Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts

"Love must be learned, and learned again and again; there is no end to it."

Perfected

From my Grace for the Moment devotional by Max Lucado:

      "'[With one sacrifice] He made perfect forever those who are being made holy.' (Heb 10:14). Underline the word perfect. Note that the word is not better. Not improving. Not on the upswing. God doesn't improve; He perfects. He doesn't enhance; He completes....
      Now I realize that there's a sense in which we're still imperfect. We still err. We still stumble. We still do exactly what we don't want to do. And that part of us is, according to the verse, 'being made holy.'
      But when it comes to our position before God, we're perfect. When He sees each of us, He sees one who has been made perfect through the One who is perfect - Jesus Christ.

      'You have begun to live the new life, in which you are being made new and are becoming like the One who made you.' (Col 3:10) I wonder if Jesus doesn't muster up a slight smile as He sees His lost sheep come straggling into the fold - the beaten, broken, dirty sheep who stands at the door looking up at the Shepherd asking, 'Can I come in? I don't deserve it, but is there room for one more?' The Shepherd looks down at the sheep and says, 'Come in, this is your home.'
      Salvation is the process that's done, that's secure, that no one can take away from you. Sanctification is the lifelong process of being changed from one degree of glory to the next, growing in Christ, putting away the old, taking on the new."

In Him All Things Hold Together

"A Christian marrige is [not] one without any problems or even a marriage with fewer problems... But it does mean a life in which two people are able to accept...and love each other in the midst of problems and fears...[and] without constantly trying to change [each other]-- because they realize personally that they have been accepted by Christ." Keith Miller

We Are Family

"The nobelest question in the world is,

'what good may i do in it?'"

Benjamin Franklin

"God promised the world --

why on earth would you settle for less?!"

You Better Be Sitting Down To Read This!!!

I was already excited enough for the day July 28, 2010, because Heidi, Jason, and I had plans to join my family at Flathead Lake and spend the rest of the week vacationing and having fun! But it got even better than that! WAY better! That night after dinner I was sitting talking with my mom and our family friend but Jason had disappeared. Soon I noticed him at the dock and really wanted to go sit with him as it was almost sunset and would be a special time. Before I could excuse myself my sister Heidi came and escorted me all suspiciously down to the dock where my dad was helping Jason back the boat out. Jason told me that since he'd just learned to drive the boat that day he wanted to take me on a special date in it. I was very excited and amazed! He drove us across the bay where he decided to stop and turn the boat off. I was concerned about him getting it started again, so he wanted to know if we had any paddles in the boat. I told him to check the floor storage, because there might be some in there. He replied by saying he should open it since he was on that side and I thought nothing of it. Jason then opened the cover and pulled out a vase of flowers and sparkling cider! I was so not expecting that! We poured drinks and then sat on the back seat of the boat and just talked. He asked me what my favorite thing was about us for the last two years and I told him my answer and then he told me his. After a short time he prayed for us and said we should go back to be with everyone. Pulling up to the dock, we noticed everyone had been at the campfire but as soon as we got close headed up to the house! My dad helped him park the boat and then went up too. Jason asked me to sit in the hammock for a bit with him, and as we sat there side-by-side he asked me what my favorite thing was about him. I told him some small, random thing, and then he asked what makes me want to spend the rest of my life with him. After I told him then he told me why he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me, concluding with "on that note" as he knelt in front of me and pulled the ring box out of the pillow next to him, and asked me to marry him!! I was so shocked that I said "really?!" and then hugged him and said "YES!"

Moments after Jason "popped the question"

So we're engaged!

Plans are slowly in the making, and we have about a year to plan which is nice, but feel free to check out our wedding website!


http://www.theknot.com/ourwedding/JasonKoemans&LaurenCross2011