FROM SOMEONE MARRIED FOR OVER FORTY YEARS?
That’s me!

 

 

The  Lord of glory is always given foremost credence by me: that is why my ministry is named www.joyeternalministries.com! The joy of the Lord is my strength! Truly I matured in Christianity very slowly. My Fault…

Selah.

However, never was I one to blame others for my bad behavior (biblically known as ‘sin’) because for the most part of my life before Christ I was an honest woman; or so I thought. I am now, I know!

This is September. The year is 2022: and I am sixty-six years old. I willingly chose to become a child of God in my twenties; after my marriage. I tell people. “I thank God I didn’t die in my twenties! I would have gone straight to Hell!” This is true! And yet, so many people who claim Christ shrink at this. Makes me wonder…

So here I am sixty-six years old, thankful for every day, thankful for what and Who is coming, and grateful to be a blessing to my Father, Lord and Savior, and Holy Ghost!

Selah!

Guess what else?! September is the month Duane and I married! But not this year! And, we were a blind date! Both outside the will of God, we have repented. Now there is not one thing more valuable to us than our God – including each other!

Selah again.

Let’s cut to the chase (a cute expression!) Being sixty-six, both of us, don’t you just want to know how long we’ve been married? Sure you do!

And what does this matter to you?! Let me tell you, when you have someone who is qualified to soundly counsel you with truth (that would be God, the Bible) by setting the successful example: listen and learn!

September 28, 2022, brings Duane and I to forty-three years of marriage!

Selah.

Want that? Have that? Have more? Have less?
It is more than possible to love the man you marry always – and – I am talking about the first man!!!

Beloved,
Not one person goes through marriage without sin, without disappointments, without hurt, without failures. The key is this:

 

Matthew 22:35-40
One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

 

Loving God first, loving yourself, and loving others is the path of joy unspeakable, health, peace, prosperity!

Duane and I have outlasted a whole lot of people we know. Sad to say for them…

 

AND HERE’S MY COUNSEL:
Have God as the head of your marriage, of your entire life. Go to the same church. (Make certain it is a real church: the entire Bible as the anchor without changes.)

Don’t let family members (any of them) turn you against each other. So when you don’t agree, give it to God and stand your ground on the truth.

Say “I love you!” all the time – and mean it.

Repent when you need to! Here is one of my best words of wisdom. Don’t say “I’m sorry!” if you don’t mean it. Sometimes, beloved, it takes me days to say it because I have to think and examine the full situation: and then, when I need to repent and apologize, I mean it!

Selah.

Always be honest and deal with relatives and others as needed. Be a Christian and don’t be afraid to challenge someone in sin – even if it’s ‘his’ family! (A very good word here!)

Even as the marriage grows in years, celebrate all birthdays and anniversaries.

 

Every day is a gift from God! Every marriage is to be honored! Do you best to be a loving, considerate spouse!

 

 

THE  EXCELLENT EXAMPLE OF A MOST HOLY HUSBAND AND WIFE: JOSEPH AND MARY:
A study on the challenges and trials Joseph and Mary lived through while being devoted to God and man is great strategy!

Selah.

This holy and devoted couple takes away all and every excuse for the whiney-hiney!

 

 

Matthew 1:18-25
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.  Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.  But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

 

Luke 1:46-55     Mary’s Song
And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me—holy is his name. His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful to Abraham and his descendants forever,