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 LoveNote 2
Couples Newsletter
December 2012
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Greetings!
Merry Christmas!
Matthew 2: 1-2 (NIV) tells us that "After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him." Jimmy Evans with MarriageToday reminds us that the Wise Men in the Nativity story found Jesus when no one else did. Even though the Jewish people had been longing for a Messiah, they missed him because Jesus' birth failed to meet their expectations.
This thought prompted us to consider how many things in life fail to meet our expectations. Will the gifts that others have bought for us this holiday meet our expectations? Do we meet each other's expectations in our love relationships? If the gift of Jesus isn't grand enough for us, what is? Are our expectations reasonable? We pray that this Christmas finds you opening your heart to receive the gift of love that is Christ Jesus and the gift of love that is your spouse. We are looking for a grand thing and the grand thing is already ours- salvation and a lifetime of love with the person God has chosen for us. Let's be compassionate, gracious, forgiving, and patient with one another realizing that we are all human. Let's demonstrate true love by understanding that not every day are we going to meet each other's expectations. If we make a mistake, let's give each other more time than we even deserve to correct the mistake. Let's give each other the gift of another chance at perfecting our love relationship. We longed for a love relationship, the chance to share our life with someone- let's not miss the opportunity to experience the joy that it can be ours when we have reasonable expectations and are open to creating the loving experience we want.
When we think about unreasonable expectations we sometimes think about an experience we had in Jared the Galleria three years ago. A young couple came in the store and they were looking at diamonds. They came to the store driving a 1998 Camry that was in pretty bad shape; they sat at the counter and talked to the jeweler about rings. The ring that the young lady wanted was approximately $10,000. When the jeweler ran the young man's credit she told him that it was not approved. She asked if they would like to run the young lady's credit to see if that would help- adding her income and credit score to his. The young lady got loud and said absolutely not- she was not helping to pay for her own ring. She got up from the counter and left the store upset and the young man walked behind her quietly. A $10,000 diamond from this young man was an unreasonable expectation. A $300 diamond and a heart ready to love, honor and cherish and maintain through times of even more unreasonable expectations would have been great.
May you enjoy and be thankful for whatever you have under the tree. If you don't have anything under the tree, we pray that you will be excited and joyful that you have a Savior who can give you joy and peace in spite of unmet expectations.
Yours in Christ,
Sherman and Paula Newman
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Scripture to Ponder
This quarter we would also like to share scripture for you to read, pray over, and discuss as a couple:
Isaiah 53:6- Explains the challenge of achieving intimacy in our marriages
Philippians 2:3-4- Proven ways to defeat selfishness and overcome isolation in your marriage
1Peter 3: 8-12- Things we can do when we think our spouse is being selfish
Matthew 7: 24-27- Relate this parable to building our marriages
Psalm 133:1 and Ecclesiastes 4:9-12- Outline some of the benefits of oneness in our relationships
Genesis 2:24- The plan for securing a God-honoring marriage
Ephesians 5:23- The husband's position as a leader
Ephesians 5: 25-27- The husband's responsibility to love unselfishly
Ephesians 5: 28-30- The husband's responsibility to love and cherish his wife
Proverbs 31:27- The wife's responsibility to make her marriage a priority
Titus 2:4- A wife's responsibility to train younger women how to love their husbands and children
Ephesians 5: 22-24; Titus 2: 3-5; 1 Peter 3: 1-6- The wife's responsibility to submit to the husband
Ephesians 5:33- The wife's responsibility to respect her husband
Love Enhancing Resources
Last quarter we shared Love Enhancing Resources with you and asked that you access www.FamilyLife.com for more information about the Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise, Art of Marriage Video Conference Events, Weekend to Remember Weekend Getaway Events, etc. This quarter we want to share local resources for professional counseling:
- UBC Ministry of Congregational Care and Counseling (UBC members, only)
- Dr. Tonya Armstrong, PhD, 919-688-1304
- Anita Daniels, LCSW
- Ava Hinton, LPC
- Dr. Tonya Armstrong, 919-418-1718
- Dr. Robert James, PhD, 919-317-1449
- Dr. Darryl Smith, PhD, 919-402-4300
- Dr. Kamala Uzzell, PhD, 919-484-2222
- Joanne Jennings, LCSW, 919-419-1493
- Mildred Harris, LCSW, 919-806-0130
- Dr. Perrianne Davis, PsyD, 919-361-2029
- Dr. Robin Exum-Calhoun, PsyD, 919-401-8090
- Dr. April Harris-Britt, 919- 401-8090
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Events for Lovers
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Know your target audience. Who are your most important customers, clients or prospects, and why? Know what is important to them and address their needs. Include a photo to make your message even more appealing.
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Contact Information
If you missed the first edition of LoveNote2 in September 2012 and would like a copy, just email us at lovenote2@msn.com and we will forward it to you. Sherman and Paula Newman, 919-687-4548 or lovenote2@hotmail.com |
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