Favorite Thing…. A Beth Moore Bible study. If you’ve ever participated in a Beth Moore Bible study, you know what a wonderful experience it is. Beth is a gifted Bible teacher who believes her calling is to encourage women to stand on the word of God and to know what it says. A bible study is an opportunity to do just that… study the Bible and learn what it says.  I like Beth Moore Bible studies because there is a workbook  for each person to use. That means there is “homework” each week. But that’s when the learning happens. You sit down with your workbook and your Bible and begin reading and looking up  scripture to find the answers. My faith is always strengthened after a Beth Moore Bible study.  My thanks and appreciation to Virginia Garner for teaching this Bible study, When God People Do Ungodly Things. And thanks to  Jamestown Christian Church for providing our group  a place to meet.

“The Home Depot Mocks Marriage. While same sex marriage is still a hotly debated issue and while only a few states recognize it, the majority of the country does not. However, this fact did not stop The Home Depot from helping to sponsor a gay celebration in Atlanta last October that included a ‘commitment ceremony’. The ceremony mimicked a traditional wedding and was officiated by two men dressed in clerical attire. Several homosexual couples participated.

While the ceremony  did not call itself a marriage ceremony, during the exchange of vows partners stated to each other, ‘I marry you now with all my love.’ Other lines in the ceremony included: ‘I take you as my partner in life and love. I promise to love, respect, honor and uplift you.’

The American Family Association  stated in their January 2011 magazine:

‘This show the fraudulent  use of the concept of marriage supported by The Home Depot. The fact is the Home Depot is in favor of same sex marriage and funds it with money brought in from customers. …They have refused to reply to AFA’s protests. Thus far 325,000 individuals have signed the pledge to boycott the Home Depot.’ “

AFA  has taken a strong stand for family and  marriage- the union of one man and one woman- for many years.  Their website is afajournal.org

Your January paycheck! Did you happen to notice your January paycheck was smaller? I sure did. That’s because the withhold tables were changed to accommodate the tax increases that would have taken place IF the Bush  tax cuts  were eliminated.   They were extended, thanks to Congress that finally got the guts to do what was  right and not take any more money from working people to give to people who aren’t working or to fund more frivolous government programs. Remember that  President Obama was vehemently opposed to  extending the Bush  tax cuts.

Here’s another example of how inefficient our government is. Remember the $250 stimulus payments?

 A government investigator discovered 89,000 stimulus payments of $250 went to people who were either deceased or in prison. The Social Security Administration inspector general released a report on October 7, 2010, stating $18 million went to 72,000 dead people. Slightly over half were returned. The report also revealed $4.3 million went to over 17,000 inmates.

Valentines Day is just around the corner. One of my sisters got married on Valentine’s Day and I’m thrilled to say they are celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary by going on a cruise next week. Unfortunately, another family member’s marriage of 38  years  is very shaky and this week I talked with a high school friend, whose 40 year marriage just ended in divorce. Marriage is not easy.

However, there are some great resources available for helping us learn more about marriage. We can have better marriages, stronger marriages and happier marriages IF we’ll DO the work. Gary Chapman  has written a book ”Love is a Verb” He shares a variety of stories of what happens when love comes alive. It’s a great read and I recommend it. Our Library has the book and I’ll return it in a few days, so you can check it out!

Gary says this  about love. “To last for the long haul and through the stresses and complexities of life, love has to be more than something we feel. It has to be something we do. We have to demonstrate it concretely in our marriages and families, among our friends and yes, even among our enemies.”

 “Do you have relationship challenges? The wisest man whoever lived before Jesus’ time, King Solomon,  pointed out that nothing under the sun is truly new ( See Ecclesiastes 4:9)  And, actually that is true in relationships too. Sometimes when we’re embroiled in the problems and emotions of being close to another person, we begin to feel as if we’re the only ones who’ve ever gone through this problem, faced this challenge, or endured this experience.

When Emily and Clay (the couple in the story Opposites Attract-then What?)  began looking outside themselves and checked other resources, they learned that what they were experiencing--- the challenges they thought were so unusual--- were actually quite common.

Checking resources means being willing to be teachable---being willing to admit there might be a better way, and being open to listen to the advice of others, whether through counseling, books or seminars. “

I’ve  known very few couples  willing to do this.  Most just keep on doing the same thing and getting the same results.  Unresolved hurts and issues pile up, till one day, one of them says “ I’ve had it, I’m out of here.” And the marriage ends in divorce. Sad. Very sad. We can help our young people by giving them books to read, CD’s to listen to, and  paying their way to marriage conferences. Best of all, we could work through our problems, making our own marriages better and thus set an example for them to follow. It can be done. If we are willing to love each other and  put our love into action and DO it!

Well folks, many thanks for reading my column. I appreciate all of you readers.  

In closing, I did start Body Recall Fitness classes this week. We’ve had a good turn out and visitors are still welcome to come and see what we do.

You can visit three times for free! Call me at 343-2210 if you have any questions.  Till next week.