Your Marriage Team

THINKING ABOUT GETTING MARRIED?
Here are some questions to ask yourself about the person you’re considering:

1. Do they love God more than they love you? As flattering as it may be to have someone adore you, it is vital that you not come first in their life. You do not want to be an idol. God will not bless idolatry.

2. Do they have respectful, healthy relationships with their parents and siblings? The way they already do family relationships is what you can expect from them if you start a new family with them. Spend a lot of time with them and their family together so that you can get a good idea of what is in store for you.

3. Do they have the same life mission as you? It will be very hard to accomplish your heart’s mission if you are tied to someone who is headed in a different direction than you are.

ALREADY MARRIED?
Once you are married, you have a lifetime to grow and strategize together in your life mission. Every family should take time to formulate their mission.

What does your family bring to the world to make it a better place?

If you find that you are not headed in the same direction as your spouse, bailing on them is not an option. You will need to find a new mission that you both can invest in.

God is completely committed to helping you have a bright future. He is so faithful to complete the work that He has started in you. It is hard to get off track when you have a sincere desire to follow Him.

He even takes your mistakes and weaves them into your destiny to make your story powerful. He redeems every messy situation to the core.

Think of a wall with a hole knocked into it. God doesn’t just slap some scotch tape and spray paint onto it. He does a thorough repair job to the point that the wall looks brand new.

Destiny key: Don’t be overwhelmed by trying to figure out God’s will for your life. Submit yourself to God and your leaders, get into a place of peace and do what God is putting in your heart.

FOR I AM CONFIDENT OF THIS VERY THING,
THAT HE WHO BEGAN A GOOD WORK IN YOU
WILL PERFECT IT UNTIL THE DAY OF CHRIST JESUS.
PHILIPPIANS 1:6

@2018 Beth L. Olson. All rights reserved.

When It’s Time To Push

Recently I had a few days where I felt like I was pushing against a brick wall. I had all of these things in my heart to accomplish, and had been working towards them with diligence for many months, when I came to a spot where I smacked into what felt like strong resistance.

As I was driving down the road thinking things through, I passed a middle school football field. That was the moment when I was able to put my jumbled up, frustrated feelings into words. I felt like I had been pushing against one of those blocking sleds they use in football practice.

Having that picture in my head brought me relief and peace. I realized that I was actually in a good spot. Sometimes to get something off the ground you have to push. Pushing is hard, painful work. The fact that it is time to push means that something awesome is about to break forth.

When I was in labor with my first son, there was a distinct moment when the pain became so strong, that I just wanted to stop, climb out of the hospital bed, and go home. I had been waiting for that day with all of my heart for nine months, honestly for my whole life. When the pain became overwhelming I just wanted to “stick a pin in it” and try again another day.

Turn back the clock another 23 years. When my mom was ready to give birth to me something crazy happened. When the time to push came, her doctor instructed the nurses to hold her off for what turned out to be several hours. This delay caused physical damage to my mom. She had to have follow-up surgery and ended up only being able to bear two children when she would have liked to have had more.

Sometimes you just have to push! Quitting is not an option, and delay is dangerous.

This is the moment when the resistance actually works for you. Great breakthrough is imminent if you keep pressing forward.

Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. John 16:21 NASB

I’m realizing that my biggest breakthroughs come when I keep pushing.

(Please do not take this as permission topush against God or against your leaders in a rebellious way. That is definitely not what I am suggesting. If you push too early, you will birth a preemie and go through a lot of added stress.)

Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it?I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,Rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19 NASB

 

WHEN YOUR JOURNEY ISN’T GLAMOROUS…

When you have a big dream, you need to also have a big willingness to stay in the pursuit of it day after day. So, what do you do when you’re faced with so many days that feel just plain boring and ordinary?

My husband, Christopher, travels internationally a few times a year to minister in churches and conferences. He always says how it’s so exciting until you have to spend all night traveling. He loves preaching and praying for people and seeing God pour out His Spirit. After he’s done and heads to the airport, it’s not quite so exciting. The discomfort that comes from a lack of sleep and the challenge of trying to find elusive sleep while sitting up in a chair is less than glamorous.

The thing is, you can’t minister internationally without going through the hard work of traveling.

Falling in love and getting engaged is thrilling, but a life time of true love includes many days of laundry, housecleaning, and being faithful to show up at work so you can pay the bills.

Finding out you’re going to bring a new life into the world is amazing, and the day the child is born rocks your world like nothing else can. In between the two events you go through days and weeks of uncomfortable growing and waiting.

Raising a child is full of exciting milestones. In between the milestones, you pass through uncountable moments of behavior training and mess cleaning.

I’m always amazed at Olympic athletes who train all day year after year for an event that only lasts 30 seconds! Talk about maintenance!

Even famous people who are doing the things you dream of doing have maintenance days.

It can be easy to get lost in the swirl of the maintenance. Don’t lose heart, faithfulness always pays off in the end.

God is just so good and so faithful. Even when we get off track or discouraged, He is always weaving everything together to get us back on track.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Phil. 1:6

Key Idea: Don’t give in to apathy or boredom. Keep stirring up your dreams and encouraging yourself in the Lord!

©2017 Beth L. Olson. All rights reserved.

HOW TO WAIT WITHOUT GETTING IMPATIENT

Have you ever noticed that God doesn’t seem to be in a hurry? As much as we might want Him to get things moving, He doesn’t seem to ever get impatient.

God is not constrained by time. He created time and is outside of it.

The Bible tells us that God’s Kingdom is always increasing and advancing. He knows that He wins in the end, so He doesn’t need to worry at all.

I’ve noticed a pattern in my life where… continue reading

How To Live In God’s Favor

If you’re like me, you want to be wise and avoid making foolish mistakes as much as possible. To do this, we need to remember that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It is literally the starting point to living well.

The fear of the Lord is a beautiful thing. It causes us to run to God, not away from Him.

If you want to live in God’s favor: continue reading

THE BEST WAY TO WAIT

 

We’re all waiting for something. There is a real emphasis today about being present, but as much as we may want to live in the moment, we will always have to keep the tension of leaning into what’s coming next.

While you’re waiting, be joyful. Don’t mope around watching the calendar or clock. Choose to have a positive outlook along your journey.

Even when things aren’t going your way, you can live in joy. You can either live in hope about your future or dread. A powerful person of peace looks at the future with hope.

Laughter is such great medicine, but when we’re feeling blue it can feel like so much work to laugh. continue reading here