I am in LOVE

In my usual blogging style, this entry is two-fold :) The first entry is geared toward marriage.Don't stop reading here, it's good stuff, I promise. Let it be known that not only do I love my best friend and husband, I am IN LOVE with him. There is a reason for that, let me explain. When we got married, we made our vows very aware of the culture our marriage would have to survive in. We drove away to our honeymoon with an un-waivable determination in our minds and hearts to not be included in the 51% of couples in our culture who do not make it. It was giggles, romance and lots of great memories for those honeymoon days. And every day since then has been WORK. That's right, I said work! It's true, lets not hide it. A great marriage doesn't come because the planets align and you fall in love and tie the knot. It comes as a result of a mixture of many ingredients, just one being DAILY WORK. Part of the problem is that my generation, and the one before and after, do not know the value of work. This makes the concept a little more difficult to grasp. You reap what you sew is hard to grasp for a generation who reaps things they didn't sew and has an instant gratification complex. But this blog is meant to be equipping and encouraging, so let me go on. I want to lay out a few of the key ingredients here that make up the success of our marriage and mix together to make Chris and I IN LOVE with each other. Some of these are scriptural, some personal preference and some the result of wisdom imparted to me by women of God who have been married 50+ years. I won't overwhelm you, I will share a few basics now and blog on some others later. *Disclaimer* This blog isn't to talk down to anyone who has gone through a D situation (our first rule, that word isn't allowed in our vocabulary). I am not better than you and I pray that God continues to heal your heart and restore you. This is for anyone who is married or every plans to marry (or marry again).
So, I dare you to start implementing some of these that you don't currently do. Email me and update soon and let me know how it's going.

• Hug/kiss 2-3 (or more) times every day, including a kiss goodnight, every night
• Go to church together (take your family to church)
• Tithe together (lay hands on that envelope/debit card-if you tithe online), believe together for your finances
• Find a Financial Peace University class near you and complete it (daveramsey.com)
• Take the tv out of your bedroom (yikes!) (the only womans face he should see in your bedroom is yours, tv or not. even if it is just Olivia from SVU)
• www.5lovelanguages.com  find each others and speak it
• Read "Love and Respect" and "Men Are Like Waffles, Women Are Like Spaghetti" (both books)
• Have young kids? (get on a 2 week plan to get your kids sleeping in their own bed!!!; be persistent, your marriage is worth it
• Put your spouse first, put your kids second (that's a hard one)
• Never get this order mixed up: God--Family--Work--Church (email me with ??'s)
• Schedule intimate time (hey, you make time for everything else, don't give me that look)
• Wives, you home should be a safe haven for your man to come home to. Manage your time wisely, get off facebook and tidy up! (Hey, you want the truth or not?)
• Take care of your man! Feed him, rub his back, be romantic with him.

Okay, so these are starters. I told you it was work. It takes discipline, people. But invest into your marriage and take off your "D" parachute. If we can do it, so can you. We are not super heroes, we are regular people just like you who decided that we will NOT settle or compromise. If anyone knows how it is to be busy with the demands of kids (ours are 4 and 5), work, church and the list goes on.....we know. You can do it, make one change at a time and watch how God honors your efforts and watch your marriage grow and blossom.

Oh, so I said this entry was two fold and I promise I won't leave you hanging. So, what else am I in love with?? New York City! Oh my goodness!! Our Faith Church NYC launch is approaching this Sunday and I am so excited. We had a trial set up this past week and it was awesome. Of course there was the scurry of everyone finding out where everyone and everything goes, but I loved every minute. We have a launch team that has such a passion for serving. God is going to do some amazing things at Faith Church NYC. What an awesome God we serve and what an awesome team we have. I am so in love with NYC. I have been since I was 15 years old. As I was driving out of the city last Sunday night, God just supercharged the passion I already have for this city and these people. I can't wait to love on our FC team and love on New York. We will be meeting in the AMC Empire 25 just off Times Square and just riding up the escalators and looking out the huge glass windows at the masses of tired, hurried, burdened people in the streets ignites this ministry adrenaline cocktail inside me that breathes hope, change and love. I am honored to be His hands and feet to this city. I can't wait to see God show up. God's not dead, He's surely alive and He's living on the inside, roaring like a lion! 

Okay, well it's getting late. So many more things I would like to blog about. They will have to wait until next time. Oh and by the way.....I found a Chick-fil-A on the NYU campus in New York!! Hey now! Delight yourself in the Lord and he WILL give you the desires of your <3 div="div" nbsp="nbsp">