Thursday, July 31, 2014

AUGUST 2014 Letter LIVING WELL

Would you get in a car or a plane for a trip if you believed that your rate of survival was 50%? 

The myth that 50% of marriages end in divorce has contributed to lower rates of marriage and increased cohabitation today. Couples don’t like the odds. YOU can help combat that myth!

Myth? Yes, myth.

It’s a statistic that we hear continuously in our culture today. Our rate of divorce in the U.S. has never been 50%, even at it’s worse. According to a report from the Census Bureau, 72.5% of women in the 50-59 year-old age group (includes widows) are still married to their first spouse. If we could take out those who are single because of the death of a spouse, the rate of divorce might be 25%. YOU can encourage young married couples!

The effect of the myth is wide-spread discouragement. If I am unhappy in my marriage, I might think that I only have a 50% chance of making it; I must be part of the half that doesn’t. But if I know that 75% make it, then I might be able to figure out how to make it work too.

We have found that the small things that we do or don’t do in marriage can make a huge difference. [See our blog] Most marriages aren’t having problems because of the big issues, such as alcoholism or other destructive behaviors. In the book, The Surprising Secrets of Highly Happy Marriages by Shaunti Feldhahn, the author surveyed many couples and reveals how small things can change the climate of a marriage.

TRY IT! One suggestion from the author of a small thing that any of us can do is: 
  • Women: notice the little day-to-day things your spouse does and say “thank you”. Saying ‘thank you’ to a guy is the emotional equivalent of when he says ‘I love you’ to you! Sincerely say thank you several times a day and you will transform your marriage.  
  • Men: take your wife’s hand when you are walking across a parking lot, or put your arm around her when you are sitting together at church. Those gestures deeply please the vast majority of women on my survey, because it says some important things like, “You’re mine.” That day-to-day reassurance that you would choose her all over again is priceless.
THANK YOU for continuing to support the work we do with couples everyday in our office - strengthening marriages and preparing couples for marriage.

THANK YOU for your prayers and support for WISDOM Community School. Our next project is a security wall around the school property. A recent break-in reinforces the urgency to begin the project. The cost is $22,000.

We currently have $3500 donated towards that project. YOU may give by sending a check, online at our website, or through an electronic transfer. Please contact us for more info. Donations are tax-deductible; 100% goes to the project.

To see more about the school and current news, visit wisdomcommunityschool.com .

Thank YOU for your continued support! We could not continue this ministry without YOU! We love and appreciate YOU and your support of what God is doing!

Our love in Christ,
Donna and Ed Edwards

P.S. Pray for the protection of Wisdom Community School and the funds for a security wall around the compound.

The water that I will give him will
  become in him a well of water
springing up to eternal life.
John 4:14b

Living Well is a life source .... not a life style.