Marriage Survey
Let’s face it. Marriage is hard work. Honestly, the struggle is real in a LOT of marriages these days. But, take heart. There is hope!
Focus On The Family has been helping families and marriages for many, many years. Now is no different as they have a marriage survey for you to take where it will reveal the strong points in your marriage first. Then, it will reveal the items it feels you are weaker in resulting from your answers to their questions. They go a step further, though, and provide information on how to improve in those areas. There are books recommended as a resource to get you headed in the right direction. The ultimate book is God’s Word, though!
I took the survey just a little bit ago, and I was pleased with the strong points in my marriage such as having a commitment to each other, spending quality time together, and intimacy between us. Where we struggle is, honestly, in the spiritual department and with not surrounding ourselves with couples in our community for a source of support. We lean heavily on each other, and to me, that isn’t a bad thing at all. But, the survey did suggest that we needed more outside support within our community. We did try this a few years ago with a small group at our church. When we were having some issues two years ago, though, it seemed to do more harm than good when we reached out to those around us. The more people that got involved, the worse it was! Opinions from others were flying back and forth on both sides with a great number suggesting that we go against what our hearts wanted: each other! We believed in our marriage even when those on the outside did not, and we did NOT give up on our marriage nor each other!
Spiritually, we have a ways to go. The husband is the head of the house and the leader, and I believe my husband desires to do good in this area. He wasn’t really raised being involved in the church or having a relationship with Christ like we’ve both realized we needed all of this time. He gave his life to the Lord a few years into our marriage, praise the Lord for that! However, I think he feels he isn’t equipped to lead us spiritually. I strongly disagree. While I have heard the saying about being a baby in your spiritual walk still drinking milk, as he grows in his faith he will become more comfortable in that leading role. Once he grows and matures as a Christian, he will walk confidentially as the head of our house and the spiritual leader for our family.
The survey did not really reveal anything earth shattering that we didn’t already know we needed to work on, but it was interesting to participate in the survey. I enjoyed reading the results and seeing the recommendations as far as reading material to help bridge the gap of where we are and where we’d like to be spiritually. I really did appreciate the resources listed and plan to check them out.
If you have five minutes, would you consider taking the survey, answering the questions honestly and then taking action on the areas you may be weak on in your marriage? If so, please click here to take you to the Focus On The Family Marriage Survey.
I’d like to see everyone’s marriages improve so that you’re close in all areas: emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically. It can happen!
Marriage isn’t just 50/50 as a lot of people like to say. It takes both of you going above and beyond to make your marriage soar to new heights. You CAN keep the fire burning in your marriage.
Even if there have been issues in your marriage previously where you felt like a wedge was driven between you and your spouse, God can heal your marriage if you turn to Him. We are living proof of it as we are closer now than we have ever been in our entire marriage! Two years ago, honestly, we were not sure that would be possible. We give God all the praise, honor, and glory for this because HE turned the problems we had into stepping stones to a love beyond our wildest dreams. We know for a fact that HE is able, if you trust in Him and turn your lives and marriage over to Him.
So what are you waiting for? Take the marriage survey, discuss the results, and join together to utilize the resources they recommend to improve your marriage. No, I am not receiving any commission or any blogger perks for recommending Focus On The Family, their survey, or the resources offered. I simply love what Focus On The Family is all about and wanted to share with others who may be interested.
Here’s to living, loving, and enjoying life together with your spouse!
From Light to Deep Sleep Using Essential Oils
I have always been a very light sleeper. Anything that sounds out of the ordinary at night and I wake up. It got to be so bad that I would use something like a fan, soft music or ocean wave sounds to help block out the odd sounds that would wake me up at night. That all changed when I was introduced to essential oils.
I had read about oils several years ago, but I never tried them. Then my wonderful massage therapist, Gina Westlake, mentioned that she was selling oils though Young Living. Since Gina has helped me a lot with my neck and shoulder issues, I trusted her recommendation enough to give them a try. So I signed up and bought a kit and a diffuser. It has been one of the best things I have done lately.
I started out using Frankincense in the diffuser while I meditated. I have been meditating for many years. My usual routine is to meditate with some soft music playing, such as Jim Brickman’s Soothe CD ( #soothe ), right before I go to bed to calm my mind in hopes of sleeping better. I set the diffuser near me and the scent of the Frankincense helps me achieve a deep state of relaxation faster and more often than what I would normally. So I decided to experiment a bit and use the diffuser at night while I sleep. I tried a couple of oils like lavender and I did notice a bit of a difference.
Gina made a post in our Facebook group, “Good morning! There are a LOT of oils that will support a good night’s sleep. This trio (Valor, Lavender & Envision) has been my go-to the last few days (a couple drops of each on my feet before bed) and I have been sleeping GREAT. Seriously like knocked-out-great, which is unusual for me. What oils have worked for you?”
One of the members replied that she used a combination of lavender and lemon. Since I had those two, I decided to give it a try. The lavender and lemon combination works great for me. I still wake up one or two times a night, but I am sleeping deep and feeling more rested than I have in a long time. I wish I would have known about this a long time ago.
If you have ever thought about trying essential oils, we would like to give you a chance to try them out. We have put together a little essential oils starter kit giveaway. Our starter kit includes:
A diffuser
A bottle of Young Living Lavender oil
4 oil samplers: Lemon, Peppermint, Peace & Calming, and Thieves
An Essential Oils pocket guide
A Young Living product guide
What Are You Expecting?
Try as we may, we all go into different situations with expectations. It is hard as human beings NOT to sit in anticipation of what will happen. Whether we’re expecting a miracle in a situation only God can control such as someone’s health issues, or we’re expecting a raise for all of our hard work, if we’re honest, we’re all sitting in anticipation of something.
For the vast majority of Seniors, they are expecting to walk down the aisle at their graduation ceremony in just a few, short days. They have no idea that all the years they complained about school will actually be the best days of their lives when they look back on things. When all you really have to do is go to school, study, and make good grades all while hanging out with your friends, oh yes, these are the best days of your life. You just haven’t realized it yet. When you get out into the real world, you will, though. Whether you go to college to further your education or you go out into the work force, you will soon realize that the world does not revolve around you and your friends. It can be, and often is, a cruel world out there. I bet of all the things you’re expecting your adulthood to be, you won’t be expecting the harsh reality of those that occupy the planet with you caring very little about your well being and your success. Don’t let people, their actions, or their lack of care and concern make you lose sight of your goals in life. Be the best YOU can be.
There was once a guidance counselor at my husband’s school that discouraged him from going to college. The guidance counselor said such damaging things like, “You clearly are not college material.” That stuck with my husband, and honestly, it discouraged him a great deal. It was, indeed, damaging to hear the guidance counselor, of all people, say this to him when he was looking for … well … guidance … for his future plans. My husband certainly didn’t go into the office that day expecting THAT. Thankfully, though, he has a spirit of determination, and those words were actually the words he needed to hear. He didn’t give up like ones would do under those circumstances being told such things. Instead, he forged ahead, and he went to two technical colleges, and THEN he entered the big university where he graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Mechanical Engineering!
Don’t EVER discourage someone when they come to you seeking advice. Especially if you’re in a position such as this guidance counselor! Instead, be a great encouragement to them. My husband went in there expecting encouragement from the guidance counselor, but instead that was not what he received. Yet, in the long run, he proved the guidance counselor wrong! He not only went to two technical colleges where he obtained an Associates Degree, he went on to the big university where he obtained his Bachelor Degree! Although he’s never gone back to that guidance counselor to show them just how wrong they were about him, I wonder if the thought has ever crossed his mind.
What are you expecting? Where are you in life and what are you looking forward to, anticipating, or expecting? Are you expecting to go on to bigger and better things? Who is stopping you then? Go for it and live your dream! If there is a way possible for you to embark on the path that will lead you to your destiny, do it!
Live your dream. Reach for the stars! You CAN do it!
