“Find a church that offers marriage oriented classes and attend those regularly.”
We recently asked our class to tell us one important thing that they had learned about marriage. If you could give someone who was about to be married one piece of advice, what would it be? The opening quote is one of the answers. Of course, we loved that answer.
Our class actually had a lot of great answers. Another person talked about how he and his wife had grown up in good Christian homes, read the Bible, and had parents with good marriages. But after going to a marriage conference with a group that we put together, they realized that they still had a lot to learn about marriage. He was thankful for finding out what he didn’t know! He believes they are to continue to learn about marriage, in the same way he does continuing education on his job.
When is the last time you did a continuing ed class for your marriage?
Or maybe you know someone is preparing for marriage or in the beginning years of their marriage. We have a class coming soon for all of the above. We are teaching a marriage class at our office on Monday nights this fall, September 10 - November 5, 7-8:30 pm (eight classes). For more information, you can call or email us or go to this page on our website to find out more.
A couple of weeks ago, our landlord (a wonderful, Christian man) came to us and said that someone wanted to rent the room that he has been letting us use for the last two years at no cost. We use the room for our classes, meetings, and trainings. Our agreement with him was that we could use the room, which adjoins our office, at no charge, but he would continue to make it available to lease. Then, if anyone wanted to lease it, he would give us a chance to lease it first. We prayed and consulted our board. We believe that God wants us to continue to use the space. We know that God will raise up the additional $350/month for the rent for the room. Please pray with us for the Lord to touch hearts of those who will join us in continuing to provide classes and trainings.
We recently completed a series, THE GOOD, THE BAD, and THE UGLY Marriages in the Bible (and what we can learn from them). We are gradually posting the complete lessons (and more!) on one of our blogs. You can read the complete series on our marriage blog.
The Wisdom Community School has a website, www.wisdomcommunityschool.com and a facebook page. [like their page here] You can now see more pictures and video of the children online. And you can see our team in action! More will be added to both in the days ahead. They have a year-round school schedule there, going to classes for three months, then taking a one-month break. They are about to start back to school for their fall semester. We are thankful for the ongoing commitment and prayers for those children.
And … save the date for our annual dinner - Tuesday, October 16!
Thank you for your continued prayer and support of the ministry of Living Well.
Our love in Christ,
Donna and Ed Edwards
P.S. Please pass on info about our marriage class that is starting soon!
Showing posts with label marriage education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marriage education. Show all posts
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
AUGUST 2012 Letter - LIVING WELL
Our country is grieving over the latest shooting tragedy. Our hearts are heavy; many continue to seek the answer to the question “Why?” We don’t pretend to be able to understand what was going through the mind of the shooter as he planned and carried out such a horrific act.
Most of us cannot understand the depths of the depravity of a human being. We do not know the answer to the “why?” question, what we do know is that evil is very present in our world today! No amount of analysis or speculation will be able to explain the motive of this man.
Our government leaders and politicians have re-energized the national debate on firearms. Unfortunately, an endless amount of laws will not change the fact that millions of firearms are already owned by millions of Americans.
What are we to do?
Ultimately, the issue is the heart. Darrell Scott’s daughter was killed in the Columbine shooting. He testified in 1999 before the subcommittee on crime of the House Judiciary Committee. His testimony included these words, “The real villain lies within our OWN hearts. Political posturing and restrictive legislation are not the answers….We do need a change of heart and an humble acknowledgment that this nation was founded on the principle of simple trust in God.”
You may be thinking, “My heart is okay; I would never go on a shooting rampage.” As Christians, we must look beyond ourselves. Through His Word, God says,
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
(Romans 12:21)
“Do not repay evil for evil or insult with insult,
but [repay] with blessing,
because to this you were called ….” (1 Peter 3:9a)
As we minister to the hurts of those around us, we open the door for our Lord to make changes in their hearts. Our attitudes and compassion offer the love of Christ to those we see. Each of us can be inspired by good and by God or inspired by bad and evil. We are all inspired by someone or something. We will have some writings on inspiration on our next blog post.
We are excited about developments at Wisdom Community School. We received enough donations to provide security bars for the doors and window. Those bars are being installed now. Someone donated lightweight backpacks for the children of the school. They are perfect for shipping and for the needs of the children. We have enough monthly financial commitments to engage a principal, one day per week. He will provide oversight and support for the teachers but also be the spiritual instructor for the students and the teachers. We have established some reliable contacts for drilling a well.
We are starting a three-lesson series called "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly of Marriages in the Bible: and what we can learn from them" in our Sunday morning Bible study class on August 5 at 11:00. [see more info] We are teaching a marriage class at our office on Monday nights this fall, September 10 - November 5, 7-8:30 pm (eight classes). [see more information here]
We are excited about our expanded roles in leadership at church. We are leading the development of a comprehensive marriage and family ministry. The team has 10 ambitious goals for the coming year. Our mission is to: engage, enlighten, encourage, equip, and enrich families with Biblical strategies and training. Some results include a class this fall for parenting teens and a marriage celebration event with recording artist, Michael O’Brien, on February 23. 2013. [for more info, call our office, 792-2586]
Thank you for your continued prayer and support of the ministry of Living Well.
Our love in Christ,
Donna and Ed Edwards
Most of us cannot understand the depths of the depravity of a human being. We do not know the answer to the “why?” question, what we do know is that evil is very present in our world today! No amount of analysis or speculation will be able to explain the motive of this man.
Our government leaders and politicians have re-energized the national debate on firearms. Unfortunately, an endless amount of laws will not change the fact that millions of firearms are already owned by millions of Americans.
What are we to do?
Ultimately, the issue is the heart. Darrell Scott’s daughter was killed in the Columbine shooting. He testified in 1999 before the subcommittee on crime of the House Judiciary Committee. His testimony included these words, “The real villain lies within our OWN hearts. Political posturing and restrictive legislation are not the answers….We do need a change of heart and an humble acknowledgment that this nation was founded on the principle of simple trust in God.”
You may be thinking, “My heart is okay; I would never go on a shooting rampage.” As Christians, we must look beyond ourselves. Through His Word, God says,
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
(Romans 12:21)
“Do not repay evil for evil or insult with insult,
but [repay] with blessing,
because to this you were called ….” (1 Peter 3:9a)
As we minister to the hurts of those around us, we open the door for our Lord to make changes in their hearts. Our attitudes and compassion offer the love of Christ to those we see. Each of us can be inspired by good and by God or inspired by bad and evil. We are all inspired by someone or something. We will have some writings on inspiration on our next blog post.
We are excited about developments at Wisdom Community School. We received enough donations to provide security bars for the doors and window. Those bars are being installed now. Someone donated lightweight backpacks for the children of the school. They are perfect for shipping and for the needs of the children. We have enough monthly financial commitments to engage a principal, one day per week. He will provide oversight and support for the teachers but also be the spiritual instructor for the students and the teachers. We have established some reliable contacts for drilling a well.
We are excited about our expanded roles in leadership at church. We are leading the development of a comprehensive marriage and family ministry. The team has 10 ambitious goals for the coming year. Our mission is to: engage, enlighten, encourage, equip, and enrich families with Biblical strategies and training. Some results include a class this fall for parenting teens and a marriage celebration event with recording artist, Michael O’Brien, on February 23. 2013. [for more info, call our office, 792-2586]
Thank you for your continued prayer and support of the ministry of Living Well.
Our love in Christ,
Donna and Ed Edwards
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
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