Before & After
Week Five - I Want a New Marriage
Carl Nichols
Vows
Priority
“I promise that God will be my one and my spouse will be my two.”
Pursuit
“I promise to always pursue my two.”
Preparation
“I promise to prepare for “we” while by dealing with “me”.
Purity
“I promise to communicate with and not isolate.”
Partnership
“I promise that our marriage will be about we and not me.”
The ideal
An ordeal
Looking for a New Deal
The grass is always greener over the septic tank
What I’m missing is better than what I have
Love doesn’t rationalize the right to quit when things get tough
Five Things To Build a New Foundation…
Great Communication
Sweetie
‘I was suddenly in love. It was amazing, we seemed to be stuck in the same kind of miserable marriages. How right that turned out to be.’
Prince of Joy
‘I still find it hard to believe that Sweetie, who wrote such wonderful things, is actually the same woman I married and who has not said a nice word to me for years.’
Dating
“Without romance, without adventure, without physical intimacy—without fun—marriage is reduced to a simple business arrangement. You’re like partners in a company, two roommates who split expenses like rent and food, yet living entirely different lives. Your communication can end up like short little meetings in which you’re divvying up to-do lists.”
A loving doe, a graceful deer– may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love.
Proverbs 5:19
- Compromise and Forgiveness
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
1 Corinthians 13:5
“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
Ephesians 4:26-27b
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Colossians 3:13
“I don’t understand why people breakup over silly little things.” Tony Toto
If you leave an argument thinking you’ve won, you’ve lost because the marriage lost.
- Commitment
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Commitment
“To be unhappy for a while until you get things worked out.”
Your marriage is as good as the two of you have chosen for it to be.
- Christ at the Center
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 3:9-12