Author Archives: Larry

DATE NIGHT | LOOKING BACK ON 2017

Photo by Joshua Ness on Unsplash

Date Night is a new series that will post on Thursday of each week.  We want to encourage you to invest in your marriage with deep and meaningful conversation just like you did when you were dating.

Unfortunately for many married couples, once they say “I do,” they stop pursuing one another.  It is very easy to quit going on dates, to stop discovering new things about one another, and forget that life together is an adventure.

There isn’t anything magical about the questions that we will offer each week.  The real magic happens when two people take the time to invest in one another.  Whether you use these questions or some discussion starters of your own, we hope that you will once again find the wonder of getting to know each other and using these conversations to shape your future together.

Conversation Starters

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GOD IS GOOD AND HE IS GOOD TO ME, AND YOU

Every good thing given ad every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadows.

– James 1:17 (NASB)

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.

– Psalms 136:1 (NASB)

I cannot think of a better way to end our thoughts on gratitude, than to talk about the goodness of God.  The notion that God is good, and that He is good to us, His creation, is a common thread in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Continue reading →

I LOVE MY UTILITY BILLS

I have to admit it, I am spoiled.  Spoiled to all of the modern amenities that I enjoy every day.  I also must admit, that I take many of those things for granted.  Well, that is not completely right, it is more accurate to say that I speak with contempt about those things that I should be more thankful for.

Maybe you are the same way.  How many times have you rejoiced when the electric bill or the water bill comes due each month?  If you are like me, there have been many times that you have fussed about the high cost of utilities or the rising cost of utilities.  Now, I am not saying that there shouldn’t be any concern for these things.  The people that run these utility companies should not be able to abuse our dependence on these services.  Continue reading →

I LOVE MY JOB

I want to go on record and say, there is no such thing as a perfect job.  There will always be things about every job that you do not like, even if you love what you do.

I have read the following statistics several times over the last five years or so.  These numbers vary slightly from one reporting organization to another but only slightly.

  • More than 660 million people live on less than $2.00 a day.
  • More than 385 million people live on less than $1.00 a day.

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THANKSGIVING IS THE ENEMY OF DISSATISFACTION

We would worry less if we praised more.  Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction.

– Harry Ironside

Discontentment and dissatisfaction, are spiritual problems that stem from our selfishness.  Our selfishness most often presents itself in our culture through an attitude of entitlement;  this idea that we somehow deserve what we want.

Many people live this way, but we do not realize  how painful this is to ourselves and to those around us.  When we live this way we emotionally punish ourselves by being in a perpetual state of dissatisfaction.  We live miserably. Continue reading →