Walking Together Towards God

Here on the blog we are so passionate about christian couples who minister together. We are on always on mission in our marriages. It is a ministry itself. However, sometimes God will call us to mission elsewhere for His glory. Today, we want to share our conversation with a missionary couple. Anita met Arrica on Instagram and they both quickly realized that they share a passion for evangelism. We hope that their perspective and conversation on marriage and evangelism will be enlightening and encouraging to you! ************************************************************************* Interview: Arrica Hess How did you meet your husband and how did you end up in ministry together? My husband, Matt, and I met in a high school math class in rural Oklahoma. He was a junior and I was a freshman. He drove past my house every day on his way to school and asked if I would like a ride. Since my only other option was a school bus that carried grades K-12 in on those country roads, ...

Here are FOUR quick ways to date while on vacation. We have always had a date day when we go on our family vacations. I mean...face it, most couples on family vacation could use a day away from the kids right? Our boys know our routine by now. They used to get jealous about our adventures, but our marriage is a priority and they needed to know that. This year we had a staycation and while our boys had a camp day, we took time for ourselves. It didn't take much to make it happen and some of our social media friends were impressed, so we thought we would share about how to make your next vacation date amazing! There are four things that we do consistently in dating (whether we are on vacation or not). 1. Make a plan. 2. Keep it simple. 3. Do something you both love. 4. Make it memorable. Make a Plan We are definitely planners. Maurice was raised an only child and Anita is a first-born, so planning is a thing for us. It helps to know about what day, time and activity i...

It is summer time and so it makes me think of fruit which is one of my favorite things to have in the summer. Fruit is unique because it must be developed. You can't just eat fruit any time of the year it has to be in season to taste best. Our lives are like that. Our marriages can even be like that. I want to live a fruitful life.  When our lives are over we went something to show for it. All of the struggle, the hurt, the pain should be developing something in us that we can pass on to others. Marriage ripens you.  It gets you ready for other things that you need to handle in life. You grow up and you grow deeper and stronger together. This weekend will be my parent's 44th wedding anniversary. Their union is ripe. Much wisdom can be gleaned from such a long relationship. Here are three things that their marriage has taught me: 1. It takes time and intention. 2. It takes patience. 3. It takes being connected to God. Nothing good comes easy, especially a g...

We wanted to share with you the testimony of what the Lord has done for us from August 2017 until now. Here is everything about our journey with Cancer. Our first blog on this was during this crisis. You can read about how Maurice found out that he had Multiple Myeloma and how we reacted. It was a trying time as the diagnosis was being confirmed through many tests and several painful procedures. After some chemotherapy treatments through the months following, Maurice decided to have a stem cell bone marrow transplant. That was an extremely stressful ordeal that the Lord guided us through with great peace and tremendous outcomes. It was quite a story so we had to blog about it ! Anita personally journaled her thoughts as a caregiver and was led to encourage other spouses going through hard times in another blogpost. Finally, Maurice wrote this testimony and shared it on facebook in 2018: Let me briefly tell you my cancer story and conclusion. During our family vacation...

Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. Jesus left us His Spirit to empower us to spread the gospel and make disciples. He gives us joy and a mission! When we set our hearts to be obedient to the Lord, the joy comes. God knows the intent of our hearts, so when our minds are made up to make disciples, we are empowered to do it! Just knowing that we are pleasing God should bring smiles to our faces if we are disciples are Christ. Here are three reasons why! Ambassadors of Christ Jesus are Joyful. Those who are sent into this world as a representative of Christ have a high and holy calling. It is not to be taken lightly at all. It is a joy and a privilege to serve the One great King. To be His servant is an honor. The goal of ambassadorship is to reconcile others to the Kingdom of God. God has predestined those who will bring Him glory and follow what He has instructed. We were made for this! Joy is found in Truth In 3 John 1:4, John states that he finds no greater joy than to see his...

Rejoice and again I say, Rejoice! Can I equate it to recycling? Just think about it. When we recycle, we are taking something that has previously been used and using it again (perhaps in a different way). When we think of rejoicing, we may often be concerned that it is redundant. We were joyful already, doesn't that count? It sounds like something a teenager might say; but true rejoicing is never redundant, it is recycled! This week, I struggled to find joy in my sorrow. With three funerals in two weeks, I found it hard to genuinely smile. I may have been a bit short with others and the happiness tank was low. How do you find joy in sorrow? The answer is in the Word. We do not sorrow like those in the world do who have no hope. ( 1 Thessalonians 4:13, KJV) We look forward to heaven and the glory that awaits us. Being full of hope brings joy. Remember that and recycle it. The older saints in my church used to say "When I think back over my life and all that the Lord has don...

Life is rich. We need to take the time to enjoy it, but what does enjoyment for the christian look like? Yes, I am really asking. When I was not in the Kingdom of God, my enjoyment came from vices and sin. the fun came from not being caught. It was fun to push limits and to join in with the risky activity of our so-called friends right? So first of all, let's be honest. It was enjoyable and made us temporarily happy. However, you may also have heard that happiness and joy are not the same. The Bible tells us that Jesus came to give us life, and that more abundantly. The joy that we can experience in Christ is found in the gifts that the Holy Spirt imparts when we receive Him. In Galatians 6, we see that joy is in a list of fruit. So like any fruit, it will need to be nurtured and tended to in order to grow the way that it should. There are three key factors to knowing and experiencing true joy. First, no one can know real joy apart from Christ. Without a real relationship with ...