A Year to Know You!

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I have officially been married for one month, one day and 12.5 hours.  Life as a newlywed is GOOD!  After the honeymoon, we proceeded with life as “usual”.  Back to work for us.  For the kids, school as ordinary.  And we mustn’t forget all the extracurricular activities that surrounded our evenings and weekends.  Some things changed, of course, for the good (the really good) and yet other things seemed to fall into a pace that could rival with Nascar.  Monday would come and before we could blink or simply “download” our day or talk to the kids about their day…BAM!  It was Sunday!  How were we supposed to know each other as husband and wife at this pace?  How would my new husband get to know the two kids he just became father to?

While sharing my heart with a friend, she spoke this scripture,

“If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married.” Deuteronomy 24:5 NIV

My heart leaped with freedom!  “You mean I can enjoy him for a whole year!  And God likes it!?!”

So, we did it!  We cleared our evening schedules for a whole year (with a few exceptions)!  I share this not to say, “do what we did.”  I share this only to encourage you to take inventory!  I promise you won’t regret it!  May the Holy Spirit guide you!  Enjoy!

- Dana Palmer


It’s A Boy!

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We have a big family, well more like medium-large, including five beautiful, super cool kids.  There is so much love in this family!  We really hold on to our faith and love for God.  We often like to look at 1 Cor. 13 as a measure or model of how to live with one another.  Check it out when you have some time.

I remember one special day as I was sitting up in bed, waking up to that really early morning light at dawn, just before the craziness of the day starts, when I heard the voice of God over my life.  He spoke to me, saying, “For I know the desires of your heart, for I put them there … You will have a son.”  I thought to myself, did that just happen?  Yes, it did!  I was so happy, it’s what I’d wanted since we started having a family!  I love all of my girls, but this promise was a boy!  I wasn’t going to love his big sisters any less, but it was like getting an approval from God that my seed could continue on the earth.  Wow – that made me proud.  I was going to have a boy!  My very own little man to raise up as a Godly man. I’d been waiting for ten years here – it was about time, I thought.

Then, I got stressed.  Am I ready? Do I even know what to do with him?  Up to this point, I’d been working so hard to understand girls that I felt I wouldn’t know how to raise a boy!  You’d be surprised how parents often find themselves unworthy for the task at hand.  And having all girls in my family at that time, I didn’t know any better.

So here’s what happened.  I got super excited, stressed, felt peace … and then we find out we were having another girl.  Huh?  What happened?  What about that promise?  I thought I was getting a boy.  Are we sure, should  we get a second opinion?  What’s going on here?  So now I have 4 daughters and no son.  Hmmmm…..insert the moment in life where you shrug your shoulders and scratch your head.

Well, at the beginning of this blog I wrote that we had 5 kids, so we did get that boy.  And he’s just as cool as his big sisters.  I remember the day we all went to the ultra sound appointment.  All of the kids guessing boy or girl, and when they said boy I was really happy (as you can imagine) and shouted out, “Whoo hoo, yeah, praise Jesus!!!”  And then we walked out back through the waiting room.  Everyone was clapping for me and happy.  But then they understood why I was so happy, as they saw us and our four daughters walking out.  That was funny, you should have seen the look on their faces.  I must admit, doubt did creep in and I let it drag me down a bit when our fourth child wasn’t a boy.  But I learned a lot about patience in that season, and that the call over a parent’s life is one of faithfulness.

You have to be faithful in order to understand and see the promises that God is giving you.  Faithful doesn’t mean sit on your heels either.  Faithful means you stay loyal and steadfast in your following.  Hanging on even though you can’t see it.  Remember Hebrews 11:1 and 2 Corinthians 5:7.  Look them up right now, it’s a treasure hunt.  Be a faithful parent and your kids will thank you for it.  He’s a small boy right now, but he has a big destiny in Chirst!  Be encouraged today in the name of Jesus.

- Francisco (Frankie) and Deserae Arboleda (XP Webpastors)


Your Marriage Can Be Supernatural!

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God is a relational God, and He created us for relationship!  Marriage is meant to reflect the divine communion between God and man.

If you feel like your marriage may be struggling, don’t lose hope!  Don’t give up!  The key to a supernatural marriage is spirit-led intimacy – both with your spouse and with the Lord.

3_SuperMarriageCoverDan Wilson is the author of today’s featured book, Supernatural Marriage: The Joy of Spirit-Led Intimacy.

You can order it online at xpmedia.com for $10.80, or just click the book to the left.

If you find it hard to believe in the possibility of a better marriage, God wants to awaken your heart and mind to dream again!  His desire is to bless you abundantly more that you could ever ask or think.

This is a short encouragement from author Doctor Dan Wilson (a marriage missionary with Supernatural Marriage Ministries).  As you watch, allow yourself to be filled up with hope and faith for the glorious future of your supernatural marriage!

3_DanWilsonVid


An Arranged Marriage

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When it comes to finding our spouse, we usually depend on attraction, compatibility, and a host of other traits that are on our “list of ideals”.  We then take this “list” and hold it up as a litmus test against the various people we find attractive, trying to somehow filter through our spousal options.

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My courtship to my husband was very different.  It started with a dream.  A dream of walking hand in hand with a friend that I cared deeply for, but had no interest in romantically.  I brushed off the first dream as a random pizza dream, but they kept coming.

I began to understand that God was speaking to me about His desire and will for my life.  While the process was challenging, I did eventually surrender my heart in complete trust.

I like to think of my marriage as an arranged marriage.  Arranged by the one who numbers the hairs on my head, and knows what my future holds, and what hardships life will bring.  Arranged by the one who knows what I need better than I do.

I am, and have been, happily married now for seven years to my best friend.  The romantic desire that seemed lacking toward my husband came as soon as I said “yes” to the Father.  Everything just naturally fell into place.

Everyday I thank God for the gift He gave me.  A treasure I seemed to overlook on my own.  A treasure I couldn’t imagine my life without.

Marriage is a big decision, one of the most important you will ever make.  Are you willing to let go of your lists and ideals, and allow the Father to have a say?  Are you willing to let Him “arrange” your marriage?  Are you willing to trust Him with your heart?

- Crysty Fiorelllo