Christian Reflection and Prayer

Bruce Larson, in The One and Only You,
illustrates the ease with which we can lose
that passion in marriage. He uses the common cold
and a married couple as his principal point-makers.

THE FIRST YEAR:
the husband says, "Sugar, I'm worried about
my baby girl. You've got a bad sniffle. I want
to put you in the hospital for a complete
checkup. I know the food is lousy, but I've
arranged for your meals to be sent up from
Rossinis. It's all arranged."

THE SECOND YEAR:
"Listen, honey, I don't like the sound of that
cough. I've called Dr. Miller and He's going to
rush right over. Now will you go to bed like
a good girl just for me, please?"

THE THIRD YEAR:
"Maybe you'd better lie down, honey
Nothing like a little rest if you're
feeling bad. I'll bring you something to
eat. Have we got any soup in the house?"

THE FOURTH YEAR:
"Look, dear. Be sensible. After you've
fed the kids and washed the dishes you'd
better hit the sack."

THE FIFTH YEAR:
"Why don't you take a couple of aspirin?"

THE SIXTH YEAR
"If you'd just gargle or something instead
of sitting around barking like a seal."

THE SEVENTH YEAR:
"For heavens sake, stop sneezing. What
are you trying to do, give me pneumonia?"

"MARRIAGES ARE NOT RUINED BY A BLOW
OUT, BUT BY A SLOW LEAK."

Reflection:

I know a pastor who does the following when he
marries a couple. First he has the bride and groom
face each other and places 3 braided ropes around
the shoulders of the couple one rope at a time.
After the first rope he says: This represents
the bonding of (woman's name) with (man's name).
After that he places the second rope around their
shoulders and says: This represents the
bonding of (man's name) with (woman's name).
After that he places the third rope around their
shoulders and says: This represents the
bonding of GOD, (the woman's name), and
the (the man's name), in the union of Holy
Marriage, God IS love.

ALL OF YOU PLEASE PUT GOD IN YOUR
MARRIAGE AND BOND TOGETHER! NO
MORE SLOW LEAKS!

In Thailand, the people greatly love
and admire King Bhumibol (Rama IX),
who has led them for over 60 years.
To display their respect for the king,
the Thai people wear bright yellow
shirts every Monday, because yellow
is the official color of the king.

As we seek to live for our King, the
Lord Jesus Christ, we should also
show our colors of allegiance and
appreciation for all He has done for
us. But how? What are the “colors”
that declare to the world that we
serve the King of kings and Lord
of lords? The night before His
crucifixion, King Jesus told us what
our “colors” should be when He said,
"BY THIS ALL WILL KNOW THAT YOU
ARE MY DISCIPLES, IF YOU HAVE
LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER".
(John 13:35). (Bill Crowder; August 26, 2008)

Scripture:

Never be lazy in your work, but serve
the Lord enthusiastically.
Romans 12:11 NLT

Reflection:

Personal responsibility comes home

The USS Astoria was the first U.S.
cruiser to engage the Japanese during
the Battle of Savo Island, a night action
fought 8-9, August 1942.

About 0200 hours Signalman 3rd Class
Elgin Staples was swept overboard by
the blast when the number one 8-inch
gun turret exploded. He was kept afloat
by a narrow life belt that he managed to
activate.

At around 0600 hours, Staples was
rescued by a passing destroyer and
returned to the Astoria, whose captain
was attempting to save the cruiser by
beaching her. The effort failed, and Staples,
still wearing the same life belt, found
himself back in the water. Picked up
again, he was one of 500 survivors.

On board a transport, he closely examined
the life belt that had served him so well. It
had been manufactured by the Firestone
Tire and Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio,
and bore a registration number.

Given home leave, Staples asked his mother,
who worked for Firestone, about the purpose
of the number on the belt. She replied that the
company insisted on personal responsibility
for the war effort, and that the number was
unique and assigned to only one inspector.
Staples remembered everything about the life
belt, and quoted the number. It was his
mother's personal code and affixed to every
item she was responsible for approving.

Commander Eric J. Berryman, quoted by R.
Kent Hughes in 1001 Great Stories and Quotes
(Tyndale House) p 234-35