“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 preparing for marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label preparing for marriage. Show all posts
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Thursday, April 28, 2011
MAY 2011 LIVING WELL Letter
Have we heard enough about the royal wedding between William and Kate yet?
Their wedding launches the spring “wedding season.” Brides-to-be are either in the thick of preparation or are in the final days before the wedding day. Bridal magazines present endless possibilities for the big event. The wedding has become such an expensive day that the trend is increasing among low-income couples to skip the wedding and marriage completely, because they think that they can’t afford to get married.
Rebecca Mead, author of One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding, was quoted in an article as saying, “Vows, which is the trade magazine of the wedding dress industry, had an article about how to market to the ‘nontraditional bride’ and warned readers that this kind of woman is dangerously apt to ‘forget the wedding and prepare for marriage.’ People who work in the wedding business often appear to be very warm and sentimental, but they're salespeople, and the successful ones are completely coldblooded about it.”
If every prospective bride and groom seriously investigated the purpose of marriage and of weddings, both weddings and marriages would change. These articles give some ideas to consider before the wedding—in the planning, for increasing the odds of success, financial status, and even the parents - Wedding Season and Those Left Behind.
Mother’s Day is around the corner, our first one without my (Donna) mother. My mother was a very important influence in my life. As I have thought about what she imparted to me, so much comes to my mind. Anyone who knew my mother saw her love, her warmth, her generosity, and her desire to make every event in life a celebration. She gave me an enormous amount of security with her unconditional love, but also showing me what it meant that God loved me. She always believed in me, told me that I could do anything. It was a great shock to me to realize that were some things I would never be able to do. Through that encouragement, she gave me confidence. Even though she was raised during the depression and war in rural Oklahoma, the 9th of 11 children, she recognized the value of education. She pushed me and my sister to read and do well in school; consequently, both of us love to read and to learn. Mother said the only book she ever finished was the Bible, but I think that was enough. She had an eye for nice things after growing up with the basic physical necessities. She taught me about the beauty in life. She even taught me how to take care of her in her last days after I watched her devotion, love, and care for her own mother 30 years ago. My prayer is that I can do as well as she did in being a mother and grandmother. I recently read this from an unknown author, “The death of a mother is the first sorrow wept without her.” I thank you for your prayers during this time.
We are about 30 days from leaving for Zambia. We are still awaiting word that the notebooks and study Bibles, which we shipped a few weeks ago, have arrived. Please pray for their safe delivery there! (see info and video about this mission trip)
As we write this letter, we have received a little over 80% of the funds for our mission trip. We praise God for what we have received. Please pray with us for the remaining amount ($3,875). We have to send the balance of our funds to ALARM, our African partner ministry, by May 5.
And please continue to pray for the preparations in Zambia, that God will bring men and women committed to strengthen marriages according to God’s Word. We know that He wants to do a great work to change the hearts and minds of the people in Ndola, Zambia.
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.
Our love in Christ,
Donna and Ed Edwards
P.S. Please pray that the Lord will provide all that is needed for our mission to Zambia.
Their wedding launches the spring “wedding season.” Brides-to-be are either in the thick of preparation or are in the final days before the wedding day. Bridal magazines present endless possibilities for the big event. The wedding has become such an expensive day that the trend is increasing among low-income couples to skip the wedding and marriage completely, because they think that they can’t afford to get married.
Rebecca Mead, author of One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding, was quoted in an article as saying, “Vows, which is the trade magazine of the wedding dress industry, had an article about how to market to the ‘nontraditional bride’ and warned readers that this kind of woman is dangerously apt to ‘forget the wedding and prepare for marriage.’ People who work in the wedding business often appear to be very warm and sentimental, but they're salespeople, and the successful ones are completely coldblooded about it.”
If every prospective bride and groom seriously investigated the purpose of marriage and of weddings, both weddings and marriages would change. These articles give some ideas to consider before the wedding—in the planning, for increasing the odds of success, financial status, and even the parents - Wedding Season and Those Left Behind.
Mother’s Day is around the corner, our first one without my (Donna) mother. My mother was a very important influence in my life. As I have thought about what she imparted to me, so much comes to my mind. Anyone who knew my mother saw her love, her warmth, her generosity, and her desire to make every event in life a celebration. She gave me an enormous amount of security with her unconditional love, but also showing me what it meant that God loved me. She always believed in me, told me that I could do anything. It was a great shock to me to realize that were some things I would never be able to do. Through that encouragement, she gave me confidence. Even though she was raised during the depression and war in rural Oklahoma, the 9th of 11 children, she recognized the value of education. She pushed me and my sister to read and do well in school; consequently, both of us love to read and to learn. Mother said the only book she ever finished was the Bible, but I think that was enough. She had an eye for nice things after growing up with the basic physical necessities. She taught me about the beauty in life. She even taught me how to take care of her in her last days after I watched her devotion, love, and care for her own mother 30 years ago. My prayer is that I can do as well as she did in being a mother and grandmother. I recently read this from an unknown author, “The death of a mother is the first sorrow wept without her.” I thank you for your prayers during this time.
We are about 30 days from leaving for Zambia. We are still awaiting word that the notebooks and study Bibles, which we shipped a few weeks ago, have arrived. Please pray for their safe delivery there! (see info and video about this mission trip)
As we write this letter, we have received a little over 80% of the funds for our mission trip. We praise God for what we have received. Please pray with us for the remaining amount ($3,875). We have to send the balance of our funds to ALARM, our African partner ministry, by May 5.
And please continue to pray for the preparations in Zambia, that God will bring men and women committed to strengthen marriages according to God’s Word. We know that He wants to do a great work to change the hearts and minds of the people in Ndola, Zambia.
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.
Our love in Christ,
Donna and Ed Edwards
P.S. Please pray that the Lord will provide all that is needed for our mission to Zambia.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
September Letter
When was the last time you changed the oil in your car?
When was the last time you did something to maintain your marriage?
How long would your car last without any maintenance?
Why do we expect our marriages to last without maintenance?
Great marriages don’t just happen! Great marriages are developed by couples who are proactive at the beginning of their marriages and every year throughout their marriage.
When a couple in a crisis comes to us, we ask them what kind of premarital preparation they had and what they have done since the wedding to strengthen their marriage. Our hearts break when couples who have only been married two or three years are already considering divorce.
Rarely, has a couple in crisis done anything to prepare for marriage or anything to ensure the longevity of their marriage after the wedding. Don’t wait for a crisis, do something now to assure an increasing joy in your marriage - we have a class starting September 21st !
In Oklahoma, 75% of couples get married in a church, but only 25% take advantage of the $45 discount for having premarital preparation. What a great opportunity we have to get a couple started in the right direction! One out of five of these couples will divorce in the first five years of marriage. Wow! In five years, we have barely started learning about the weaving together of our two lives. We begin a Preparing for Marriage class on September 13th to help couples get a strong, healthy start to their marriages.
If you could go back and change one thing in the past about your marriage, what would it be? We have testified many times that we would have started using a spending plan (budget) much earlier in our marriage. Living according to a spending plan is the one choice that would have made a world of difference in our marriage at a much earlier age. The spending plan brought about a contentment in knowing where we were financially, a security in knowing how to plan for the future, a peace in agreeing on how to spend our income, and a freedom in knowing how to get out of debt and stay out.
The issue is not how much money I have, but what am I doing with it? And where is God in my spending and planning? Change your sense of contentment and peace, whether you are single or married! God gives an abundance of direction on the subject. Take our class on Managing Money, beginning September 15th, and find out how to live in that peace and contentment. Also, read our enclosed teaching on the benefits of a budget.
You are our strongest supporters and best advertising media! If you have never taken one of our marriage or money classes, we invite you to participate. Please pass the enclosed card along to someone who may benefit if you are unable to attend.
Thank you for your prayer support. We have received enough designated donations to cover the costs of the chairs for our classroom. We are so thankful for a nice, fully-furnished room for our classes. And God also supplied our need for a new computer - it is on the way to us!
We encourage to look at the archives in our blog to see a myriad of pictures and details about our mission trip. If you type Morogoro into the search box on this page, a list of all the entries will come up.
Thank you for your love, support, and prayers. Our love in Christ.
Donna and Ed Edwards
P.S. Please pray that the people who would benefit from our classes will find out about them and attend.
When was the last time you did something to maintain your marriage?
How long would your car last without any maintenance?
Why do we expect our marriages to last without maintenance?
Great marriages don’t just happen! Great marriages are developed by couples who are proactive at the beginning of their marriages and every year throughout their marriage.
When a couple in a crisis comes to us, we ask them what kind of premarital preparation they had and what they have done since the wedding to strengthen their marriage. Our hearts break when couples who have only been married two or three years are already considering divorce.
Rarely, has a couple in crisis done anything to prepare for marriage or anything to ensure the longevity of their marriage after the wedding. Don’t wait for a crisis, do something now to assure an increasing joy in your marriage - we have a class starting September 21st !
In Oklahoma, 75% of couples get married in a church, but only 25% take advantage of the $45 discount for having premarital preparation. What a great opportunity we have to get a couple started in the right direction! One out of five of these couples will divorce in the first five years of marriage. Wow! In five years, we have barely started learning about the weaving together of our two lives. We begin a Preparing for Marriage class on September 13th to help couples get a strong, healthy start to their marriages.
If you could go back and change one thing in the past about your marriage, what would it be? We have testified many times that we would have started using a spending plan (budget) much earlier in our marriage. Living according to a spending plan is the one choice that would have made a world of difference in our marriage at a much earlier age. The spending plan brought about a contentment in knowing where we were financially, a security in knowing how to plan for the future, a peace in agreeing on how to spend our income, and a freedom in knowing how to get out of debt and stay out.
The issue is not how much money I have, but what am I doing with it? And where is God in my spending and planning? Change your sense of contentment and peace, whether you are single or married! God gives an abundance of direction on the subject. Take our class on Managing Money, beginning September 15th, and find out how to live in that peace and contentment. Also, read our enclosed teaching on the benefits of a budget.
You are our strongest supporters and best advertising media! If you have never taken one of our marriage or money classes, we invite you to participate. Please pass the enclosed card along to someone who may benefit if you are unable to attend.
Thank you for your prayer support. We have received enough designated donations to cover the costs of the chairs for our classroom. We are so thankful for a nice, fully-furnished room for our classes. And God also supplied our need for a new computer - it is on the way to us!
We encourage to look at the archives in our blog to see a myriad of pictures and details about our mission trip. If you type Morogoro into the search box on this page, a list of all the entries will come up.
Thank you for your love, support, and prayers. Our love in Christ.
Donna and Ed Edwards
P.S. Please pray that the people who would benefit from our classes will find out about them and attend.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
LIVING WELL Prayer Requests, April, 2010
Praises:
Great work of God in Preparing for Marriage class
Prayer Requests:
Great work of God in Preparing for Marriage class
- Morogoro 2010, Tanzania mission trip: planning, participants, and provision
- Donations to fill the gap of our budget shortfall, so Ed and Donna will be able to continue Living Well ministry activities
- Living Well in Marriage class, Sundays, 6-7:30
- Donna’s stamina
- Wisdom in marriage and financial guidance appointments
- Good health and protection
"If your mouth turns into a knife, it will cut off your lips." African Proverb
"Man counts what he has refused, not what he has given." African Proverb
"Wisdom does not come overnight." African Proverb
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:5
Friday, January 29, 2010
LIVING WELL Monthly Letter, February 2010
"The love we have in our youth is superficial compared to the love that an old man has for his old wife." (Will Durant)
This quotation caught our attention, perhaps because we are both having one of those milestone birthdays this year that make us think about getting/being old. We look out at the fresh, young faces in our Preparing for Marriage class and try to convey to them that, if they stick with it, marriage can be a place for a deep love beyond anything they have yet experienced. Valentine’s Day approaches - a great time to express your appreciation for the love that endures in your marriage.
Last November, a group of prominent Christian clergy, ministry leaders and scholars released the Manhattan Declaration, (www.manhattandeclaration.org) which addresses the sanctity of life, traditional marriage and religious liberty. The 4,700-word declaration issues a clarion call to Christians to adhere to their convictions and informs civil authorities that the signers will not—under any circumstance—abandon their Christian consciences. An excerpt “We are Christians who have joined together across historic lines of ecclesial differences to affirm our right—and, more importantly, to embrace our obligation—to speak and act in defense of these truths. We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence.”
Why is a declaration, such as this one, important or even necessary? Speaking only to the issue of marriage, we are moving into a new phase of assault by the culture on our values. Proposition 8 in California, which affirmed marriage between one man and one woman, is under attack. We have no doubt that it will be challenged in court and appealed, regardless of which way the decision goes. Most signs point to the issue going to the Supreme Court level. We believe that the Supreme Court will follow the same course that it took in the sanctity of life case. Human life was devalued at that time.
We believe marriage will be further devalued. When/If that ruling occurs, The Church will have to make a clear stand and decision on how it will handle this re-definition of the basic family structure. The Church must aggressively strengthen marriage against the assault and also bringing honor to marriage between one woman and one man for life. A ministry focused on biblical marriage is more important than ever - one of the reasons we are in the battle. We will share more on this topic next month.
Many thanks to all who prayed for us in January, a busy month for us this year. Donna is still working on her stamina after recovering from her surgery, but she is able to work a full week now, even with extra teaching. We have a good group in our Preparing for Marriage class, very diverse make-up. Our marriage retreat in Chickasha went well. We were very impressed with the diligence of the Caddo Baptist Assoc, to consistently provide a marriage enrichment retreat to the people in their churches.
Next month contains even more speaking and teaching events. Ed is speaking to a men’s group at Emmaus Baptist Church, Saturday, February 13. We are starting a marriage enrichment class, Sunday evenings, 6-7:30, beginning February 14, at Putnam City Baptist Church. This class last eight weeks and is open to the public, not just church members. We are teaching another weekend marriage conference in Ponca City, February 20-21 (this conference was re-scheduled from November).
With the Marriage Network Oklahoma team, we are actively sponsoring and promoting Marriage Week, February 7-14; the theme is Together Forever. Churches and organizations have an opportunity to be a Marriage Forever church (no cost) and be a part of this great movement to honor and celebrate marriages. More details are available on the website, www.marriagenetworkok.net.
We ask you to join us in a concerted, sincere prayer to our Father to provide for our budget, so that we may meet all of our financial obligations. Donna’s expenses for surgery have started rolling in and the amounts are daunting, even with insurance. We ask you to pray that our donations will be sufficient to pay our salary amounts, so that we can meet our medical bill obligations.
Thank you for your love, support, and prayers. Our love in Christ,
Ed and Donna Edwards
This quotation caught our attention, perhaps because we are both having one of those milestone birthdays this year that make us think about getting/being old. We look out at the fresh, young faces in our Preparing for Marriage class and try to convey to them that, if they stick with it, marriage can be a place for a deep love beyond anything they have yet experienced. Valentine’s Day approaches - a great time to express your appreciation for the love that endures in your marriage.
Last November, a group of prominent Christian clergy, ministry leaders and scholars released the Manhattan Declaration, (www.manhattandeclaration.org) which addresses the sanctity of life, traditional marriage and religious liberty. The 4,700-word declaration issues a clarion call to Christians to adhere to their convictions and informs civil authorities that the signers will not—under any circumstance—abandon their Christian consciences. An excerpt “We are Christians who have joined together across historic lines of ecclesial differences to affirm our right—and, more importantly, to embrace our obligation—to speak and act in defense of these truths. We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence.”
Why is a declaration, such as this one, important or even necessary? Speaking only to the issue of marriage, we are moving into a new phase of assault by the culture on our values. Proposition 8 in California, which affirmed marriage between one man and one woman, is under attack. We have no doubt that it will be challenged in court and appealed, regardless of which way the decision goes. Most signs point to the issue going to the Supreme Court level. We believe that the Supreme Court will follow the same course that it took in the sanctity of life case. Human life was devalued at that time.
We believe marriage will be further devalued. When/If that ruling occurs, The Church will have to make a clear stand and decision on how it will handle this re-definition of the basic family structure. The Church must aggressively strengthen marriage against the assault and also bringing honor to marriage between one woman and one man for life. A ministry focused on biblical marriage is more important than ever - one of the reasons we are in the battle. We will share more on this topic next month.
Many thanks to all who prayed for us in January, a busy month for us this year. Donna is still working on her stamina after recovering from her surgery, but she is able to work a full week now, even with extra teaching. We have a good group in our Preparing for Marriage class, very diverse make-up. Our marriage retreat in Chickasha went well. We were very impressed with the diligence of the Caddo Baptist Assoc, to consistently provide a marriage enrichment retreat to the people in their churches.
Next month contains even more speaking and teaching events. Ed is speaking to a men’s group at Emmaus Baptist Church, Saturday, February 13. We are starting a marriage enrichment class, Sunday evenings, 6-7:30, beginning February 14, at Putnam City Baptist Church. This class last eight weeks and is open to the public, not just church members. We are teaching another weekend marriage conference in Ponca City, February 20-21 (this conference was re-scheduled from November).
With the Marriage Network Oklahoma team, we are actively sponsoring and promoting Marriage Week, February 7-14; the theme is Together Forever. Churches and organizations have an opportunity to be a Marriage Forever church (no cost) and be a part of this great movement to honor and celebrate marriages. More details are available on the website, www.marriagenetworkok.net.
We ask you to join us in a concerted, sincere prayer to our Father to provide for our budget, so that we may meet all of our financial obligations. Donna’s expenses for surgery have started rolling in and the amounts are daunting, even with insurance. We ask you to pray that our donations will be sufficient to pay our salary amounts, so that we can meet our medical bill obligations.
Thank you for your love, support, and prayers. Our love in Christ,
Ed and Donna Edwards
LIVING WELL - Monthly Quote and Prayer Requests, February 2010
The little unremembered acts of kindness and love are the best parts of a person's life.
William Wordsworth
Love never gives up.
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
But keeps going to the end.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (Message)
Praises:
Marriage retreat in Chickasha
Prayer Requests for February, 2010:
William Wordsworth
Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back, But keeps going to the end.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (Message)
Praises:
Marriage retreat in Chickasha
Prayer Requests for February, 2010:
- Donations to fill the gap of our budget shortfall, so Ed and Donna will be able to continue Living Well ministry activities
- Donna’s stamina
- Preparing for Marriage class, Mondays, 7-8:30.
- Living Well in Marriage class, Sundays, 6-7:30, starting February 14
- Marriage conference in Ponca City, February 20-22
- Marriage Week, February 7-14, that marriage will be honored
- Wisdom in marriage and financial guidance appointments
- Good health and protection for our family.
Wednesday, January 06, 2010
LIVING WELL Monthly Letter, January 2010
Where were you in the Christmas Eve blizzard of 2009?
Everyone has a story to tell; we have one too. Our daughter had to work until 3:00 in the far north part of Edmond (a 45 minute drive home to Bethany on a good day). After making it a fraction of the way home, she got stuck in a line of traffic and could not move. She was a long way from home and we do not have a 4-wheel drive. Fortunately, a close friend of ours lives a couple of miles from where she was stuck and does have a 4-wheel drive. After they were able to get their vehicle out, they came and rescued her and left her car. She spent the night on Christmas Eve at their house; they dug her car out of the snow the next morning and brought her and her car home. She ended up being stuck in her car for 3 ½ hours, some of it after dark. We are so thankful for good friends who came to her rescue.
This year was a very different holiday season for us. Because of Donna’s recent surgery, we stayed home for Thanksgiving and Donna’s sister brought us a Thanksgiving meal. And we chose not to get out our usual Christmas decorations, tree ornaments, etc. We were not able to get out for any of the usual pre-Christmas festivities. Christmas day celebrations were delayed a couple of days. Our hot water heater went out on New Year’s morning, limiting our enjoyment of our alma mater’s bowl game. But the Lord was faithful to show us that all of the usual happenings are traditions we have created, none of which preclude us from being thankful for His work and provision in our lives or from celebrating His incarnation. What really matters in our relationship to Him cannot be taken away.
We pray that each of us and all of those who read this letter will commit to do something to develop a more intimate walk with our Lord during 2010 and to strengthen their marriages (for those who are married). Ed is reading through the Bible chronologically and highlighting God’s words and actions. Along with reading through the Bible, Donna is studying a devotional written by Martin Luther.
We are back to work and Donna is almost back to normal. The healing from her surgery has taken longer than we had expected. We were unable to see any appointments during December but are now resuming a normal schedule. We have a full schedule for January and February.
Our Preparing for Marriage class begins Monday, January 18 from 7:00-8:30. This class is for any couple who is seriously dating, engaged, or in their first year of marriage. The class will meet in the charming, Old Paseo Chapel (in the Paseo district of Oklahoma City). The details and sign-up are on the home page of our website, www.livingwellokc.org. Couples spend a lot of time and money on the wedding, what is their investment in preparing for the marriage? If you know anyone who is at that stage of life, pass on the information about our class or contact us and we will get the info to them.
We are doing a marriage retreat in Chickasha January 22-23. Ed is speaking to a men’s group at Emmaus Baptist Church, Saturday, February 13. We are starting a marriage enrichment class, Sunday evenings, 6-7:30, beginning February 14, at Putnam City Baptist Church. And we are doing a weekend conference in Ponca City near the end of February.
With the Marriage Network Oklahoma team, we are actively sponsoring and promoting Marriage Week, February 7-14; the theme is Forever Together. Churches and organizations have an opportunity to be a Marriage Forever church (no cost) and be a part of this great movement to honor and celebrate marriages. More details are available on the highlighted link.
We are thankful for the end of year donations we received. We are still very far behind in our budget. Our salaries are determined by our board of directors; we have a maximum salary that we can draw monthly but there is no minimum. We do not draw a full salary if the donations do not meet the budget.
We ask you to join us in a concerted, sincere prayer to our Father to provide for our budget, so that we may meet all of our financial obligations.
Donna and Ed Edwards
P.S. You may donate to LIVING WELL online or by mailing a check to PO Box 720828, Oklahoma City, OK 73172. All donations are tax-deductible.
Everyone has a story to tell; we have one too. Our daughter had to work until 3:00 in the far north part of Edmond (a 45 minute drive home to Bethany on a good day). After making it a fraction of the way home, she got stuck in a line of traffic and could not move. She was a long way from home and we do not have a 4-wheel drive. Fortunately, a close friend of ours lives a couple of miles from where she was stuck and does have a 4-wheel drive. After they were able to get their vehicle out, they came and rescued her and left her car. She spent the night on Christmas Eve at their house; they dug her car out of the snow the next morning and brought her and her car home. She ended up being stuck in her car for 3 ½ hours, some of it after dark. We are so thankful for good friends who came to her rescue.
This year was a very different holiday season for us. Because of Donna’s recent surgery, we stayed home for Thanksgiving and Donna’s sister brought us a Thanksgiving meal. And we chose not to get out our usual Christmas decorations, tree ornaments, etc. We were not able to get out for any of the usual pre-Christmas festivities. Christmas day celebrations were delayed a couple of days. Our hot water heater went out on New Year’s morning, limiting our enjoyment of our alma mater’s bowl game. But the Lord was faithful to show us that all of the usual happenings are traditions we have created, none of which preclude us from being thankful for His work and provision in our lives or from celebrating His incarnation. What really matters in our relationship to Him cannot be taken away.
We pray that each of us and all of those who read this letter will commit to do something to develop a more intimate walk with our Lord during 2010 and to strengthen their marriages (for those who are married). Ed is reading through the Bible chronologically and highlighting God’s words and actions. Along with reading through the Bible, Donna is studying a devotional written by Martin Luther.
We are back to work and Donna is almost back to normal. The healing from her surgery has taken longer than we had expected. We were unable to see any appointments during December but are now resuming a normal schedule. We have a full schedule for January and February.
Our Preparing for Marriage class begins Monday, January 18 from 7:00-8:30. This class is for any couple who is seriously dating, engaged, or in their first year of marriage. The class will meet in the charming, Old Paseo Chapel (in the Paseo district of Oklahoma City). The details and sign-up are on the home page of our website, www.livingwellokc.org. Couples spend a lot of time and money on the wedding, what is their investment in preparing for the marriage? If you know anyone who is at that stage of life, pass on the information about our class or contact us and we will get the info to them.
We are doing a marriage retreat in Chickasha January 22-23. Ed is speaking to a men’s group at Emmaus Baptist Church, Saturday, February 13. We are starting a marriage enrichment class, Sunday evenings, 6-7:30, beginning February 14, at Putnam City Baptist Church. And we are doing a weekend conference in Ponca City near the end of February.
With the Marriage Network Oklahoma team, we are actively sponsoring and promoting Marriage Week, February 7-14; the theme is Forever Together. Churches and organizations have an opportunity to be a Marriage Forever church (no cost) and be a part of this great movement to honor and celebrate marriages. More details are available on the highlighted link.
We are thankful for the end of year donations we received. We are still very far behind in our budget. Our salaries are determined by our board of directors; we have a maximum salary that we can draw monthly but there is no minimum. We do not draw a full salary if the donations do not meet the budget.
We ask you to join us in a concerted, sincere prayer to our Father to provide for our budget, so that we may meet all of our financial obligations.
Donna and Ed Edwards
P.S. You may donate to LIVING WELL online or by mailing a check to PO Box 720828, Oklahoma City, OK 73172. All donations are tax-deductible.
Friday, January 01, 2010
LIVING WELL in 2010 - Preparing for Marriage
We often wish God would show us what is ahead for us. If He had shown me what was ahead for 2009, I might have told Him "never mind, can I skip 2009?" But His answer to me would have been the same as to Paul "my grace is sufficient." And it was.
So, we pray and ask God what He wants and listening closely to follow Him.
God showed us years ago that Christ-like marriages were very close to His heart. His passion became our passion. How does a person have a Christ-like marriage? First, having Christ in his/her life is a non-negotiable.
Second, preparing for the marriage early can make a huge difference. We started teaching a Preparing for Marriage class 15 years ago. We now see young, strong Christian families, some have several children, who came through that class.
What we see new for us in 2010 is holding the class in a "neutral site," instead of in our church. We see a growing interest on the part of young people to prepare, but they can't always find it in their own church or they are often unconnected to a local church.
The beautiful setting of the Old Paseo Chapel is the setting for our class beginning January 18. We believe that God wants us to reach some new couples in a new way. How many of us wish we had some/any teaching to get us ready for a lifetime together? The most exciting and rewarding part of marriage ministry is seeing these couples set the course of the journey together in the right direction.
More about what is ahead in our next post.
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