Want a Boyfriend????

It’s two weeks until Valentine’s Day. For many who live in unhappy marriages and those of us who live unequally yoked, this day is not all smiles and chocolate. In fact, this day can be painful.

Later in this series leading up to the big V-day, I will share some of those articles and my newest one, which will be at the Internet Café on the 14th. But, let’s not live defeated. God did not create us to live in disappointment nor defeat.

So for the next two weeks we are going to set off on an experiment to move away from the traditional renderings of Valentine’s Day and make this “Greeting Card” holiday one that we will laugh about, enjoy and remember. Join me and…..

Let’s make our husband our boyfriend.

Now before you give me the eye-roll and say, “Oh brother, she’s nuts,” hear me out.

I actually did this recently, made my husband my boyfriend. It was a complete by chance opportunity but it was so much fun and now I have a boyfriend. A fun and cute and attractive boyfriend who likes to hold hands. Who knew???

Here’s what happened.

Most of you know that I have an ornery streak in me. Darn it! But, whatever, my family loves me anyway and we sure laugh A LOT because of it!

Set the stage: My family, we were all getting in the car several weeks ago, I was the driver, my husband was in the passenger seat and in the back, sat my 15 ½ year old daughter and her best friend. Two girls who at this age and I quote, “Want a boyfriend more than air to breathe.” Oh brother. (drama…. drama… drama….)

As we pulled out from the garage on our way to drop the girls somewhere, they were quite surprised that my husband was going with us just to drive around on a drop-off errand. I have to tell you that I understand their surprise; my husband rarely does the driving of children unless I am absolutely unable to do it. But on this particular day, I had forethought to ask my husband to join me for this outing, a short car ride to drop kids, just to spend time together. No office. No computer. Just time driving and talking. Plus I told him I would make it worth his time… (wink.. wink.)

*Side note: Notice I did the driving. Men do not multitask. They either drive or they talk, but never the two shall mix.

My daughter was completely surprised when Dad jumped in the car and as we backed out. She says, “So whasup? Why ‘s Dad goin?”

Now remember these two teens are completely obsessed over having a boyfriend. Not that I think they have a clue what to do with one once they get one. (A story for another day)

Knowing their fascination with boyfriends and you add to that to my ornery and jovial sense of humor. I stopped the car in the driveway, turned around, and spoke to their stunned faces with a broad and mischievous grin plastered on my face, “Dad’s coming with me so he can be my boyfriend and hold my hand.”

Impetuously, I reached over and grabbed my husband’s hand and we locked fingers. I grinned bigger.

You could literally hear the “eye-roll” directed at me from the backseat of the car as I backed into the street. Then the giggles started. My daughter’s friend couldn’t contain herself any longer. She tried to stop but the giggles erupted which of course then, I started to laugh (loudly by the way, I never laugh softly), then my husband and my daughter joined in.

Hilarity and gaffs of laughter, uncontained, flowed from our car as I happily rolled down the street holding my boyfriend’s hand and living life to the full. God is good to me.

So, that day my husband became my boyfriend. Who would a thunk it, but this “boyfriend thing” has grown over the past months and it’s become a new and wonderful romance between my husband and me.

I have more to tell you on Friday. Stop back in then. Today, I want you to be purposeful and invite your husband to be your boyfriend. Start asking God to show you how, when, where, what… all of it. You will discover what I have. A boyfriend in your husband is really kinda cool.

Be blessed, Lynn

Have I told you lately....

... that I love you!  So does Dineen..

And so does the Lord. And He loves on us too.

First, I'm sitting in my office on a storm Sunday afternoon as I write this. I am overwhelmed by love. The kindness, prayers, petitions and caring all of you have poured onto Dineen and I. We have been on the phone several times this weekend getting teary eyes together reading your prays and we are thanking the Lord for each of you.

We have so many surprises around the corner to share. I feel as if I'm about to burst. And out of my terrible day on Thursday came God's amazing presence. He showed up and surpassed our wildest dreams once again. I live in continual amazement and worship of our King.

Stay tuned. Much more to come. Hugs, Lynn

Made to Crave

Hi Everyone,

Many of you know that I was able to sit with my friend Lysa TerKeurst this past spring. We enjoyed a delightful talk. She gave me some helpful advice about writing and such. And, we talked about some of her current writing projects. 

At that time she was finishing up her new book Made To Crave. This book hit the market place early January and has been a great help to so many of us who struggle with conquering our eating missteppes.

I am reading the book now and it's not a diet plan. It's a plan to help you succeed to eat healthy and to support you on whatever eating plan your are following. 

If you struggle in this area, pick up here book. 

Lysa has generously offered a book to give away here at Spiritually Unequal Marriage. So, to enter the drawing, please leave your name and "enter me" in the comments.

Check out the Madetocrave.org website to order a book now.

Love you Lysa. Thank you for all you do to serve the Lord. Hugs, Lynn

Enter once until midnight on Tuesday, February 1st. Winner will be chosen by drawing.

 

Weekend Devo — Faith of a Mother

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering terribly from demon-possession.”

Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”

The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to their dogs.”

“Yes, Lord,” she said, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

Then Jesus answered, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
—Matthew 15:21-28

The mother's faith in this passage caught my attention this week. She is one persistant woman! First the desiciples try to get Jesus to send her away, then Jesus counters her request twice. I don't know what His reasoning was there, but I have a feeling it was for the disciples then and for us now.

The message? Don't give up! Despite the visible oposition, this woman persisted in asking for her daughter's healing and knew Jesus was the only One who could do it.

As a mom I love this woman's heart. She fought for her child. So many of us have children facing challenges in a world with little to no understanding for them. But this story shows us Jesus cares! And He hears our prayers.

I'm still battling for my own daughter's health and well being. My prayers aren't being answered the way I want, nor is anything miraculous happening as with the girl in this story. BUT, I know from this Scripture that sometimes things aren't as they seem. God is in control and has a purpose in it all. He's working in my daughter to help her walk into the plan He has for her life. In the meantime, I will keep praying and believing!

Hope you will too.
Hugs!
Dineen

 

This time... I Need You

Hi My Friends,

Well as you might expect the enemy has been working overtime. Yesterday, a giant setback occurred.  Something we counted on to be prepared for our book release became completely unravelled.

I'm going to be completely transparent here. I was so angry I was shaking. I haven't been that mad since I was an executive at a bank . (banking can really tick you off *grin*)

So, may I ask you, our friends, to pray for Dineen and for me. The enemy would love to destroy our marriages, our efforts to get our message out and our witness.

I would treasure any words of prayers you leave in the comments for us today. We have prayed for so many of you. For your marriages, for you spirit, for your happiness and we count it a privilege to do so. We rarely ask for prayer. Perhaps we should ask you to pray for us more frequently?

But, today, I am utterly humble and in need of the Lord to protect us and show us what direction we need to go.

I love all of you so much. I care deeply for your heart, your marriage, your children and your spirit. Thank you for praying for Dineen and I. Hugs, Lynn

Thankful Thursday - Serving the Kingdom

Thankful Thursday is hosted here at Spiritually Unequal Marriage in January. Don't forget that next Thursday we will all meet up for Thankful Thursday at Laurie's of Women Taking A Stand and then over to Grace Alone for March.

I have been richly blessed to host Thankful Thursday. I haven't been around to read your online friends posts but I WILL get there, God willing.

This Thursday, I am utterly thankful for allowing Dineen and I to share our stories of God's healing in our spiritually mismatched marriage with the world.

Our book, Winning Him Without Words, will be released on February 17th. We are in earnest prayer that our message will save marriages, encourage women to grow in their relationship with Jesus and mostly that the name of JESUS CHRIST is glorified.

If you know a woman who is living unequally yoked, they are lonely, they feel misunderstood and are struggling quietly. Please send them to us. We will pick them up, dust them off and give them a Wild Hope they need to move forward in their marriage and their journey toward heaven.

I can't begin to thank Jesus enough for the chance to serve His Kingdom.

How do you serve God's Kingdom? Is it through your church, through your online ministry, is it by serving your family and your husband? Give thanks to Jesus and let's celebrate all the good things God works for our good and His glory.

Praising Him. Lynn

PS. Stop back in February as we start a new series: How to make your husband your boyfriend.This will be hilarious yet practical as well as perfect timing leading up to Valentine's Day. Also, we will be launching a brand new website the second week of February. Cool Free stuff, stories, information and a bunch of other stuff. Stop in and visit with me.~ Hugs, Lynn 

The Hummingbird Atheist

I snapped this photo last night from my family room window. We are looking into the backyard. It’s twilight in this scene. It’s the mad rush of the Hummingbirds.

If you know an unbeliever this is a good story. If you are a believer, this is a GREAT story. Let this tiny bird reveal some very BIG things about our God! Read the entire post at Laced With Grace, The Hummingbird Atheist.

Here are a few more photos I snapped last night.

 

 

 

Living BIG FAITH

When I wrote my original post about BIG FAITH, I had no idea how many people would respond. So many of you, as far away as Africa and Austrailia, have contacted me here or privately to say God has put the same yearning in their heart as well. Reading my post merely put into words or confirmed what they already sensed.

It’s an amazing and awe-inspiring thing to see something like this happening in our day and age. God is moving in big ways and He wants to take us with him. But He’s not asking us to have perfect faith—let me be clear about that. I don't want anyone to think that just because something didn’t pan out like you’d hoped, it was because you didn’t have enough faith. That’s a sticky, gray area that just causes doubt and confusion.

What I’m talking about with this whole praying for BIG FAITH for 2011 is asking Jesus, who is the author and perfecter of our faith, to do just that—perfect our faith.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. — Hebrews 12:2

In the King James version the word used is “finisher.” The Greek word is teleiotes and means perfecter, one who has in his own person raised faith to its perfection and so set before us the highest example of faith. Jesus is our example of BIG FAITH. AND according to Hebrews 12:2, He’s also the author of our faith.

The real heart of what God is asking us in this journey toward BIG FAITH is to BELIEVE and TRUST him. God wants so much for us to not just believe in him but to BELIEVE Him for whatever He has placed upon your heart for this year. And trust Him for the how and when.

If you’re sitting there, reading this and don’t know what God has put upon your heart, then maybe it’s time to ask Him. Maybe He’ll have something to tell you, maybe He won’t right then, but trust Him to be the one working in your life to bring about His plan and purpose.

And if you’re someone like me who has hidden for while out of fear because the situation you’re in is like an endless and repetitive loop, then we’re the ones God’s especially calling to right now. He wants to end the brutal attack on our faith and strength but we have to BELIEVE that. Just because we may be in the middle of chaos does not mean we have to live like chaos. We can still have peace and joy in the midst of whatever stormy trial has invaded our life. I know what that’s like to be sucked into a raging storm that is the result of the circumstances and actions of someone we love. We didn’t cause it but we love that person and are an integral part of their life.

We can’t go untouched by the trial but we can walk through it with the confidence that God has our back, that God is in control, and that God is working for our good and the good of our loved ones. When we BELIEVE this, our perspective begins to change. This is the seed of BIG FAITH because in the center of it, we’ve dethroned ourselves, our loved one, the issue, or whetever it is, and placed our BIG GOD in the center of it all by affirming,

“Yes, my God is bigger than anything I’m facing and with Him I can do anything.”

BELIEVE this truth, AFFIRM it every time doubt, the enemy, or naysayers want to tell you differently.

This is what BIG FAITH looks like. We know that we know that we know God is BIG, and then we live like we believe it.

Praying and believing,
Dineen

What's the Name of That Book?

I have to tell you that Jesus Christ can do amazing things in the lives of two ordinary women. You may know that Dineen and I spent a few days together. We were preparing for our new book launch and at the advice of our publisher, Regal Books, we worked with our video guy, Jim Fredrick, who is a genius and very patient, to record some video segments that we will use on our website.

Okay it was a grueling, fun, hilarious and weird day. We filmed for hours. Dineen and I came home utterly exhausted. BUT, wow, did we laugh….

God gave me an amazing friend in Dineen. While we were filming our last segment at my kitchen table, I looked Dineen in the eyes, took her hand and said, “Thank you for coming to my home and allowing me to be myself.”

You see Dineen knows me, really knows me, the good the bad and the ugly, she has stayed in my home, met my family, lived with my zany ways AND loves me anyway. I can’t tell you what this really means. For years I never had girlfriends, a real friend. But, God, once again God, knew what I needed and He sent Dineen.

So, with that I say. Love you girl and thanks for all the laughs. AND boy howdy, did we ever laugh.

Here are two women who are goofy. We hope you love us still when you see the following “BLOOPER” video clip.

If you missed our streaming online TV show, The Intentional Marriage, I hope you have a chance to watch it. We answered some questions that seem to be a common issue in spiritually mismatched marriages. Scroll down.

Okay, here is the clip. PS. There are more to come. We will let you know. Hugs, Lynn

Remember, we had been recording for hours and were quite surley by the time this clip was recorded... I hope it makes sense and makes you smile at our ordinariness.

Here you go...."What was the name of that book?"

 

 

Weekend Devotion at The Intentional Marriage.

Okay, Stickam may have a commercial before our video. Bummer. We are working diligently to have it removed.

We sure would love to hear from you. Share with us your thoughts and suggestions in the comments. Hugs, Lynn and Dineen