Building Up or Tearing Down?

The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.
(Proverbs 14:1).

This verse really speaks to me, as I have personally seen it to be true in my own life and in the lives of some of those I know. In my own life, it didn't take long for me to realize, as a newlywed, that if I didn't yell and start arguments, fights would very rarely occur. My husband is just a peace loving guy. This doesn't mean that we haven't had disagreements, but it does mean that when I chose to be responsible with my own words and actions, things went best for me, my husband, our marriage, and our household. Needless to say, I still (almost 17 years later) choose the path of peace and respectful discussion rather than being argumentative and yelling (at least the majority of the time ;-).

I've watched people with beautiful families tear them apart with adultery, deception, put-downs of a spouse, wall-building, and game playing, to name just a few of the foolish deeds, that people commit with their own choices.

What are you doing to build up your house? What are you doing to tear it down?

Much of what happens to us is the result of our own choices, whether the choices are wise or whether they make our own hands destroy that which we desire to build.

Movie Wisdom for Life

My husband, Tim, and I are huge movie buffs.  We like so many genres.  From the classics to action-adventures, from romantic comedies to sci-fi, and of course, anything by Pixar.  So, for a light-hearted but meaningful post today, we are going to post some of our favorite movie quotes that are great insights in ways to live: (Some are our best paraphrases, so the quotes may not be perfect, but the gist is there, lol!) 

"Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What can you do but to swim, swim, swim?" -Finding Nemo

"Just put one foot in front of the other." -Santa Claus is Coming to Town

"Get out of bed every morning and breathe in and out all day.  After a while, I won't have to remind my self to do it."  -Sleepless in Seattle

"Do or do not, there is no try." -Star Wars

"There is good in this world (Mr. Frodo), and it's worth fighting for." -Lord of the Rings

Agree with My Spouse?

When my husband and I got married, one of the precepts that we chose to build our life upon is that we would seek to be in agreement before we would pursue any given course.  This has served us well.  At times, we have said "no" to certain things or "yes" to certain things, and sometimes we have even chosen to simply wait and pray.  However, no matter what, if we are not in agreement about what to do in a particular situation, or at least in agreement as to what road we will pursue when we have differences, we will choose not to go forward.  Yet, one of my favorite scenarios is when we individually hear from God and come to agreement without having discussed it first.  

For instance, this happened when a young woman at our church was speaking with me about her upcoming missions trip.  She was overflowing with the beauty of Christ, and I really wanted to commit to pray for her and perhaps commit to a financial gift for the ministry God is calling her to do.  I hadn't realized it directly, but I basically had a peaceful thought that just seemed right about what I would like that gift to be, and I now realize that that was God speaking to me.  I know this because about ten minutes after I shared her mission information with my husband and said that I would like to see if we could give something toward her endeavor, he said that we should see if we could give x amount.  

I told him that that was exactly what I was thinking, but hadn't thought to share that with him yet. He told me that he thought I was thinking of that number and that we would be in agreement.  This is so God!  

We cannot figure out God's ways.  His ways are higher than ours, and He knows what He is doing!  If you are married and don't know what course of action to take, we recommend taking the situation to the Lord in prayer and waiting on Him for the answer.  Agreement and peace between you and your spouse may just be the way to know that still small voice of your Heavenly Father directing you in the way you should go.

Serving Him with you,

Michelle and Tim