WHO DO WE THANK?

Mark and me with our eight children at our 50th wedding anniversary celebration.

Second only to my great thankfulness to God for His amazing grace in my life is my gratitude to Him for my husband and eight children. Recently, when we celebrated 50 years of marriage we were blessed to have all of our children, grandchildren and our dear little great granddaughter together here in Gig Harbor. No doubt that day ranks as one of the happiest of my life; I felt like a queen! The greatest reality of that day was to be aware that it was possible only because of God’s blessing in my life. He gave me Mark (my husband) and He gave me my wonderful children, and their spouses, and their children. The whole day was just full of evidence of God’s goodness to me. And so we must conclude that He deserves all the thanks and appreciation for the gifts He has given. My heart is full of gratitude to Him.

With Thanksgiving coming up this Thursday there may be many people expressing thanks with no real recipient in mind for who should be receiving that thanks. Appreciation needs someone to receive it. Do we really have any blessings in life that are not from God? Let’s not be rude in neglecting to acknowledge the One who daily pours blessings out upon our lives.

“…giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,...”

(Ephesians 5:20)

GOD'S PERFECT INSTRUCTIONS FOR MARRIAGE

This is Mark and me celebrating 50 years of God’s goodness in our marriage.

Proverbs 12:4 “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.” While studying about marriage this week I have been highly interested in how the medical world has confirmed exactly what God said thousands of years ago about the important role of a wife. A study from just last year, “finds that a stressful marriage may be unhealthy, especially for men. In fact, for some people it may be as bad as smoking. They found a conflict-filled relationship harms the body in many ways. People in a stressful relationship can have damaging inflammation, extreme changes in appetite and increased levels of stress hormones. All these conditions can negatively affect many systems -- from heart function to how the body is able to fight diseases.” Wow, that is pretty impressive! It sounds like we had better pay attention to what God says about marriage and make it real in our lives. Wives have a great responsibility for the peace and beauty of a marriage relationship; honoring and respecting God is our first step toward a happy marriage.

This Thursday morning we will look in detail at what Proverbs has to say about marriage and particularly about a good marriage. This study is not just for married women. There is great benefit in all women knowing God’s plan for marriage in order to be a help to a friend and to understand better the relationship of the church to Christ. So, plan to join us the Thursday morning at 9:30 at DBC. Our dear babysitters will be there (as they are every week) to care for your little ones.

THE BLESSED MONTH OF AUGUST 2019

The blessedness of having 28 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild all together on the same happy day!!!

August of 2019 absolutely stands out as one of the most amazing months of my life! If you click on the button above (A Happy 50th Anniversary Day) you will be able to view about 2 minutes that made this past August such an overwhelming blessing. Mark and I still get teary every time we muse on the rare occasion of having all of our children and their families together for the celebration of the 50 years of marriage the Lord has given to us.

All of these 50 plus years of the close friendship Mark and I have enjoyed have been deeply intertwined with Christ. He is the One who has given us direction, encouragement, inspiration and stability through times of abounding and seasons of difficulty. As we have faithfully read through the years what He has to say in the Bible, we have learned more and more about the way He has intended for us to think, respond, and live. We are so thankful that He rescued our souls when we were teenagers and He has continually been molding us into His likeness since then. To God be all the glory—great things He has done!!