Weaving Marriage or Stuck in the Snow

Wow 13.5” of snow and it is still cold. No fishing Report although several locals have been catching hoards through the ice.

I went to cut wood today and got stuck. First time ever in this truck and I have put over 250,000 miles on it. Getting stuck in the snow is easy when you aren’t concentrating on where you are at but where you are going. It started simply enough I headed down the hill and started to slide sideways, then it happened I started to pay attention to where I was at and not looking down the lane where I was going. Stuck in a pile of snow as big as the truck and with a tree resting against the front tire. I was so grateful that a friend was there to push me out. It made me think of how our Heavenly Father allows us to turn our eyes to what is coming up in our lives, while we should be looking at what is going on around us. I am so guilty of this and God in His infinite wisdom always snaps me to attention in one fashion or another. It is so easy to worry about where I am going to go next month, where are my kids going to go to college and they are still in 3^rd grade. Matthew 6:34 says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Keep your eyes on the here and now. If you think that you can build your marriage when the kids are gone, WRONG. Start today start weaving the fabric of your lives together. If you are weaving your own fabric and your spouse theirs, it will be very difficult to sew a piece of silk to a piece of denim. If you are weaving together today there is a bit of silk with a bit of denim every day and in the end you will have a tapestry that is smooth and soft yet durable and strong. That is a marriage that will last the decades and be an heirloom that is pasted down. Isn’t that what we want our marriages to be an heirloom that our kids and grandkids cherish and talk about for time everlasting.

January 12, 2009

No report from the great outdoors other than the bird feeder is a busy place when it is -15. Oh and when you cut wood in a cold winter woods you typically are all by yourself.

I am in the midst of a spiritual struggle or maybe better stated as a time of dissatisfaction. I am not sure which it is but I am sure it is not a time of sweet contentment. As the leader of our home I am responsible for all that besets my family, that being said sometimes that responsibility equals very heavy and perplexing decisions. As I have posted early, my wife and I are leading a study which is meant to strength marriages. Wouldn’t you know it, it is going great but now there are decisions to be made that are putting me at odds to some degree with my wife whom I love. I am told that I am to love my wife as Christ loved the Church. I am also told that my wife is to submit or follow my lead like I follow Christ’s lead. I am to love her as I love myself, keep her from harm, feed her, clothe and shelter her just as I would myself. I sometimes wonder how to do this when how I would choose to do these things for myself is very different than how she would do these things for herself.

There are no easy answers here on the Big Walnut, only the cold hard winds of winter blowing across the frozen pools of the stream where I enjoy spending summer afternoons. When the decisions of life come they remind my of the forecast of a winter snow, the go will be difficult but spring will soon burst forth and the earth once again will be beautiful and alive. I am humbled that the Lord God has called me to lead my house, and I am sure that I am not worthy of this high calling. Some may say it is not a high calling but I would disagree, for I am responsible for many lives that have been entrusted to me. These decisions will be met, discussed and decided and our lives will come out of this spiritual winter snow and spring forth anew.

My advice to myself and those who are reading is this; take heart and do not faint. Run a good race. Never doubt the leading of God for he is our stronghold in a time of trouble.

Camo, Fire and Give me your Opinion

Fishing Report; No activity in 2009 yet, but the Fly Fishing Show is this week. Duck Hunting maybe next week.

WOW 2009. Well actually the WOW is for the ginger tea I am drinking, this stuff is a bit “wangy” to borrow a word that a good friend of mine uses. It is the big, new year ahead of us. We have kicked off a new series at church, all about relationships. I, as usual want to talk about Marriage (no surprise there). As my lovely DW and I worked on our Sunday School material for next week, Susan asked me why I thought marriages in the US were in such bad shape. I thought about it for a few moments and told her I thought it was multi-faceted kind of like the stone we give to pledge our love and devotion. But I am not going to reveal what I think, I what to know what you all think. Why are all the marriages in the US and even in the Christiandom struggling? Second question; tell me what you find attractive in your other half or what are you looking for in a future other half. Let me know and be honest I am really interested if there are differences between genders or geographic regions. Keep the fires burning for the one you love, and here is a little humor to inspire you. I was asked a question by a young man once who was struggling to connect with his wife, he asked me “Why did the birthday gift I purchased make her mad?” I thought well I might as well ask “What did you get her?” He replied he had given it a lot of thought and had bought her some really nice sleep wear he thought that might both enjoy. I said “Well what went wrong.” He proceeds to tell me he had wrapped it up, even with a fancy bow and had put it with the other gifts that had been brought to her party. That is when I realized this might be the problem; you know a private gift at a public party. I asked “Who was at the party?” he replied “Well her whole family was there.” I then knew the problem or at least I thought I did, her family was from a conservative sect of Christianity and not really the “sleep ware” type. That is when he told me that with all of the family watching, keep in mind this included grandmas, grandpas, great aunts and uncles all over the age of 70, that she opened his gift and held up . There in all of it’s glory a Hide-n-Seek cami jami. Needless to say he was not playing hide-n-seek with his wife. Guys always remember your audience. Cami Jamis may seem like a good idea but you may never see them in action they tend to blend in well in the trash.