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MAGICAL MARRIAGE MOMENT

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The Scene: 

You are watching TV with your spouse.  A commercial comes on with a barely dressed man or woman.

The Moment:

Turn the TV off and look intently at your spouse.  With complete sincerity say; “I only have eyes for you.  You are the most incredibly beautiful/handsome woman/man I have ever laid eyes on; you still take my breath away.”

Psalms 101:3(NIV)
    I will set before my eyes no vile thing.  The deeds of faithless men I hate; they will not cling to me.

The NLT version says:

 I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar.  I hate all who deal crookedly; I will have nothing to do with them.

A TRIBUTE TO MR. ROBERT O'ROURKE ~ A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

A TRIBUTE TO MR. ROBERT O’ROURKE

A TRIP DOWN GOOD MEMORIES LANE

The last few weeks have been exceptionally busy (what week isn’t).  The up and coming release of our book in September has kept my mental computer (brain) on overload.  Sunday morning as I was getting ready for church the Lord suddenly invaded my heart with some truths.  Little did I know I was about to take a trip down good memories lane. Sometimes I tend to reflect on all the negatives that have happened in life instead of focusing on the good.  The Bible does say in Proverbs 17:22(NKJV) A merry heart does good, like medicine,  But a broken spirit dries the bones.

When I was living at home with my parents I loved it when they would take me into O’Rourke Jewelry Store.  Mr. O’Rourke always greeted you with his warm smile and he was never in a hurry. I was always intrigued to watch him examine a piece of jewelry with that extra piece of magnifying glass attached to his glasses that swung down to give him a an in-depth view of a delicately fashioned piece of jewelry.

Gazing upon all the treasures I would wonder what I might receive for the next gift day.  Hum, would I open a necklace, earrings, or get a new charm for my bracelet!  You see growing up in a small town O’Rourke’s was the only jewelry store my parents shopped at.  All of the jewelry gifts I received until I married came from O’Rourke’s and they represented a special occasion.  Birthdays, Christmas, Valentines or some other special event would surely present me with a small box to open.  To this day I still wear the Lindy Star ring my parents gave me for my 16th birthday; I had it downsized into a pinky ring.

The Lord began to flood my mind of days gone by and what gripped my heart the most ~ the charm bracelet.  I have about 45 charms on my bracelet; each with its own unique detail and meaning. The charms show a little girl growing up and becoming a teenager.  Several birthdays and Valentine Days are represented through the years.  One of the Valentine Day charms is a box of chocolates and the lid actually opens.  Another charm is a money box with an opening lid.  Inside the box was play money and the play money was replaced by my Mother and brother with a real dollar bill.  I cannot forget how diligently they work to fold that dollar tight enough to fit it into the box and still close the lid.  My mother told me it was my “mad money”.  She let me know as long as I had the charm bracelet I would always have money.  Several school activities that I participated in made their way onto the bracelet.  My faith in God is very evident and on display.  So many charms each with a story to tell about my life and each one very good, marking life’s milestones. 

One year for Christmas I took my charm bracelet to our local jeweler and had him make three charm bracelets.   He divided up the charms, 15 charms on a bracelet for each daughter.  That year I gave my girls a little piece of my life.

Sometimes life has a way of giving us sour grapes and we all could benefit from taking a trip down good memories lane.  I bet there are thousands of stories to tell out there of priceless memories that had their start at O’Rourke’s Jewelry Store!

Sunday my life was touched in a special way, as I took my trip down memory lane and little did I know that those memories would not have had their beginning had it not been for man named Mr. Robert O’Rourke and his decision to set-up shop in a little town called Bronson. We never know how our life will impact another, but rest assured we all impact others around us each and everyday.  What, when and how we do things will always produce something good or bad.  The Bible says we will reap what we sow.

Galatians 6:7(NKJV)
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 

Proverbs 11:18(NKJV)
    The wicked man does deceptive work,     But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.

May God’s peace be with the O’Rourke family as they mourn the loss of their husband, father and grandfather.

                                            



                                                                                                      

Aromatherapy

AROMATHERAPY

We hear a tremendous amount about aromatherapy.  When I “googled” the word, it gave me 39,200,000 results to choose from.  Take a walk through the mall and you will surely pass by a specialty store selling aromatherapy.  No longer is this solely reserved for the specialty stores.  Kohls, JCPenney, Meijers, Walmart, they all have sections dedicated to the sense of smell. 

Did you know the Bible talks about aromatherapy?  There is great importance placed on aroma. 

Dan and I lived in a small ranch when we were first married.  Our three daughters started their lives out in that little house and that is where they gave their hearts to Jesus.  We sold our first home after seven years to another family with three children.  A few years after selling the house, we attended a wedding at our former church.  Pastor B. informed us that the family who bought our house ~ their children came to Vacation Bible School and accepted Jesus as their Savior.  The next day as I was reading my Bible I ran across the following verses:

(2 Cor 2:14-16 NKJV)  Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.  For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.  To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life.  And who is sufficient for these things?

After I finished reading the passage, the Lord impressed upon my heart a truth I had never considered before and I was brought to tears.  This is what I felt the Lord said to me; “All of your daughters accepted Me as their Savior in that house.  A spirit of salvation was left there to linger, causing a wooing.  I was overwhelmed, and realized just how important it is to continual bathe in the Word and presence of God.  No matter what we do or where we go, something is left to linger!

 (Eph 5:1-2 NKJV)  Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

(Phil 4:18 NKJV)  Indeed I have all and abound.  I am full, having received from Epaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God.

(Ezek 20:41 NKJV)  "I will accept you as a sweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles.

(2 Cor 3:4-6 NKJV)  And we have such trust through Christ toward God.  Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

FOREWORD & ENDORSEMENTS for WE PROMISE

Foreword

We Promise will transform every marriage that desires to have Jesus Christ as the headship of their marriage. Reverend Dr. Daniel and Penny Loosenort have been led by the Holy Spirit to compile the scriptural references that guide us in many issues that affect our marriages. Never before have I seen a manual that illustrates so effectively the spoken Word of God and how to apply it in real life. We Promise is a blessing for every marriage! In the end, the Lord and all of heaven would rejoice, since all our Savior wants for us is peace, love, happiness, and to give to us the desires of our hearts! May the marriages this manual transforms be the beginning of the Lord’s army to save our country that seems lost!

In Christian Service,

Reverend Steven M. Baran, D.D.

President/CEO

National Christian Counselors Association

Endorsements

The information in We Promise has been an indispensable resource for engaged and married couples alike in our church. The wisdom that comes from years of marriage combined with clinical expertise and Holy Spirit anointing upon Dan and Penny makes this manual a rare treasure. I highly recommend this for anyone who is interested in building marriages that stand the tests of time.”                                                                    

Lee Cummings, Sr. Pastor, Radiant Church

We Promise is without a doubt today’s best tool for marriage preparation. Penny and Dan have thought this syllabus through down to the smallest detail. In addition to the vision Penny received from God, their years of teaching pre-marriage couples as well as their counseling of married couples have given them a sensitive and loving approach to the relational issues of marriage.

This manual workbook is a must for all married couples and those looking forward to marriage. It will also be one of those manuals couples will want to review periodically; sort of a “Let’s see how we are doing” checkup. Today’s pastors will enjoy using this tool in their pre-marriage counseling.

Reverend Dr. Bill Greenfield, Ph.D.

Hospital Care Pastor, Radiant Church

We Promise recognizes that a God-honoring, joy-filled marriage does not happen. It requires devotion and hard work.  Christian couples who refuse to settle for mediocrity will find here a most helpful marriage building tool."

Reverend Mark Minegar
Associate Pastor, Hillcrest Christian Reformed Church

Most marriages, in America, are in serious trouble, with the divorce rate climbing higher and higher. Thus, I am always looking for good books and seminars on this subject to recommend to counselees, who wish to better their relationships. We Promise is one of the best I've seen in a long time. Biblical principles are presented in a simplistic, practical manner; offering hope, joy and peace, which is so lacking in our society today. I recommend this book highly to all couples, regardless of age or past troubles; and I, also, recommend Dr. Dan and Penny Loosenort to hold seminars in churches and Christian ministries.

Reverend Dr. Ben Fulayter

Senior Pastor, Clayton Bible Church

We Promise explains in detail what “The Promise” is that you are about to take as a soon-to-be married couple. It is worth your time to study the manual and answer the questions with one another. Do not rush through this manual. Anything worth doing is worth doing well. Communication is the key to avoiding the pitfalls of life, especially married life. As I think back to the thousands of people who came through the Healing Rooms of Grand Rapids with baggage in their marriage, this manual would have saved them from their many burdens. Most Christians today have lots of baggage when we are supposed to have luggage. Baggage pulls you down as you drag it around. Luggage is something you pack for a purposeful trip and destination. We Promise is a must for your luggage!

Reverend Mark L. Gurley, CLU, ChFC

Co-founder of the Healing Rooms of Grand Rapids

Founder of the Supernatural Training Center

Financial advisor since 1988

Purchase your copy of WE PROMISE today:  WE PROMISE

IN TOW

IN TOW

The current heat wave has made spending time on the lake a priority.  Personally we love this weather and the water temps in the 80’s.  Recently our friends Bill and MJ came over for the evening.  We spent a couple of hours floating in the water solving the world’s problems.  Generally we float between our two swim rafts for safety reasons, so we are out of the boater’s path of destruction.  Curiosity overcame MJ and she asked why we have two swim rafts, which led into a story worth blogging about.

Several years ago a resident on Pine Lake had their swim raft for sale.  The swim raft was in excellent condition and the price was right.  Dan could not pass up the deal and wanted the second swim raft for out in front of our cottage to help keep boaters further away from our waterfront ~ granting us a larger area for swimming.  Now none of this is unusual, but how Dan decided to retrieve the swim raft is a worth telling about.

Pine Lake is 660 acres and there are four sections to the lake with a channel leading from one section into another.  Residents actually indentify where they live by saying they live on Lake 1, 2, 3, or 4.  We live on what you would call Lake #2.  The person he bought the swim raft from lives on Lake #3 which means to get to Lake #3 you must travel around the end of a long peninsula and backtrack from there. So this journey of Dan’s was approximately a two mile round trip!

Dan mentioned to me he was going to pick up the swim raft.  Sure, that was no problem with me because I realized he did not need my help. We have three motorized boats very capable of pulling the swim raft to our cottage.  Well you see Dan was gone a very long time and I could not figure out what was taking him so long to tow the raft back.  About ninety minutes after he left I hear the dog barking and looked out the window to discover he is towing the swim raft with our paddle boat!  I could hardly believe my eyes; he is pumping away like a crazy man with swim raft in tow…his response … only a “girlie man” would use a motorized boat to tow a swim raft half way around the lake.  Unbelievable!  Hum…………..I just thought of another “Dan” episode which involved his pick-up truck, trees and fence post (I feel another blog coming on!).

All of this got me to thinking; we do the very same thing in our spiritual walk with the Lord.  We tow around loads in our physical strength instead of drawing from the supernatural power of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The Lord has given us access to all we need in Him to navigate our life and to do this without growing weary or faint.

Here are but a few scriptures to equip you for the load you may be hauling ~ go ahead tap into to the One who makes all things possible!!

Matthew 11:28-30(NKJV)
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Matthew 6:25-34(NKJV)
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 
Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 
Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 
and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 
Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 
For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 7:7-12(NKJV)
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 
For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 
Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 
Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 
Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Philippians 4:11-13(NKJV)
Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: 
I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

HUNGRY FOR YOU

MAGICAL MARRIAGE MOMENTS

The definition of a Magical Marriage Moment:  taking an everyday circumstance and turning it into a magical memory of that moment!

HUNGRY FOR YOU

The Scene:  You are meeting your spouse after work at a local restaurant for dinner.  Your spouse arrives before you.  When you arrive…

The Moment:   Walk up to your spouse and say; “I happened to notice you are alone.  From the moment I walked in, I could not take my eyes off of you.  Do you mind if I join you for dinner?  My treat”. 

1 Cor. 10:31 (NIV)  So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

I have the great privilege of living with a man (my husband) who endeavors to make magical moments for me on a daily basis.  XOXOXOXOXO…to the man who makes magic for me!!

To create marriage magic for a lifetime, obtain your copy of: 

CLICK:  WE PROMISE



THE TORCH OF TRADITION

THE TORCH OF TRADITION

Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.  Though it cost all you have, get understanding.  He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who cherishes understanding prospers.

Proverbs 4:7, 19:8 (NKJV

The torch of tradition can either burn you or light your way depending on what that tradition was founded upon.  A tradition can be anything from how basic tasks are done to the way we celebrate special days, or even the way we believe.  Some of these traditions even dictate how we solve issues in life or react to a crisis.  Normally traditions are passed down from one generation to the next.

Leaving and cleaving entitles us to form our own family unit.  Some traditions are great assets to your marriage.  Other traditions could be a possible determent, leading to constant conflict within your marriage.  It is worth your while to study your family traditions and determine which ones are worth implementing into your marriage and which ones need to be thrown out with the trash……………………………………

The fact is, I have a very serving, pleasing temperament.  Dan had a strong military background.  When we were first married, he was fulfilling a commitment to the Army National Guard, which eventually placed him as the commander of the 1073^rd Army National Guard Unit.  There were times throughout our marriage where I needed to remind him I was not one of his soldiers, that I was indeed his wife and should not be ordered around.  My husband thinks I have overcome the weak area in my life of letting people take advantage of me and have no problem voicing my concerns now.  He says I am now like the woman in Dances With Wolves, Stands with a Fist.  I think I like that!  Personally, I think he likes it too.  Dan knows he took advantage of me in those early years, but he did not like others taking advantage of me either.

I must admit, Dan was not the only one who came with expectations into the marriage.  I also had some very unrealistic expectations of Dan, and still to this day I must remind myself that is exactly what they are, unrealistic.  My father and brother could fix anything.  They would be what you consider as millwrights, the jacks of all trades.  When it came to cars, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, cement, small engines, you name it, they could fix it.  Dan was taught none of these talents growing up and didn’t care to learn them after he became a man.  Now I must say he gave gallant efforts because I pushed him, but in the end it always cost us more money to fix the blunders, if they were fixable at all.  My husband has many qualities that are fabulous; however, being a jack of all trades is not one of them.  Being a carpenter’s daughter, I tried my hand at many home improvement projects as well, to my husband’s dismay, after he had begged me to hire those jobs done.

One prime example is the oak wood floor in the foyer of our house.  I was quoted over fifteen hundred dollars to have the floor refinished.  I thought that was ridiculous.  I could surely rent the equipment, sand, and finish it myself.  When Dan came home from work and saw the pile of sawdust lying on the ground outside, he knew we were in big trouble.  He was scared to walk in the house, and at that point I didn’t want him to see the disaster I had created either.  I am definitely a tightwad, and hiring people to get things done just goes against my nature (Lord, help me!).  I am so thankful we grew, matured, and were able to truly make our house a home, dying to ourselves and learning to put the other first.  We are now empty nesters who completely enjoy each other’s company as best friends as well as lovers.

When it comes to establishing traditions in your family, uniqueness is a fun ingredient.  Together you can develop memories that will last for a lifetime……………………………..

Through wisdom a house is built, And by understanding it is established.

Proverbs 24:3 (NKJV)



Excerpts for this blog were taken out of:  WE PROMISE 

To purchase your copy of WE PROMISE; click on the link below: 

WE PROMISE ~ 18 Foundational Stones for an Unshakeable Marriage