I wanted you to know that I have worked on a short book based upon this blog. I hope to publish it by the end of this year. Upon publication, I will share information on how to buy it.
This is my last post. I have mixed feelings about closing. Focusing on what I love about being married has made me a happier person and wife. I’ve enjoyed the family and dialog of marriage bloggers. I set out to write a finite blog: 365 things I love about marriage. Now finding myself at the end I’m sticking to the plan.
I asked my husband what I should do for the last post and he suggested sharing some of the things I learned. As usual, he is a smart man.
THINGS I LEARNED
1. Marriage is truly wonderful.
2. I really love my husband.
3. It’s hard to say goodbye.
4. I like blogging.
5. It sometimes takes 2 years to do a 365 blog!
6. I’m thankful for all your comments and support.
7. It feels good to keep a commitment whether it is marriage or blogging.
8. Lots of folks love marriage like I do.
9. Blogs take a lot of time.
THINGS MY HUSBAND LEARNED
1. He should keep his mouth shut.
2. Things he says will end up on my blog and he won’t get any credit for it.
Thank you to God for my life. Thank you to my wonderful husband Walter to whom this blog is dedicated. Thank you to those of you who read and followed it! I will leave this blog up for a while. Please come visit me at my other blog: Butterflies and Bunny Rabbits!
When we were courting, I told my husband that I was looking for someone to stay. He told me that he wanted to stay and that he would. He still tells me, “I will never leave you.” I believe him.
Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas had a profound effect on me. The message is that God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy. Marriage brings me happiness, but not always. If you look to marriage only to make you happy, you will be disappointed. Humans are lacking and we all have a hole inside, a loss, a yearning. That lacking is supposed to be filled with God. If we don’t fill it with God, we try to fill it with other things: shopping, food, power, alcohol, etc. If we try to fill it with our spouse, no matter how wonderful they are, they will fail. They too are sinners. But if you fill that void with God, and have your spouse as a mate throughout your life, things will go much better.
The book looks at how we can use the challenges, joys, struggles, and celebrations of marriage to draw us closer to God and grow in Christian character. It helps to see marriage as a kind of ministry, and a tough one.
“This is the reality of the human heart, the inevitability of two sinful people pledging to live together, with all their faults, for the rest of their lives.”
The book asks us to use the challenges of marriage as opportunities to learn more about God, to understand God more and to learn to love him more. Marriage should push us to be more of service and to be less selfish. Confronting our own selfishness has enormous spiritual value. The focus should be on changing ourselves not our spouses. It’s about spiritual growth and marriage is just the context. It’s an excellent book. Here’s a closing quote:
“Just as celibates use abstinence and religious hermits use isolation, we can use our marriage for the same purpose – to grow in our service, obedience, character, pursuit and love of God.”
Description from http://www.IMDb.com: In AD 922, an important emissary who is banished from his homeland. The nomadic outcast comes across a band of Norse warriors who coerce him into joining them when they are summoned to fight mysterious creatures legendary for consuming every living thing in their path. Eventually surrounded by the frightening and ferocious foe, Ibn must conquer his personal fears and help battle the illusive invaders–who emerge out of the shroud of fog in the black of the night.
Wife: This is a movie my husband owns. One of the many in his vast DVD collection. Early on in our relationship he would ask me to watch movies and I would immediately react and not like it. Recently, he was talking about the Vikings and the Russia people. I was interested and he said, you know that’s what The 13th Warrior is about. So we watched it and it was great. A little too much violence for me. Very interesting story.
Husband: I like this movie. I own it and have seen it several times. Although it is not 100% historical, it is based upon a real time in history. I liked all the characters and the storyline. I thought my wife would like it and am pleased that she watched it with me.
I am a nurturer. This is helpful as a wife and mother. I like taking care of people and animals. Luckily I get to do that a lot in taking care of my husband, son and 2 cats. I am truly concerned for their health and well-being. I pray for them and try to help them in any way I can.
My husband is one of the most focused, dedicated, determined people I know. When he is working on a deadline he is extremely disciplined and hardworking.
