Walking Together Towards God

Ah...the boys! Well, after some hilarious discussion about how they would NOT be getting a million dollars for Christmas or a car or other outrageous gifts, we finally got a real list of potential items for a twelve and thirteen-year-old. When they reach this age, they know what they want. We find that other people ask us as the parents what our boys want because they are also at a loss. We try to get their lists early so that we can, first, get over the emotional shock, and second, actually see what is affordable. So here it is: Twelve-Year-Old 1. Nintendo Switch console 2. Fortnite game for nintendo switch 3. Zelda Breathe of the Wild for nintendo switch 4. Carrying case for nintendo switch 5. Nerf Nemesis 6. Beanbag chair for my room 7. Spygear 8. SD card 9. Hotwheels 10. Beyblades 11. Kpop BTS sneakers (black canvas - RM) Thirteen-Year-Old 1. Nintendo switch 2. Fortnite game for nintendo (if you get the switch) 3. Money 4. Amazon Fire 10 5. Nerf Neme...

Buying gifts for your spouse can be a really fun experience if you know them well. As the holiday season approaches we are all preparing to buy gifts for many people. We have experienced times when gift-giving has been hectic and other times when it has been a joy. Here are a few tips before we offer you a few of the best deals out there for couples right now. (This post does contain affiliate links that we may be compensated for if you click them - so we don't mind at all) 1.  Pay attention . Know your spouse well. I know this goes without saying, but when buying gifts you want to take note of what your spouse really loves and what they really do not. Notice when they smile, when they linger over certain items in the store or make comments. Be a detective and take note! I really do not like chocolate much, but Maurice used to buy me chocolate all of the time. Once I purchase a men's devotional for Maurice but then realize later that it merely collected dust. These we...

We are huge proponents of christian marriage resources out there!  When we were married 17 years ago many of these resources were just coming out.  Whether you are a newlywed or a seasoned veteran in marriage, it can still be challenging to discern which ones are truly helpful for your particular marriage needs. While there is lots of help available now, we still choose to focus on small group Bible study. The Word works! Although we do refer people to marriage counseling (because we are in no way experts ourselves), mentoring has a more profound impact in the marriages that we have had the opportunity to walk alongside. It is great if a wife wants a woman's conference and if sometimes, the guys want a getaway to work on themselves as husbands. However, we find that there is nothing more effective than when a couple work together in seeking God's Word as an authority towards their marriage. We have participated in several small group studies for married couples. One of t...

It is one thing to establish communing and fellowship in church with your spouse, but adding children will change the dynamic. When a couple with children decides to follow Christ, know that there will be little eyes following who you follow. It is supremely paramount to give your children good spiritual influences as you would with anything else. We take our time t choose good schools and good doctors, so why not take the same care with something so important? Parents are Spiritual Teachers. Parents are the first spiritual influences for their offspring. We see biblical principles and precepts to mothers and to fathers in the scripture. Here are a few: Proverbs 6:20-35 This verse encourages children not to forsake the commands and instructions that both of their parents have taught them. Proverbs 1:8 Solomon writes to his son in this verse to obey his father and mother. Proverbs 23:22 This proverb reminds children that the teaching of their parents extends even to o...

As we think about doing Ministry in the same church together, we have to remember God's order for the church. Jesus is the head of His church. The man follows Christ and the woman follows the man. This is biblical order. So when we speak about Ministry, we have to remember that it is for everyone in the body of Christ. We also believe that the gender roles in the church are outlined in the word of God. Women should prayerfully consider their ministry options with their husbands. Since before we were married, we decided that we wanted to do ministry together. It was a challenge to find a church that actually had  opportunities for us to do what we feel that God had called us to do. We knew God for ourselves, had been baptized and had heard from the Lord regarding what we should do and we were looking for a church that aligned with that direction for our marriage which is our first Ministry. It is important to have your own house in order before attempting to minister to oth...

Once church is over, how is life at home? While in church, we have often been that couple that  has put each other in the sermon and suggested to one another that it would be a great word for the other person.  Have you ever done that?  The message would be on submission and the husband would glare at the wife, or the message would be on love and the wife would glare at the husband. We have to remember that all of God's word is for all of us all the time. Although it may not feel especially applicable to your marriage at the moment it may be needed for tomorrow or next week or next year. Church is the place where many marriages are brought together, however, it is also the place where some marriages fall apart. When either the husband or the wife are experiencing some church hurt for some reason, we have to be careful to not let it affect our marriage as a whole.  At times, there may even be a couple in the church that we look up to and considered them as ment...

Church and marriage. When we think about this topic, it often makes us think of the biblical equivalent of Christ and His Church. (Ephesians 5:22-32)  However, as much as we want to embrace that idea thoroughly, we also want to share some practical applications of being married and going to church together. You see, we have more recently come across many couples who do not share the same church home.  We have had several discussions amongst  ourselves regarding this topic. Is it truly biblical for a couple not to be in the same congregation? Or is it actually okay because real church is not a building anyway? Many of us know that Jesus was not a member of a church congregation per se. He was a part of the Jewish culture and was a rabbi. (John 3:2) So he did hold a leadership position in the synagogue. But Jesus was obviously unmarried as we know from the scriptures. So the question becomes  the Bible set any president for those who are married?  We al...