress as raising children can be, i couldn't help but wonder why they would want to bring the additional and undue stress of all those television cameras in their home.

maybe it was a financial decision. maybe they thought it would be glamorous. or maybe they just didn't realize the additional, undue stress it would create in their marriage.

whatever its was, it's sad.
so, i'm wondering, what are YOU doing to protect/strengthen YOUR marriage?

what are the things in your life that are causing you undue stress?
you may not have cameras following you around, but most of us have taken on things in our lives that we thought would be helpful or fun, but only ended up adding undue stress.

it could be a hobby that's diverting too much of the family income.
it could be one too many of those expensive activities that keeps the children happy, siphoning off not only money, but precious family time as well...
it could be the job you thought would make you more money, but only ended up taking more time...
it could be alcohol consumption. you drink to party, but it seems like someone is always getting angry when they're drunk... or worse.

i don't know, it could be any number of things...

but there's good news when you have undue stress.
you can undo it.

you thought it was going to be fun.
you thought it was going to make you more money.
you thought it would create more family time.
but it just brought undue stress.

UNDO IT!

say "no" to some things!
your marriage and your family is worth it.

Love and Submission

Recently, we addressed the issue of submission.

I have been reading "The Shack," and I came across this thought:

"To force my will on you," Jesus replied, "is exactly what love does not do."

- and -

"Submission is not about authority and it is not about obedience; it is all about relationships of love and respect."

I found this interesting, not because "The Shack" is authoritative, but because as I re-read the passage in Ephesians on submission, this is more or less the same thought I came away with.

(Just something I thought was interesting.)

The Shack - Wm. Paul Young: Page 145.

Just Thinking...

I was just thinking about where spiritual maturity begins... I think, maybe spiritual maturity begins when we stop trying to shape God into our image (what we think He is, or should be), and we start letting God shape us into His image (what He thinks WE should be).

It's just a thought.

A Commitment to Excellence

"Doing the best we can with what we have."

That's the definition for excellence we've been using at Life Fellowship since day one. (And it was an important definition in those days, because we had very limited resources!)

I'm going to be personally revisiting this concept in my thinking over the next few weeks. Somehow, I feel like our definition needs some tweaking. My suspicion is that there may be a better definition for excellence for us.

first question, and it's a tough one, but relevant!

trying something new...