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“It’s pretty simple— marriages grow from attention and suffer from neglect.”

A thought by Ray Johnston (2014-05-13) from his book, The Hope Quotient:  Measure It. Raise It. You'll Never Be the Same. (p.153). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

I’m sure you have found that to be the truth.

Ray says, “I tell every couple whose wedding I officiate the same story. On my wedding day, my pastor gave me three words that summarize what the Bible teaches about marriage. Taken seriously, a marriage can last a lifetime filled with fun, faith, and faithfulness. I engrave those words on matching silver key chains, one for each of them, and tell them that I’m going to test them on those words after the honeymoon.”

First, of all, he says, “If you play together, you will make your marriage fun. Life will make you uptight, so make laughter the number one sound in your home. Cemeteries are filled with people who are dead serious about life. Keep dating! Get out of town! Plan vacations! Get hobbies! Goof off! Figure out what you like to do and get after it. Fun is a great atmosphere to have in a home.”

Second, “If you pray together, you will build your faith. The closer you grow to God, the closer you will grow toward each other. Get connected to God. Get connected to a thriving church. Get connected to God’s Word. What difference does it make? When you are forgiven by God, you will have grace to give each other. When you receive encouragement from God, you have hope to give each other. When you receive power from God, you have strength to give each other. God-connected people have resources flowing into their homes that other people only dream of.”

And third, “Make a lasting commitment to each other. If you stay together, you will create faithfulness. After all the years of divorce in my family, I am convinced faith that leads to faithfulness is the best and only solid foundation that will last a lifetime.”

He then says, “’If you do these three things,’ I tell the new couple, ‘you will have the kind of marriage that every person dreams of having. Fun. Faith. Faithfulness. With those three words, you’ll be able to build something your children and grandchildren will benefit from for generations.”


And that is what we all want, isn’t it?

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