Two shall be One ~ Win-Win

Do you walk away from arguments with your spouse feeling as though you just lost? While the other person is talking, are you thinking of what you can say to change his or her words?

No? Well, I have, so humor me! ;)

I have even had arguments with my husband while he was out of the room!

But seriously, this is so destructive to our marriage. We are partners after all. We are both on the same team, but sometimes we treat each other like arch enemies. We think that there is a winner and a loser, when in fact if we are against each other- we both lose.


Eph 5:29-31
29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.

30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.

31 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."
NKJV

Can you imagine what would happen if your body tried to function according to the rules of a win-lose system. Suppose your heart and your lungs got into a heated debate about which one most needed more blood supplied to it. Or if our mouth decided to punish the body by not breathing anymore.Does it really matter who wins?

In marriage, you have to find a win-win solution,

because when there's a winner and a loser, you both lose!

We have to find a win-win solution.

To do this, it’s going to take humility and maturity.

It really doesn’t matter who is right or wrong, we may never agree on that. But can we chose to lay down our own rights for our spouse?
God will reward a humble heart.

When we walk in love, we both win.
Your nugget for today is, Win-Win!

Here’s some food for thought (and prayer):

Ps 25:9
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them His way.
NIV

Eph 4:2
2 Be completely humble and gentle;

be patient, bearing with one another in love.
NIV

James 4:6
"God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble."
NIV

James 4:10
10 Humble yourselves before the Lord,

and He will lift you up.
NIV

1 Peter 5:6-7
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand,

that He may lift you up in due time.
NIV

Are You Losing Control?

But first...it's giveaway time!

I'll be giving away:

PRAISE CD
AND

COFFEE! (1 bag)

To enter drawing:

* Leave a comment on this post (one per person)

* Come back this Friday to see if you've won!

BONUS: I do monthly drawings for Praise and Coffee starting on the 1st of every month, I draw a winner on the 10th of every month.

So this Friday, you can enter again for my normal monthly drawing!!!

*****************************************************************************

Stop over to Internet Cafe' for my post today:

"Are You Losing Control?"

Check out my new article.

Comments will close Friday morning 7:00 AM EST, Feb. 1st, drawing will follow soon after with random number generator.

Comments Closed.

Sign up HERE for new giveaway! that just started Feb 1st!!

Free from our suffering!

Mark 5:24-29
A large crowd followed and pressed around Him.

25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.

26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.

27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak,

28 because she thought, "If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed."

29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that

she was freed from her suffering.

NIV

I love this story!

Have you ever been in a situation where the only hope was the Lord?
No earthly answer can be found, it's going to have to be a "God thing."

It is going to take radical faith to believe that He can get you out of "this one."

That faith pleases our Lord.
When every other option is depleted, God loves to pour Himself out on us and bring the healing and deliverance we need.
That's when HE receives the most glory!

She knew that if she could just touch Him, she would be healed.
Sounds like:
Rom 4: 21
being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised.
NIV

God wants us all to look to Him in the face of impossibilities.
When it all seems dead...watch Him breath life!

Sometimes, GOD will close the door to all human reasoning, bypassing all means of rational deliverance.

Not only does God WANT us to believe Him, He expects us to!

Believe Him, trust Him...crawl through the crowd til your knees are bloody with faith!

Lord, we bring you our impossible situations. Because we know that with You, all things are possible!

His Timing, Not Ours

His promise to us:

1 Peter 5:6-7
6 Humble yourselves, therefore,

under God's mighty hand, that

He may lift you up in due time.

7 Cast all your anxiety on Him

because He cares for you.

NIV

No, God's not late...He's right on time.

Are you feeling blue?

Today is officially "Blue Monday." There are various reasons for this, from the lack of daylight hours to the timing of Christmas bills. Today has been dubbed the most depressing day of the year.

Isn't it good to know that we have so many reasons not to be depressed?!

So how do we get out of a funk if we're feeling one?

Psalms 68:3
But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God;
may they be happy and joyful.
NIV

Make the choice to rejoice.
Thank the Lord for all the things He has done. Rejoice in Him today.
He has been good.
Think of all the things we have to be thankful for, they are many.

Prov 15:30
A cheerful look brings joy to the heart,
and good news gives health to the bones.
NIV

Spread some cheer, SMILE at someone.
Give a compliment, do something to lift someone elses heart.
Call a friend, drop an email just to say hello.
I promise that it will lift your spirits also.

Got worry??
Phil 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
NIV

Remember that as children of God, the fruit of the Spirit abides in us.
Gal 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is
love,
joy,
peace,
patience,
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
gentleness
and self-control.
NIV

Can we stay depressed when He has given us so much?
If it was only that He loved us, I believe that would be enough.

Hope you have a wonderful Monday!!!!
Hugs,
Sue

Seeking His Face

I watched a program on Christian TV this morning that grieved my heart to the point of tears, so I did what any blogger would do, I wrote about it. After spending some time with the Lord, I realize that the Word of God dispels lies better than anything I could say to you about the twisted scripture being spoken as truth. So I choose to focus on seeking His face this morning!


1 Chron 16:8-11
8 Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name;
make known among the nations what He has done.
9 Sing to Him, sing praise to Him;
tell of all His wonderful acts.
10 Glory in His holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
11 Look to the LORD and His strength;
seek His face always.
NIV


Psalms 27:7-8
7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.
8 My heart says of you, "Seek His face!"
Your face, LORD, I will seek.
NIV

Psalms 105:4
4 Look to the LORD and His strength;
seek His face always.
NIV

Luke 12:27-31
27 "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!
29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.
30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them.
31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
NIV

Blessing and Honor and Glory and Power...Forever!!!!
In Awe of You, we worship.



Lord, we love You, be magnified in all the earth today!

Friday Fluff and other random happenings

Hello friends,
This week's posts have been so serious, I feel the need to post about nothingness. Kind of like a Praise and Coffee version of Seinfeld.

Don't worry, I will not be starting a new meme, "Friday Fluff" and posting a button with cotton candy on it for your sidebar!

So here's some randon thoughts about things going on around the Cramer household these days.

*** Did I tell you that I got a speeding ticket? Yup.
I haven't had a ticket in years, but this time he got me. It was the first time I was out of the house without Lauren in quite a while and I was feeling FREE!
The speed limit goes from 50mph down to 35...but I didn't.

He asks, "do you know why I pulled you over?"
Of course I knew, didn't he see me slam on my brakes?
Then, "do you know how fast you were going?"
Me: "I think 50."
Him: "no, 47 but the speed limit is 35." (I would think that honesty here would have gotten me somewhere!)

It just went downhill from there. I wanted to tell him that I was without the 3 year old and feeling free, no limits! But I didn't think that would go over well.
I thought about breaking into the ugly cry, but really- I knew that I deserved a ticket.

You would think that would have helped me slow it down, but no.
I have had to slam on my brakes on that road 3 times since because I keep forgetting that the speed limit goes down there.
I don't have a problem speeding on the highway, but going 35 and below seems to be an issue for me. If I could just drive 50 mph everywhere I go, I'm sure I would never get a ticket.

*** I was at the doctor this week with my son and asked him about my arm (we tend to make one appointment and them bombard him with every problem we have). I have been having alot of pain in it and thought maybe I was getting carpal tunnel or something. He did a few little pain tests on me and said that I have tennis elbow.
Tennis elbow?!
I've never even picked up a racket.

What he meant to say is that I am 40, out of shape and strained a tendon while using a screwdriver to hang my new curtains.
For the love of donuts, can you believe it? There is really nothing I can do about it, but try to let it heal. Do you know when I feel it the worse? When I reach in the top of my fridge all the way to the back to get out my 2 gallon container of cream for my coffee. That hurts.
I guess I'll have to lay off the tennis for a while too.

*** Took Lauren to speech class the other day. She is still in the evaluation process. The teacher shows her pictures and asks her to say what they are.
The teacher shows her a duck and Lauren says, "dut."
The teacher shows her a cow and she says "moo."
The teacher shows her a candy bar and she makes the (sign language) sign for Meijer (our neighborhood grocery store).
This much she knows, if we are out of chocolate, it's off to Meijer we go.
Yes, I'm training her up in the way she should go...she should go to Meijer for chocolate.

*** After speech class we go to McDonalds for lunch (after stopping at Meijer because I remembered that we needed chocolate).
Lauren loves to play in the playland there.
My goal is get her through 3 bites of her chicken wrap and 10 french fries before the shoes come off. The best part about playland is the de-shoeing.

A couple other things note worthy...

*** On Monday, Mitt Romney called me 38 times. He wanted me to vote for him on Tuesday. That was thoughtful.

*** I noticed a few more gray hairs this week, and you know what that means. That's all I going to say about that.

*** Lauren STILL loves the movie Elf, so I listen to it everytime we are in the car as she watches her DVD. Because we can not see it, only hear it...15 year old daughter and I describe what is happening in all the scenes and then laugh hysterically.

That's about it for me, I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
I love you, I'll call you in 5 minutes!

Sue