Laffoon Celebrate Your Marriage

365 Daily Devotions for Busy Couples
1. Auflage 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4245-5949-7
Verlag: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 384 Seiten

Whether it's been twenty years or twenty minutes, your marriage needs encouragement. This daily devotional for married couples was designed with busy spouses in mind. Each reading is short enough to enjoy together over your first cup of coffee or right before bed. Devotions include - inspiring Scripture, - practical tips for fostering meaningful connection, - thought-provoking questions, - simple action steps, and - encouraging prayers. Stay happily married for life with Celebrate Your Marriage-the perfect gift for newlyweds and seasoned couples alike.

JAY and LAURA LAFFOON founded Celebrate Ministries, Inc. in 1995 to fulfill their passion of helping couples stay happily married for life with comedy-infused marriage events and resources. They have interviewed thousands of couples and celebrate their own marriage of more than thirty years. Together they make their home in Michigan and have two children.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Laffoon, Jay

Laffoon, Laura

Leseproben

January

JANUARY 1

Family Purpose

EPHESIANS 2:10 NRSV

If you aim at nothing, you’ll most certainly hit it.

Living with a purpose is the best way to actualize God’s greatest plan for your life and your marriage. What’s the best way to make sure that you and your spouse are taking decisive steps forward together? We believe it’s with a family mission statement. Ours is:

To encourage others to become like Christ through loving relationships, healthy lifestyles, and stimulating experiences.

Take the time to distill into a brief statement the passions of you and your spouse and the successes you’d like to experience in the upcoming year. Then, any time you are struggling to make a decision as a couple, you can evaluate what options line up with your mission statement. Best of all, next year, you can sit down to write a new statement and see how far you’ve come.

Take some time over the next three days to draft a family mission statement that will guide you for the rest of the year.

REFLECTION

JANUARY 2

Mission Statement

1 CORINTHIANS 13:13 NLT

If someone asked what matters most to you and your family, what would you say?

When it comes to keeping your family on a mission, discovering your core values together is the first step toward creating a mission statement that will make your lives together count.

Trust us, this first step is relatively painless. All you need is a manila envelope or a folder and some slips of paper. For the next month, ask family members to write down one core value a day and drop them into the envelope. Soon, you’ll discover the ideas, people, activities, beliefs, or things that matter most to all of you, like living in a small town or regularly spending “fun” time together. Who knows, you may even discover a new way to minister together.

Then, choose a day when you have time to gather as a family and empty out your envelopes. Categorize the results, discuss the values, and sift through all the things your family holds dear until one value rises to the top. This is your family’s core value.

Finally, write a simple mission statement that will make your days together fruitful and rewarding.

REFLECTION

JANUARY 3

Core Values

PSALM 118:24 ESV

What’s one way to create celebration, direction, and joy in your family? Identify and encourage your family’s core value.

Yesterday, we encouraged you and everyone in your family to write values on slips of paper for a month to identify your family’s core value2, the unique, beautiful thing that makes the world go around for everyone. Once you’ve done that, set aside time to have conversations and engage in prayers around your core value and any other values that are important to your family.

If you’re like us, these exercises and discussions may take time, but they’re worth it because you’re identifying that thing you will intentionally build your lives around. When you find your “one thing,” celebrate! You’re on your way to becoming a family on a mission!

REFLECTION

JANUARY 4

A Clear Statement

MICAH 6:8 NIV

I (Laura) never cared for math formulas. All you need to do is ask my geometry teacher. But when it comes to building a family that’s “on mission,” we’ve found a winning formula that can work for anyone.

To build a Guiding Mission Statement, start simple with the words and TO (insert your family’s central core value) + THROUGH (insert three to five values that support the central one).3

Let’s revisit our family’s example for reference:

Without a clear mission, most families feel like they’re stuck on a treadmill that never stops. Once you put a mission in place to guide everyone, you’ll find permission to step off the treadmill and say no to the things that don’t further your mission. That’s a formula everyone can live with.

REFLECTION

JANUARY 5

Choose Joy

PROVERBS 17:22 ESV

Some days are tougher than others, but a joyful heart in all circumstances begets laughter and endorphins. Joy is good for our well-being—emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually.

Marriage is hard work, as is the rest of life. There are going to be births and deaths, promotions and job losses, times of surplus, and times of need. In those times, choose joy.

When my (Jay’s) dad died, we had a young couple ask if they could bring their four children (all under the age of ten) to the funeral. We said, “Of course!” They went on to tell us that they wanted their kids to witness a family who spreads joy even in the midst of loss.

REFLECTION

JANUARY 6

Your Word

1 THESSALONIANS 5:11 NASB

Our friends Bill and Pam Farrel, authors of encourage couples to find words for each year—one word as individuals and one word as a couple.

Our words were once for Jay and for Laura. Jay wanted to focus on his health, whether it was exercise or eating right. Laura felt she needed to focus on endurance, as our travel schedule can be quite busy.

If you had to choose a word to assign as your purpose for this year, what would it be? What word encourages you and your spouse?

Write down your word and attach it to your fridge with a magnet, or stick it on your bathroom mirror, or set it as your phone’s wallpaper. Keep it where you’ll see it and be reminded of it every day.

REFLECTION

JANUARY 7

Intentional Communication

ROMANS 14:19 NKJV

As a husband I’ve heard that phrase hundreds of times after asking Laura where she’d like to go for dinner.

I ask, “How about Italian?”

“Nah, not in the mood.”

“Chinese?”

“I’m hungry like an hour later.”

“Seafood?”

“We had that last time.”

“So, where do you want to go?”

“I don’t care,” she says.

When it comes to restaurants, the response “I don’t care” really isn’t a big deal. What scares us to death is the number of couples who seem to say “I don’t care” about their marriages. It’s like they’ve put their marriages on autopilot and are simply coasting along.

Live this year with intention when it comes to your marriage. Intentionally communicate daily. Intentionally date each other—in quality marriages, spouses court each other throughout life. And finally, intentionally celebrate the love God has given you for your spouse. Take the “I don’t care” right out of your marriage this year.

REFLECTION

JANUARY 8

Have Fun