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The Truth is … I forgot …

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God so loved the WORLD …

It was in my home church at Central Baptist Church in Dixon’s Mills, AL, where I began to learn that … God really does LOVE the world.   Chuck and Bobbi Kinzer, missionaries to Kenya, brought snake skins, spears, and beautiful clothing, when they would visit.   Ivan and Doris Schoen described the laborious task of translating the Bible in Suriname, South America.   Often, missionaries would stay with my Grandparents and I would get to hear their adventures first hand.

I am ashamed to say it –but the truth is …
Somewhere along the way – I got busy, and forgot about the world.
I thought about the next baseball game…
I thought about vacation …
and, I thought about the next “to do” on my list…
But “the world,” was on a back-burner.
Three years ago, I went to Guatemala with World Help .  (I’ve been back for the last two years and we have two trips planned for 2013.)  A couple of years ago I read the book, Radical, by David Platt.  And, God began to remind me that He loves the world … and if I’m gonna love what He loves, I better start thinking about His world more.

This week – My nephews, Chuck and Jake Bates, are on a mission trip with their church to Guatemala.  All week I’ve been praying a prayer that Vernon Brewer taught us on our trip, “God break our heart – for what breaks Yours.”  I’m asking God to open their eyes to the world.  I’m asking God to help them “do” for one, what they wish they could do for many.

What about you?

  • Have you thought about the world lately?
  • Would you consider going on a mission trip?
  • We’d love to have you go with us.

 Awake: Doing a World of Good, one person at a time, by Noel Yeats, is a book that will open your eyes to the needs of a hurting world.

Father, thank you for loving the world.  Thank you for loving each one of us so much that you would send your son to die for us.   Lord, please break our hearts for the things that break yours…. Don’t let me forget about the world and all those you love.   In Jesus Name,  Amen.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16

His Needs, Her Needs: Building an Affair-Proof Marriage

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I don’t know how I missed it …

But,  I had never read His Needs, Her Needs: Building an Affair- Proof Marriage, until two weeks ago.  (Over 2 million copies of the book have been sold). The following is a book review.

Willard F. Harley, Jr. wrote His Needs, Her Needs:  Building an Affair-Proof Marriage, to help men and women become aware of the ten critical needs that should be met for a healthy marriage.

Harley’s book takes a practical approach in helping husbands and wives look for and provide what the other needs in marriage. He begins with the question, “How affair-proof is your marriage?”   This question provokes couples to consider the current status of their marriage.  He drives home the fact that all marriages are unique, but that there are critical emotional needs that should be met within every marriage in order for it to be healthy.  If these needs are not met within marriage, couples will become vulnerable to having those needs met outside of marriage.  Harley shows how unmet needs lead to affairs. He challenges all couples to remember, “It could happen to you.”

After identifying the problem in many marriages, and showing why all marriages should take these needs seriously, Harley describes the importance of the “love bank.”  The love bank is a storehouse of emotional and physical needs.   Deposits and withdrawals are constantly being made in relationships, and Dr. Harley identifies specific deposits that must consistently be made by spouses.  He shares two essentials that men and women, “Can’t do without”:

1) Affection for wives

2) Sexual fulfillment for husbands.

While the other needs are intertwined and important, these two needs usually rise to the top when evaluating what men and women find essential in marriage.

There are many books available to couples to guide them in their pursuit of a healthy god-honoring marriage. Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs, has been one of my favorites to share with couples.  It describes a “woman’s need to feel loved and a man’s need for respect.” In his book, His Needs, Her Needs: Building an Affair-Proof Marriage, Dr. William F. Harley, Jr., draws an equally graphic picture of the needs of men and women.  He thoroughly fulfills his goal of “showing couples how to restore and sustain their love for each other.”  This book will definitely be added to my “Must Read” list.
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  • Do you have a favorite book to recommend to couples?   Please share.

Willard F. Harley, Jr. His Needs, Her Needs: Building an Affair-Proof Marriage. Rev. and expanded. ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Revell, 2011.  ISBN-13: 978-0800719388