God uses a throwaway book to change a legacy
From the Call Center this afternoon. If this doesn’t light your fire, your wood is wet.
DR
I just got a call from Ellen (not her name) in Ohio. She works at a local store in town and came across a bunch of books that someone was going to throw away. She decided to glance through and see what was there as she did she came across a workbook with a yellow sticker on in saying that it had in it the biblical blueprints for marriage. She said as she looked at it it was obvious that it was a sample copy with none of the answers in it. She had never heard of Familylife, but she knew she needed the blueprints because her marriage was crumbling. She called and immediately found a weekend that was near her and signed she and her husband up. Later that week her husband moved out and she said she felt absolutely hopeless, but her husband agreed that he would go to the conference with her. She said 3 of the worst weeks of her life went by before the conference and when they showed up Friday night he wouldn’t look at her and left a seat between them when they sat down. Her thought was, “what’s the point?”
Friday night was even worse they got in a huge fight and she was certain he wouldn’t come back on Saturday, but by the time she got there he was already there and had saved her a seat in the ballroom, still a seat apart and still wouldn’t really look at her, but she said at lunch on Saturday he was a completely different person. He asked if he could stay at the house on Saturday night and before they went to bed he asked to pray with her. He then told her he had accepted Christ and asked to commit their marriage to being a Godly one.
Since last Spring they have become group coordinators and brought 25 couples in their church to the conference and she was registering another free couple for the conference in Akron this Spring. Ellen said that FamilyLife has now changed their lives and has changed the marriages in their church. She said thank you again and to think it was all because God showed her a book that was about to be thrown away.
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Keeping the Covenant through Cancer
The battle against cancer can be one of the most difficult journeys for a marriage. Unfortunately, the divorce statistics are very high for these couples, yet I just came across this video of a couple who persevered and leaned into their covenant to make it through. Though it’s not part of this video, a Weekend to Remember they attended while he was undergoing treatments was a significant part of their story. We will all face adversity. Will it push you toward your spouse or away from him/her? toward God or away from Him?
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Great Testimony from Facebook
This post today on FamilyLife’s Fan Page on Facebook
Amber Roth DeGrace I wanted to say that my husband and I recently welcomed a daughter, Lotus, that was a baby ‘dreamed up’ at a FamilyLife conference at Skytop Lodge in PA last April. Thank you for helping us renew our relationship with each other, we were so blessed by our weekend together and have such a beautiful little lady as a memorial to our renewal! Blessings to you and your families in this new year.
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Powerful Reconciliation Testimony
Here’s another testimony we just received to the power of God to bring reconciliation to a divorced couple and how he used FamilyLife to do it. Praise the Lord that his word offers Help for Today and Hope for Tomorrow!!
I don’t know if there is enough room here to tell you about how your ministry has helped me in my life so I will just see how far I can get with this. I was in a difficult marriage for almost 30 years. Even after a divorce I found myself listening to your radio broadcast and wondering why I was still so attracted to your broadcast after my marriage was tradgically ended and my children had grown-up and moved away. Then, one day I heard the testimony of a couple who had been married, divorced and re-married. I had always prayed that I not leave my family with the legacy of divorce but accepted that God works in all situations for those that love Him.
Well, it is a very long story of how God has worked in my life, but I am now re-married to the same man that I was married to for all those years. He and I have both changed (especially him!) and God has blessed us and continues to do so. We had another church wedding with our children as our best man and matron of honor and our two little grandsons as our ring bearers the second time!. Many of my favorite scriptures that I had underlined in my bible were the readings used that day Sept. 6th of last year. We are new creatures in Christ and He is continuing to do a good work in us and will, indeed, take it to completion! God did and does have a plan and offer hope for our future, just as He promised!
Your ministry and your transparency in sharing your own testimonies and those of your guests on your show has helped me and continues to do so each time I listen. My husband and I attended a weekend to remember many years ago and we hope to send one of my brothers and his wife on one the next time it comes.
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Change Lives at Weekend to Remember
A couple of changed life stories submitted recently on our web site:
My wife had been trying to get me to go to one of these conferences for 4-5 years. I finally decided that our marriage was at the point that we needed to do something. We were both living in utter isolation. We had read all the books. We knew all the lingo. After the first night, I told her, “Our marriage has cancer, and this is an aspirin.” I had serious doubts whether anything could be solved. On the second day, things began to change. I think the biggest difference was that the projects were not introduced by either of us, and therefore neutral. Neither of us could accuse the other of having ulterior motives in bringing up the subjects that needed to be discussed honestly. We were able to work through some of these issues and come to an agreement to leave them behind. Since the conference, it has been a wonderful time of reconnecting. I feel we are one again. As a result, the hindrance to God’s working that I had placed in my life by the bitterness toward my wife seems to be gone. I am experiencing a walk with God I have not had in a very long time.
Dave
And another one
My husband and I have a wonderful and fun marriage! It was so nice to have this refresher and see some things we are missing out on. I also learned that some of the small things that annoy me are things that annoy other wives too! Now when there’s clothes left all over the floor or my hubby is sleeping in the clean clothes that need to be folded I can laugh to myself and be reminded of the goals I set for myself: Focus on doing right, not being right; it’s ok to be wrong. Don’t nag, but offer grace. Make each other a priority. I loved the woman to woman part of the conference with Ann!! I have already seen a change in both of us. Most importantly, instead of being stressed about things that need to get done, I’m thankful that I have a loving husband to do them for. I am his helper and I wear that title with pride!! Thank you for helping us get closer and giving us things to work on to make us stronger. I am truly blessed to have an amazing husband who desires to invest in our marriage and each other.
Emily
I encourage you to find your way to a Weekend to Remember this fall. Find one at www.familylife.com/conferences
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