Here we go!!!!
Good day to you all! Pictured here is one of Tim's "posters" that he is in the process of tweaking....I like the title of it, so I thought I'd post it. You may recognize it as I have posted the picture on its own a while ago. His website has more of his photos....be sure to check it out! http://timmybomb.blogspot.com/
Anyways, Tim and I are leaving for a week of vacation bliss... FINALLY! So we won't be posting for 6 days or so. I know, I know....you are SOOOO disappointed, right?? Tee hee! Anyways...we are headed up into the north of British Columbia to take mass quantities of pictures and experience the great outdoors for our 4th year wedding anniversary!! FOUR YEARS!!!! Pretty cool! God is soooo good to us!
This picture's title is very appropriate for this week ....with our wedding anniversary and all...we're "Still Standing". It is also fitting because I have a few friends that are also celebrating their anniversaries this month, but they are "standing" on their own for their marriage....without the help of their spouse. I find that pretty amazing. Every marriage goes through intense difficulty (....and if you haven't gone through it yet, beware....YOU WILL!), but that difficulty, if dealt with in a spirit of understanding with faith, hope, love, and with Jesus, can prove to make that marriage stronger than ever.
For Tim and I, the difficulty struck months before we were married and continued for two years after we were married!!! No kidding! Yeah, we were happy we were married, but we hit some brutal circumstances and situations that sought to destroy our marriage. If it weren't for the Lord and His gifts of perseverance and sacrifice in Tim and the stubborness of myself, we wouldn't have survived. Marriage is tough work....really tough, but when the bulk of the difficulty is fought through and I mean REALLY FOUGHT through, a new marriage is birthed and peace is restored.....there is a new level of FUN and intimacy, too.....we're "Still Standing"...broken and damaged....our marriage a real "fixer-upper", but now "standing" with fresh renovations!
As for my dear friends going through poo, but standing for their spouses, standing up for the sanctity and covenant of marriage....standing for righteousness...though broken, perhaps bleeding, tearing wallpaper and peeling paint, their marriages under renovation, they are READY for beauty to be unveiled, intimacy to be renewed, a solid and forever foundation rebuilt. "Oh Lord Jesus, come and renovate!" And He IS! He is. Dear friends....STAND and STAND FIRM! The passage that comes to mind is I Corinthians 16:13-14, which says, "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be (wo)men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love."
Other good ones are: I Corinthians 15:58, Ephesians 6, James 5:7-9, and I Peter 5:9.
STAND FIRM and be blessed! God's got your back! See ya next Wednesday!!!
posted by Bethany @ 2:19 PM
4 Comments:
Wow, Bethany!!! I literally laughed out loud when I saw the photo portion of today's blog. The title of that poster is simply fantastic. I love it! Thanks! You and Tim bless Jeff and I in more ways than you could possibly ever imagine. I am continually touched and convicted by your faithfulness, love and willingness to serve the Lord and others. Thank you for the time so productively spent in our kitchen the other night - who would've thought that there are memories to be created and shared out of eating yo mama's cold, turkey legs! I pray that God rewards you both richly for how you minister to others, and share/claim Colossians 3:12-17 (The Message) for your anniversary celebration and your years to come:
12 So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. 13 Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. 14 And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. 15 Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. 16 Let the Word of Christ - the Message - have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! 17 Let every detail in your lives - words, actions, whatever - be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.
Love ya my sistah, my friend, N.
Hello from Seattle.
Bethany, Happy Anniversary! I can't believe that it's really been four years since I last saw you (I think it's somewhere within that time)... However, finding your blog and reading it (even if I don't always comment) have been a really HUGE encouragement to me during this terrible year in another country... I REALLY want to see you when I get home...if only for the single reason being that you are SO fun and smart ;)
I hope your vacation is very relaxing and special. Thank you for the honesty about relationships... I wish I was stronger and could deal with "difficulties" better...but I'm still learning... thanks for "teaching"!!!!
Bethany,
This is by far my favorite blog! I'm proud of you and Tim and how far you've come. Have a wonderful vacation and we'll talk when you get home.
MOM
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