“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” John 15:1, New International Version (NIV) Topiary is the horticultural practice of clipping foliage and twigs of trees and shrubs to develop and maintain clearly defined shapes, whether geometric or fanciful. In order to accomplish the most complex designs, a wire form is constructed in the ultimate desired shape for…
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In various places throughout the Bible, but especially in the original New Testament Greek, we find four differing types of love, usually in different contexts. However, within our marriages all can be given and experienced. As an example, with our spouse, we can experience the philia love of friendship, eros erotic sexual love, and agape sacrificial love. In fact, healthy marriages should…
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Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly…
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Do you ever wish you had a better marriage? That something would change somehow? Juggling work, family, and life can take a toll on your marriage – and leave you feeling tired and with little energy to put into growing your relationship. Sometimes things happen that are out of your control and can affect the…
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The best starting point to ensure a great marriage should come long before marriage, even before dating. The best way to start a great marriage is to develop a deeply personal relationship with the God who loves you immensely more than any spouse ever would or could. “Well, how can we develop a great…
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Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4, New International Version (NIV) The past couple of days have been difficult for me, even though I…
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Some Christians may want to find a way to be super-spiritual because of the belief that striving for “spirituality” will please our Heavenly Father. It won’t! Could it be that some think growing in spirituality will make us more important than the “less spiritual”? Some seeking deep spirituality have even gone so far as…
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Love is the pinnacle of human and divine existence, and it is with a great deal of trepidation that I begin to share my understanding of what love should be in marriage. However, it is also clear that discussing how we can improve our marriages without discussing love is like writing about fishing and not…
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“Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it. I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” – Michelangelo Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,…
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Do you know that some of the most perplexing and complicated problems have been solved simply by a person’s focused observation when their thoughts are separated from and untainted by prevailing cultural opinions and influences? Let’s take for example what a simple observation by a single individual with an unbiased mind can accomplish. Between…
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