The 10 Commandments of Marriage-Sermon Notes

For the past several weeks our pastor at church has been doing a series called"Mystery of Marriage". Pastor Steve has really made a point to hit the topics that are the most important and controversial in marriage. He is tackling some of the most awkward and sensitive topics of marriage head on, and giving us answers and solutions directly from the bible.
This weeks topic was: The 10 Commandments of Marriage. Below, I have copied the 10 points from his sermon notes. I thought it was so great that I had to share it with everyone.
10 things that are the most important things to live by when it comes to marriage.

1) Thou shalt not be a selfish pig. Genesis 3:1, 4-5. The #1 problem in marriage is selfishness. Philippians 2:3
2) Thou shalt cut the apron strings. Genesis 2:24
3) Thou shalt continually communicate with each other. Ephesians 4:15-16
4) Thou shalt not try to change your spouse. Proverbs 31
5) Tho shalt avoid the quick sand of debt. Matthew 6:33 and 6:21
6) Thou shalt flee sexual temptation. II Timothy 2:22
7) Thou shalt protect each other emotionally and physically. I Corinthians 7
8) Thou shalt forgive thy spouse and begin again and again. Matthew 18:21-22
9) Thou shalt keep the home fires burning. Marriage takes honest commitment-work. Revelation 2:2-5
10) Thou shalt build a winning team-put God first! Ecclesiastes 9:12
Jonathan, me and Jesus!!

A really great day

Today, Jonathan an I kinda had a fun day. Since we figured it would rain all day, this gave a good excuse to find something else for the day.
We planned a trip to Kentucky. Jonathan's cousin, Brent Graduated from college this morning and we stopped at his cousin Danette's house for the open house party. We had a great time visiting his family and seeing Danette's new house.
After we were done visiting at the party, we had planned on meeting one of my dearest Kentucky friends, Reba. This is the woman who took me in for 2 months while I was homeless (not really but kinda). When Jonathan and I bought our house just before we got married, I was still in my apartment in KY. Since we couldn't afford a house payment and an apartment payment, I had to move out of my apartment. And since I was still working at the airport in KY, and still didn't have a job in Dayton and since our house was not quite suitable to live in yet, Reba offered to let me camp at her house until I found a job. So through April and May of 2007, I slept on her living room floor until I started my new job in Dayton in June. Talk about the right person coming into my life at just the right time. Yet another moment that I am reminded at how much God did for me that year. Despite all of the personal challenges she was facing at that time, she was always praying for me. The day that I found out that i got my job in Dayton, Reba was right there sitting next to me. I think I might have scared her neighbors by my screams of excitement. When the initial excitement was over, she was the first to pray with me to thank God for all he had done.
Below is a picture of my dear friend Reba and I. SNIFF SNIFF..........

Waiting for the next great sunset.

I guess it was past time to get the snow picture off the blog. I hope to get another great sunset picture to post soon. I will be on the look out!!

Successssss

Finally, my Irises came up.
I was given these Irises from my Aunt Sandy last year. when they didn't come up last year, I was a bit worried. It looks like we have success this year! Now I just need to get the large ones to come in the back yard. When it comes to flowers, I don't really have that green thumb touch, so I was pretty excited to see these.
By the way, ignore the date on the pic. It really was taken today.

Homemade Pizza

Tonight I crossed off another cooking to-do goal off my list. Jonathan has been begging for quite a while now for me to make a homemade pizza. Since I am currently on a homemade bread kick right now, I figured pizza dough was in that category also.
Don't let the looks of this pizza fool you. It turned out really great -taste wise that is. I guess I can work out the visual part later. Unfortunately, the only thing low-fat was the Turkey Pepperoni. I found a really great pizza cheese mix and spent a little more money on the fancy pizza sauce. Luckily the dough recipe that I did made 2 crusts. So it looks like a fresh pizza for dinner tomorrow night also.

Dinner Success

Tonight we invited Jonathan's parents over for dinner. It was kind of a delayed Birthday dinner for Jonathan.
I'm not sure why, but I always get nervous whenever I cook for Jonathan's mother. She certainly has never made me feel like I should be nervous. I think it's just all in my head. Pressure that I tend to put on myself.
There have been times when I have cooked for them and things didn't quite turn out the way I pictured them in my head. Like my Crock pot Ribs, Cola Ham or my Broccoli Casserole.......oy......if I could turn back time. One lesson I have learned since I have been with Jonathan: don't try as recipe for the first time when you are feeding your in-laws. MAKE SURE IT IS FULL PROOF.
But tonight, it was a slam dunk!! I made a fairly low fat dinner and everything was great. I know Jonathan's parents will always be nice and tell me everything was good. Then after they leave, I beg Jonathan for an honest opinion. I really need his honesty about my cooking if I want to improve my skills. Anyway, tonight we put some pork chops on the grill from House's meat market. I first marinated them in Italian dressing for a few hours (thanks Dad), then Jonathan threw them on the grill. I also made potato salad the night before (thanks Mom), but with shredded potatoes like Jonathan likes. While the chops were cooking, I was also roasting some Asparagus in the oven, yummo. For dessert, I made Pineapple Angel Food Cake (thanks Debbie), with Cool whip on top. It was oh so dreamy.
So, of coarse Jonathan's parents said everything was great. And after they left, Jonathan gave me 2 thumbs up. I knew I hit a home run tonight.

Happy Brithday to my Simple Man

This is a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my best friend and husband, Jonathan. He is a big 35 this year!! He is one of the few lucky ones to have his Birthday on Tax Day.

Happy Birthday Babe. Thank you for always being my Simple Man.

Happy Birthday Morgan!!!

Today we celebrated my nephew Morgan's 3rd Birthday. The day was filled with plenty of festivities and chaos, and we loved every minute of it. Below are some pictures of family kids that came today.
Here is the Birthday boy, Morgan. Since he loves DoodleBops right now, Grandma got him an outfit to make him look like MO from DoodleBops. Grandma is taking him to the bathroom to look in the big mirror. I think he might have scared himself!

Here, Sherri, Noah and Morgan are chasing the bubbles on the new bubble blower.It's the coolest thing. It blows 4000 bubbles in about a minute. There were bubbles blowing everywhere.

April (Morgans mom) brought long balloons and a pump to make balloon toys. Jonathan got ahold of the biggest balloon in the bucket. It's a 5 foot long balloon once it is fulling blown/pumped up. In the background are the kids watching anxiously. He pumped and pumped until he finally had to take it out side to let it go. The thing shot like a rocket across the yard and thankfully didn't land in a tree.

This is miss Abby, striking a pose.

This is Abby with her balloon whale.

Just A Few Updates

Yes, we are still alive and well. It seems like forever since I Blogged last.
Our first up date is that Jonathan is now back to work. He was off a total of 3 weeks, which can seem like an eternity when you don't know when you go back to work until the day before. We were really preparing for a few months, but fortunately ended up being much shorter then expected. We now take it one day, one week at a time being grateful for each hour of employment. In the business that Jonathan works, seasonal layoffs go with the territory. I guess it's something we need to get used to. We never really know if there is another job to head to when one gets completed. While he was off, Jonathan was able do some work for some folks that go to our church. I encouraged him to do excellent, honest work and hopefully word will spread.
Not much else has been going on lately.

I'm really looking forward to the Easter festivities this weekend. With a very uneventful winter, I am ready to have fun with the family this weekend. So far on the agenda for the weekend is: Bridesmaid dress shopping, one big Birthday party for 3 family members, an Easter egg hunt and 2 Easter Dinners. I am also looking forward to the big crowd at church this weekend. Thankfully our church has switched to 2 Easter services to make sure that everyone has a chance to hear The Word.

Below, are a few unrelated pictures.


This past weekend, I made my first batch of homemade Pecan Sticky Buns. I thought they turned out pretty good- especially the bread. The sticky part did get pretty sticky though. This is definitely something I want to keep pursuing. Bread making is a great skill to have and a good way to make people happy. Who doesn't love a fresh loaf of homemade bread? A few weeks ago we ordered a pantry cabinet from a guy at our church. He is young and has a God given talent of working with wood. I saw a picture album of some of the work he has done and I couldn't believe it. He can completely redo your kitchen, build you a Hutch or entertainment center among just a few. He also built our Bathroom Vanity when we were first fixing up the house. If you want his name or number, just let us know.
The cabinet was delivered tonight and I didn't waist any time filling it up. This is a much needed pantry cabinet that I have been patiently waiting to get. I am so excited that my canned goods will no longer be falling on my head when I open my kitchen cabinets. I am also happy that all my spices are now at eye level and will no longer be falling from the kitchen cabinet, into my mixing bowl (while I am mixing).

A time for change

Well, we are now temporarily a one income household. A week ago Friday, Jonathan was laid off from his job. It was something we knew was inevitable this year but weren't real sure when it would happen. Now we begin the long wait for an unemployment check. We are hoping and praying that by the time the Government gets around to sending us his first check, that Jonathan could be back to work. We don't know though. So far the only thing we have is that work could pick up mid spring.
On Monday, I gave Jonathan a weeks worth of Honey do's (straighten the garage up) and he also had his own list of things. When I came home Monday evening, he had managed to complete both lists. I said "my goodness babe, what are ya gonna do for the rest of the week?" So now, Jonathan has quite a bit of free time. A guy at church today says he might have some work for him to do maybe next week. So, if anyone needs some help right now, just let Jonathan know. If anything, just for something to do. I fear he might get a bit restless being at home all the time.
With me working, we are trying to get by with spending as little as possible from our savings. It's a lot of number crunching. We looked pretty silly at the grocery this week trying to shop on our shoestring budget. It's very hard to shop cheap when you are trying to still eat healthy. I tell ya, Aldi is the greatest thing since sliced bread!!! I asked the clerk that checked us out, "So has business been up?" she says, "Like you wouldn't believe". She said "we used to be the best kept secret". I suddenly didn't feel so silly with my calculator. When I looked up, I saw several others in the corners doing the same thing.
I called the satellite company on Saturday to cancel our cable, because there rates have recently gone up. They were so nice when I told them that we just couldn't afford there service any longer. The guy I talked to asked if I would be interested in cutting back to there "welcome package". 21 channels along with local channels for 14.99. He also decided to waive 2 of the silly fees that totaled $10. As he was reading off all the channels that we would now have, he then asked "so are there any channel's that you are looking for?" I asked, "is TLC on this package, it's my favorite?" ( I love watching the Duggar family) he says "no it's not". and that was that. We agreed to the new channels and the new rate and hung up. About 15 minutes later as we were flipping through our channels, we noticed the change had been made. I was a bit sad when I saw how few were left, until I saw that TLC had been added to our package. I was suddenly so happy I could have cried. I never asked for it, I was just curious if it was already included. The guy was listening and added it for free to our package. Now that I have my favorite channel, I couldn't care less about the others.

I refuse to see us as being victims of the economy. Instead, I am saying that like everything else, things happen for a reason. I believe God has thrown us this curve to make us evaluate our priorities in life. In the end, God and family are the only things that matter.

To lighten my spirits, I have posted this picture below of my Mom and Max. I thought this was just too cute. If you look closely, you can see his first tooth coming in on the bottom.
Those cheeks could never have too many kisses!!!!!!!!!!! :)