Do You Understand Your Wife's Hair?

1 Peter 3:7 calls husbands to “live with your wives in an understanding way . . . since they are heirs with you of the grace of life.” After 18 years of marriage, God continually surprises me with his grace and commitment to make me look like Jesus.

Once, my wife and I were preparing for a busy week, which included hosting out-of-town guests and dealing with a car in the shop. With an already full plate, Jen was squeezing in an appointment when her hair dresser called to say she had to cancel the appointment.

Jen came to me, overwhelmed and stressed. Seeing her distress, I said, “I understand, Jen.” I gave her a ride to pick up our car and then took care of some things at home for her while she was gone.

Later that afternoon when Jen came home, she said, “Thanks for telling me you understood earlier today. It made me feel loved, and cared for. I don’t think you’ve ever said that to me before.” I had to stop and think about that. She was right.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO UNDERSTAND HER TO SERVE HER

Let me get something straight: I don’t understand my wife’s hair. (I’ve heard her and her friends talk about hair being “fun”; I will never understand that.) But I did understand that my wife needed my support and my compassion. Although her hair contributed to the stress of the situation, it was not the problem.
When Peter tells husbands to “live with your wives in an understanding way,” he is telling them to pursue their wives’ hearts, not to get hung up on the circumstances.

Too often in our marriage, I have made my wife the problem, in essence missing her heart and setting her up to feel alone and misunderstood. In making her the problem, I miss the deeper problem going on in my heart: I like life and marriage to be easy. When that idol gets threatened, it is tempting for me to blame her.

In this case, I could have selfishly responded by wondering why she had to get her hair cut today or why she was so upset, missing a wonderful opportunity to serve and love her. But thankfully, God intervened on my behalf so I could extend her grace and help.

Husbands, remember you and your wife are equal as image bearers and grace recipients, defined and refined by the work of Jesus.

Understanding your wife means you need to set your agenda and insight aside. Are you willing to do that for her good and the glory of God? Seek to engage your spouse and face the trials together with the help of Jesus who is with you and for you. Mature together. Endure together. Don’t quit even if that seems like the only option. God will not quit on you.

By: Pastor Phil Smidt, Marriage and Family pastor at Mars Hill,
on Jan 29, 2012

Thankful For...

• The sweet, chubby, and adorable 7 month old sitting on my lap!
• Lots and lots and lots of snow!
• Almost my birthday/favorite holiday! ;)
• Side jobs for a little extra cash!

"The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in His way."

Psalm 37:23

Worlds Largest Army

The world’s largest army… America‘s hunters! I had never thought about this….

A blogger added up the deer license sales in just a handful of states and arrived at a striking conclusion:

There were over 600,000 hunters this season in the state of Wisconsin .

Allow me to restate that number.

Over the last several months, Wisconsin‘s hunters became the eighth largest army in the world.

More men under arms than in Iran.

More than in France and Germany combined.

These men deployed to the woods of a single American state to hunt with firearms, and no one was killed.

That number pales in comparison to the 750,000 who hunted the woods of Pennsylvania and Michigan ‘s 700,000 hunters,

All of whom have now returned home.

Toss in a quarter million hunters in West Virginia and it literally establishes the fact that

The hunters of those four states alone would comprise the largest army in the world.

The point?

America will forever be safe from foreign invasion with that kind of home-grown firepower.

Hunting — it’s not just a way to fill the freezer. It’s a matter of national security.

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That’s why all enemies, foreign and domestic, want to see us disarmed.

Food for thought when next we consider gun control.

Song of Solomon 8:6

"Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD."

Pastor Popcorn

Once a year Awana has the pastor's come and play all the games with the kids. Apparently this year Vic was the big excitement, kids were even requesting that he be on their team. He was quite the hoot to watch and the kids loved having him on their team!

 

 

 

 

He said...

"I like that you are such a wuss because it means that I get to protect you!"

Thanks?

Christmas in Oregon

The church shuts down the whole week after Christmas so we were able to go down to Oregon after our Christmas Eve services! We spent Christmas day with Victor's dad's side of the family and later that Friday we had cocktail party Christmas with his mom's side. Unfortunately my parents were out of town but we did get to take advantage of their house to ourselves for a couple days which was very much needed! Here are some of the fun, goofy, and darling pictures of our nieces and nephews during our stay...

Mayan Calendar, End of the World?