As I have been studying walking with God this week, I began to ponder how this "walking" can apply to my own marriage.....my marriage life. I don't really like the word "married life" because it sounds so stale, dull and final. But "marriage life" sounds like it's moving, alive and maybe even exciting.

Do you find yourself in a lifeless, dull married life? Do you want to know where that vibrant, happy marriage went?

Dale is a procrastinator. No other way around it. He softens it by saying he is patient, but he puts things off til the last minute, no matter what he wants to call it! I am a go-getter. I can take off on a tangent before others are even in the starting gate. Dale says I am impatient. I say I'm zealous!

But one of the things we have learned in our marriage life is this: when we get on different pages and the relationship seems off-kilter, many times it is because I have either gotten way ahead of Dale or he has lagged way behind me, instead of us walking together.

God's Word says that Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the day. I can't imagine them getting ahead of God nor lagging behind, but rather walking so close as to not miss a thing. That goes right along with Paul's teachings that say "stay in step with the Spirit". God wants us walking step by step with Him, guiding us through life.

Maybe as you go into the weekend, you can -reconnect with your spouse and  begin to walk together again. Take a physical walk at a park or in your neighborhood.....and talk. Find out where the other is at in life, what they are feeling, struggling with, etc. Steal away just a few moments to re-connect in heart....walk together.

Just think: if both of you seek to walk with God, not lagging behind, nor getting ahead, then both of you are walking at the same pace and in the same direction. Walking with God individually will be a step in the right direction toward having a marriage life, and you can begin to walk together again.

Start walking!

This morning, I was having a conversation with some friends about this whole concept of walking with God....I mean, REALLY walking with God. The conversation journeyed to the question, "Why don't we walk with God in total surrender to His plans for us....in reckless abandonment?" Have you asked that same question? I mean, I know we were created to walk with God and yet, for much of my life, I don't....how come?

Then the thought came to me: If my Daddy came to my house and told me that he had the perfect plan just for me that would make me the most fulfilled, happy, and free that I could ever be, what would I do? I can tell you! I would drop everything and do exactly what he told me to do. Why? Because I KNOW my daddy loves me. He can be trusted. And even though he has blistered my behind over the years and even allowed me to suffer from my own choices, I still know that it was all for me to grow and learn from my mistakes.So I've never doubted that he had my best interest at heart.

Jesus said, "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask of Him!" (Matthew 7:9-11)

The truth is that God DOES love you more than you can imagine. He DOES have a very specific plan for your life, and He wants to take you on the journey of growing you and making you ready to fulfill that purpose, as you walk and talk with Him. But you've got to trust Him.......even if you feel like your behind gets blistered......even if He allows you to reap the consequences of your bad choices......why? Because at the core, He deeply loves you and has your best interest at heart.

Could the root of my unwillingness to walk with God in complete surrender be this: I don't KNOW (I mean really know.... in your gut) that God loves me? That He really can be trusted? Even though my head may know it and the Scripture may say it, if I am clutching onto my life with a death grip, then in reality, I am saying (without ever saying a word at all) "my life is better in my hands than in Yours"....."I am NOT sure if You love me."......"You may not be trustworthy."

"But God demonstrated His love for us that while we were yet sinners, He died for us." Romans 5:8.

"Oh how He loves you and me. Oh, how He loves you and me. He gave His life, what more could He give? Oh, how He loves you. Oh, how He loves me. Oh, how He loves you and me."

My Mother used to sing that song over me when I was growing up. So, today, may you find yourself offering great thanks for God's incredible love for you. May it even "click" for the very first time the depth of love He has for you. May you begin to ponder these thoughts and begin to live your life completely surrendered. And may you hear Him in nature, in a loved one, in a child, or in His still small voice sing over you, "Oh, how I love you!"

Dale and Jena

Throughout our Christian life, there have been seasons where we have been so busy "doing" the Christian life, that we lose our perspective, and ask ourselves this question: "What am I here for anyway?"  After all, it's awfully hard to be about something if you have no purpose.  You end up wandering aimlessly with a less than exciting, exceedingly abundant life (John 10:10).

We have a feeling that you, too, have asked yourself the same question. Maybe you've felt a little disillusioned, discouraged and demotivated by the Christian life.

In Genesis, the Bible tells us that we were all created with one primary purpose: we were created to walk with God. Adam and Eve were created to live in Eden and they got an awesome privilege: to engage in regular, uninterrupted fellowship with God.

We remember, towards the end of college, continually asking what God's will and purpose was for our lives. We so wanted to know the specific plan He had for us when He created us.

The truth is that God did create all of us with a specific plan and purpose in mind. However, He does not reveal all of it at once.  That's because He knows that if He gave it to us all at one time, we would run off and try to "make it happen" apart from Him. Remember, He tells us in John 15 that apart from Him we can do nothing. God does have a specific plan for your life.  And a big part of that plan is the process in which He grows us and molds us into the person who can carry out that plan.  That takes time!

If you have found yourself going your own way in purposelessness, and lost some passion along the way, maybe it is because you've stopped walking closely with the One who can reveal that purpose to you.

Make it your intention today to think about and practice this simple truth: "You Are Here To Walk With God." And as you walk with Him, He will reveal more of Himself and more of His specific design for you.

May you be enlightened to this incredible truth, encouraged that He really does want to walk with you, equipped to begin the process of walking with Him, and empowered to be re-energized to fulfill the purpose for which God created you!

Love,
Dale and Jena