"However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."
Ephesians 5:33
This may seem obvious, but did you know that it is a choice to follow Jesus' command to us in Ephesians 5:33 regarding our spouse? It does not come naturally and that can lead us right to The Crazy Cycle. Without respect, he reacts, without love, she reacts, without respect, he reacts, without love, she reacts... In her book For Women Only, Shaunti Feldhaun writes that choosing to love/respect your spouse is "a choice that we make out of reverence for God." Not only should you view loving your wife/respecting your husband as an active choice, you should know that a husband is to obey the command to love even if his wife doesn't obey the command to respect, and the wife is to obey the command to respect even if her husband isn't demonstrating love. Make the choice to obey the command in Ephesians 5:33 even if you're relationship makes that choice difficult. Lives and relationships can be changed even by a one-sided choice!
Try to make time this week to complete the "homework" for Session One with your spouse!
Announcements
- Thanks to Ross and Paige for providing breakfast yesterday for the kick-off of our new study Love & Respect. It was quite the spread!
- Welcome to the new members of our class! Christy Chambers and Ashley & Jennifer Colburn
- Welcome to our visitors Robert & Laurie Beth Bishop!
- Just a reminder - Valentine's Day is next Sunday...
- Service opportunities: Team Impact February 17-21... If you are interested in helping with those who respond each night to the Team Impact message during the week, come to a short informational meeting on Wednesday night at 7:00 in the chapel or contact Pat Delaney.
Prayer Requests
- Jason & Michelle - PRAISE!!! The Daniels are expecting a new family addition! Pray for a healthy pregnancy.
- Mike & Brenda - Continue to pray for Brenda's brother-in-law, Jim Patterson. He has tests on Wednesday (10th) and gets results on Thursday to see if he's cancer-free or a candidate for surgery.
- Christy - Alex has his speech evaluation with Children's Hospital on February 10. She's praying that his speech is closer to his age level and not so far behind. Please pray for Alex. He has a sinus infection and when he gets sick it causes him to regress in speech/communication.
- Chad & Misty - Continue to pray for David Mims and his family. He is at UAB in critical condition with burns covering 64% of his body. To keep updated on facebook search "Prayers for David Mims."
