February 2011 Living Well Letter

 “I have loved you with an everlasting love” Jeremiah 31:3

And what are you planning for the one you love?

If you are married, consider giving your marriage a gift of love. We encourage all married couples to do something to maintain and strengthen their marriage at least once a year. What have you done for your marriage this year?

February is the busiest month of the year for marriage educators and advocates. We have many events coming up. Please pray for us as we seek to speak into the lives of many couples. Events:

• Jan 28-29, Friday night/Saturday “Energize” retreat, Caddo Baptist Assoc.
• Feb 4-5, Fri night/Sat “Marriage Tune-up” retreat, 1st Baptist Church, McAlester, at Falls Creek
• Feb 7, 7-8:30pm, Mondays, “Preparing for Marriage” class, our office
• Feb 8, 7-8:30pm Tuesdays, “Living Well in Marriage” class, our office
• Feb 11-12, Fri nigh/Sat morning, “Dream Marriage” live simulcast by Jimmy Evans, regional event, sponsored by Marriage Network OK at Putnam City Bapt (we coordinate and host this event)
• Feb 24, Thursday, 10-3, “Building a Comprehensive Marriage Ministry” workshop, Southwood Baptist Church, Tulsa (regional training for church leaders)
• Feb 27, Sundays, 5-6:30, “Managing Money” class, Putnam City Baptist Church

Wow! The list even scares us! How do we do it? Because the Spirit of God compels us. He has given us a passion and equips and enables us to do it! We value your prayers and support.

Our schedule reflects the different avenues of ministry, which we believe are essential, to reach different couples. We do individual/couple guidance every week. We teach small groups such as the one which starts February 8th at our office. We teach church groups, such as the retreats. We sponsor regional events (Dream Marriage simulcast). We train leaders who can go back to their churches and teach or lead marriage ministries.

Families today are under more stress than ever before. According to an American Psychological Association study, in 2007, stress impacts lives in a dramatic way:

• About 1/2 say that stress has a negative impact on both their personal and professional lives.
• About 1/3 of employed adults have difficulty managing work and family responsibilities.
• Over 1/3 cite jobs interfering with their family or personal time as a source of stress.
• Stress causes more than half of Americans (54%) to fight with people close to them.

To overcome these stresses, couple must take an intentional approach to strengthening their marriages and their families. They will not be able to hold their families together without a plan!

We love and appreciate you and your support of the work God is doing through Living Well!

May the Lord bless you in your relationship to him and in your marriage.

Our love in Christ,
Donna and Ed Edwards
P.S. Please pray that the Lord will give us wisdom and rest.

Less Stress Christmas

How am I going to have time to get it all done?
Should I buy a gift for a friend ... we have never exchanged gifts before ... I don't want to offend her ... what if she buys me a gift?
Our son wants a car .... we can afford a bike.

Any of that sound familiar?

A couple of tips to reduce the stress of this time of year:

1. Don't charge your Christmas presents.

Only spend what you have that isn't allocated towards previous commitments (for example: mortagage, car payment) or a need (food, electricity, etc.).

We were so excited about our budget spending plan the first year that we were telling everyone how wonderful it was. That was 20 years ago and we are still telling everyone! After that first Christmas on a spending plan, a friend called to thank us for our Christmas present to them. I'm thinking ... "it wasn't that great of a present to warrant this enthusiasm." But our friend thanked us for talking about getting out of debt. She said that was the first Christmas that they had not charged their Christmas presents. After Christmas, they would have the stress of all those bills to face. She said it was their best Christmas ever.

2. Give gifts with meaning, not just something to say that I have given a gift. See our marriage blog for some ideas on gifts for your marriage. Ask yourself the question "what can I give that will still be here after I am gone?" Usually, the Gift of Presence last longer than gifts of presents. As

I look around and think about Christmas, the times we made cookies or went to the Nutcraker ballet with my mother and our kids are the memories and times I cherish the most. Who can remember the presents 20 years later? The Presence lasts forever. Or consider a gift that will bring spiritual growth, which will go with us into eternity - an Eternal Presence.

We are celebrating the Prince of Peace. I pray that I will let His Peace live in me .... a less stress Christmas.