Welcome to Marriage Heart to Heart! 00:00:31.77\00:00:33.97 We're Tom & Alane Waters with Restoration International 00:00:34.01\00:00:37.43 Today we're talking about: you too can have 00:00:37.75\00:00:40.36 a marriage that's heart to heart! 00:00:40.40\00:00:42.02 So, we hope you have a paper and pencil 00:00:42.06\00:00:43.65 as we begin today's session. 00:00:43.68\00:00:45.72 Yes we can! We've proved it haven't we? 00:00:47.65\00:00:50.63 Yes! We can have a marriage 00:00:50.66\00:00:53.12 heart to heart! 00:00:53.15\00:00:55.43 They can have one too, can't they? 00:00:55.96\00:00:57.33 Absolutely! 00:00:57.36\00:00:58.89 It's for everyone! 00:00:58.93\00:01:00.38 It's not exclusive! 00:01:00.41\00:01:01.78 But we've talked over this last number of weeks and months 00:01:01.81\00:01:07.23 about simple ways that each one of us can experience 00:01:07.49\00:01:11.53 a marriage that's truly heart to heart, 00:01:11.56\00:01:13.71 heart to heart with God and heart to heart with the one 00:01:13.75\00:01:17.22 that God has given us to spend our lives with. 00:01:17.25\00:01:20.34 So, we're gonna talk this time, 00:01:20.65\00:01:24.12 this is actually our final program for the series and 00:01:24.34\00:01:27.47 we're going to go back and look at some of the things 00:01:27.51\00:01:30.61 just to recap what God has done and wants to do 00:01:30.86\00:01:36.20 in your experience! 00:01:36.23\00:01:37.86 I like what you say: what God can do! 00:01:37.90\00:01:40.90 God can, He's the initiator of love! 00:01:40.93\00:01:43.86 And e can rekindle that love! - That's right! 00:01:43.90\00:01:45.98 He can rekindle that romance! 00:01:46.01\00:01:48.20 He can make it new again! 00:01:48.23\00:01:49.82 He can build security in a marriage He'll trust! 00:01:49.86\00:01:53.14 And that's all what God can do! 00:01:53.17\00:01:55.23 if we are willing to cooperate with Him! 00:01:55.27\00:01:57.49 With Him all things are possible! 00:01:57.52\00:01:59.43 That's right! And we have seen 00:01:59.46\00:02:02.29 marriages first hand through our own 00:02:02.33\00:02:06.11 communication with the people 00:02:06.14\00:02:08.66 dead, dying marriages, 00:02:08.69\00:02:11.20 Some that were ready to go on to the divorce courts. 00:02:11.24\00:02:15.26 We have seen those people 00:02:15.44\00:02:18.86 turn from marriages that were nearly destroyed 00:02:18.90\00:02:23.22 and be revitalized to be revived and restored. 00:02:24.04\00:02:28.40 And today they are marriages that are truly 00:02:28.43\00:02:31.58 heart to heart with God and one another! 00:02:31.62\00:02:34.74 And that's encouraging! 00:02:34.77\00:02:36.56 We've seen it in our own marriage! We had to, 00:02:36.60\00:02:38.84 not that we were heading for divorce but 00:02:38.87\00:02:40.79 we hit some pretty hard bombs at the beginning! 00:02:40.83\00:02:42.96 - That's right! - And we had to go back 00:02:42.99\00:02:44.52 and start renewing what it was 00:02:44.55\00:02:46.99 at the beginning of our relationship, 00:02:47.03\00:02:49.20 knowing that God was leading in that. 00:02:49.23\00:02:51.33 And to build from that point on, stop trying to be right, 00:02:51.37\00:02:55.50 stop trying to argue my point and get it away my way, 00:02:55.54\00:02:59.64 not any way but my way, 00:02:59.67\00:03:01.68 and see what God can do when we're 00:03:01.72\00:03:04.28 willing to work together with Him! 00:03:04.32\00:03:06.85 That's right! 00:03:06.88\00:03:08.11 We need to go right back to the beginning of the series 00:03:08.15\00:03:10.41 because we talked about there 00:03:10.44\00:03:13.37 how we could learn to become one. 00:03:13.40\00:03:16.30 And, you know, one of the things that 00:03:16.63\00:03:19.07 made an impression on me and I think some of, 00:03:20.01\00:03:22.40 probably many of our viewing audience 00:03:22.43\00:03:26.27 remember an old, old story: 00:03:26.30\00:03:29.19 Johnny Lingo. 00:03:29.63\00:03:31.17 How he came to an island and he was 00:03:31.21\00:03:35.50 looking for a wife. And if you remember the story 00:03:35.80\00:03:39.68 it's a very simple but very touching story. 00:03:39.71\00:03:42.34 On that island the native peoples there 00:03:43.16\00:03:46.52 they measured the value of the woman 00:03:46.55\00:03:49.37 that was going to be married in cows. 00:03:49.41\00:03:52.16 And, you know, they were sitting around talking about 00:03:52.20\00:03:56.00 how many cows their man had paid for them. 00:03:56.03\00:04:00.22 And Johnny Lingo comes and he finds this girl who 00:04:01.00\00:04:05.12 apparently is quit homely, shy, intimidated because of 00:04:05.16\00:04:08.99 how she had been beaten down. 00:04:09.02\00:04:11.16 Her whole life she had been beaten down and made to be, 00:04:11.20\00:04:14.40 feel like she had no self worth, no self dignity. 00:04:14.86\00:04:18.50 But Johnny Lingo saw in her 00:04:19.09\00:04:21.65 the deep things that no one else was seeing. 00:04:21.97\00:04:25.54 And you may remember if you ever saw 00:04:25.84\00:04:27.86 this or heard the story that he ended up paying 00:04:27.90\00:04:31.44 ten cows for her. 00:04:31.47\00:04:33.81 And you know, all the women of the village 00:04:33.85\00:04:35.73 were talking about, well: "She might get one cow, 00:04:35.77\00:04:38.66 or maybe two cows! ", you know. 00:04:38.69\00:04:40.25 They were four cow women and there was a five cow woman or 00:04:40.29\00:04:43.42 always different, they were bragging about 00:04:43.66\00:04:46.49 how many cows. And Johnny Lingo comes with 00:04:46.52\00:04:49.32 ten cows. And obviously her father 00:04:49.35\00:04:52.45 when he sees this 00:04:52.93\00:04:55.26 passes out from the shock of 00:04:55.29\00:04:57.16 how the value that he's putting on his daughter 00:04:57.20\00:05:00.27 to marry her. What does he see in this 00:05:00.30\00:05:02.68 in this woman? 00:05:02.71\00:05:04.14 And then he takes her away for the 00:05:04.53\00:05:07.00 the time of their honeymoon and the 00:05:07.03\00:05:09.38 time to becoming acquainted, "the two shall become one". 00:05:09.42\00:05:14.41 And when she comes back 00:05:14.76\00:05:16.64 she's hardly recognized by the people of the village because 00:05:16.68\00:05:20.13 now this woman who has been downtrodden 00:05:20.16\00:05:22.95 and has no self worth 00:05:22.98\00:05:25.01 is beautiful because Johnny Lingo has seen the beauty 00:05:25.05\00:05:29.20 of this woman. 00:05:29.23\00:05:30.90 And the message doesn't need to be lost on us! 00:05:30.94\00:05:35.16 I don't care what you have gone through, 00:05:35.19\00:05:38.14 where you find yourself in your marriage, 00:05:38.17\00:05:40.45 we can begin and ideally both husband and wife begin 00:05:40.49\00:05:45.52 to place the real value that God has on us 00:05:45.55\00:05:48.99 and the real desire of what He can make us 00:05:49.03\00:05:52.44 as husband and wives we can have 00:05:52.47\00:05:54.82 a marriage that's heart to heart! 00:05:54.86\00:05:57.18 And so, when we begin with "the two shall become one" 00:05:57.42\00:06:02.02 we talk there about how that can happen, how we need to 00:06:02.17\00:06:06.97 allow God to work in us that 00:06:07.00\00:06:09.16 I can make a view the things God wants me to help you 00:06:09.20\00:06:13.65 to become the woman that God wants you to be and vice versa. 00:06:13.69\00:06:17.06 That's what marriage is about, it's to improve 00:06:17.09\00:06:19.32 both of us, right? - That's right! 00:06:19.35\00:06:20.76 And so we're no longer Me! It's the "us focus"! 00:06:20.80\00:06:23.04 - That's right! - And that's what we talked 00:06:23.08\00:06:25.29 about next: how do we move from what I want and my focus, 00:06:25.32\00:06:30.27 my selfishness in the marriage to think about how 00:06:30.30\00:06:33.81 the decisions and the things we do 00:06:33.84\00:06:35.88 affect us in the marriage. Our communication 00:06:35.92\00:06:38.47 how we spend our money all these things 00:06:38.50\00:06:41.21 that are very important in a marriage 00:06:41.25\00:06:43.93 that it's done mutually: 00:06:44.73\00:06:46.51 Us! - That's right! 00:06:46.55\00:06:48.26 Our thoughts are about us instead 00:06:48.30\00:06:49.98 of just myself, or just yourself! 00:06:50.02\00:06:51.67 And I think, you know, when we got into the marriage 00:06:51.97\00:06:55.09 first of all we didn't understand the two "me's" 00:06:55.12\00:06:58.21 we didn't understand the strong "me focus". 00:06:58.24\00:07:01.23 And God began to show us. And when I was 00:07:01.59\00:07:04.86 thinking about the two becoming one 00:07:05.68\00:07:08.54 it was fitting you into my lifestyle. 00:07:08.87\00:07:11.00 I didn't understand! I didn't mean to be that way but 00:07:11.04\00:07:14.08 because I was in the "me focus" I was trying to fit you 00:07:14.12\00:07:17.20 into my lifestyle! I wanted to keep all of my old things 00:07:17.23\00:07:20.28 going and just integrate you into it! 00:07:20.31\00:07:22.57 I wasn't thinking about how you were feeling 00:07:22.61\00:07:25.81 or what it meant to you. So we needed to learn 00:07:25.85\00:07:28.94 to move from that "me focus" to the "us focus". 00:07:28.98\00:07:32.00 Which began to lead us into that enduring commitment 00:07:32.04\00:07:36.59 which we began to talk about in that program 00:07:36.62\00:07:40.06 how we can have an enduring commitment. 00:07:40.09\00:07:43.18 Because when we made our vows, those vows 00:07:43.22\00:07:46.28 said that they were enduring Till Death Do Us Part! 00:07:46.43\00:07:50.41 But is that how we're relating in our marriage? 00:07:50.88\00:07:53.44 Is that the way that we're treating one another? 00:07:53.47\00:07:56.00 We need to allow God to make that 00:07:56.03\00:07:59.21 an enduring commitment for our marriage! 00:07:59.25\00:08:01.90 What is true love? We talked about that also. 00:08:01.94\00:08:05.08 1 Corinthians 13: "Love bears all things, 00:08:05.11\00:08:08.22 love believes all things, love endures all things 00:08:08.25\00:08:11.06 and love hopes for all things! " 00:08:11.09\00:08:13.00 And that's what we need in our marriages! 00:08:13.04\00:08:15.44 With God working in my heart, with God working 00:08:15.48\00:08:18.35 in the heart of my husband, 00:08:18.38\00:08:19.88 our marriages truly can be heart to heart! 00:08:19.92\00:08:22.59 And little things will not irritate us and 00:08:22.63\00:08:25.23 we don't have to argue our way through things 00:08:25.27\00:08:27.50 to try to be right! True love will endure 00:08:27.85\00:08:31.47 a difference of opinion! True love will be spontaneous 00:08:31.51\00:08:36.22 to love that other person in the most difficult moments! 00:08:36.26\00:08:40.94 That's right! 00:08:40.97\00:08:42.27 Ands taking that 1 Corinthians 13 and making it 00:08:42.31\00:08:45.70 practical has had a powerful influence in our marriage. 00:08:45.74\00:08:49.04 You know, there's so much, even in professed Christianity 00:08:49.08\00:08:52.35 today that we know and say about the Bible, 00:08:52.38\00:08:55.36 God's Word, our Guide, the Lamp unto our feet 00:08:55.39\00:08:58.34 and a light unto our path! 00:08:58.37\00:08:59.78 But let's take some of these simple passages. 00:09:00.42\00:09:03.08 It's called the Love Chapter and rightly so. 00:09:03.11\00:09:06.14 But it's not enough! I used to have, you know memorized 00:09:06.18\00:09:09.86 but that didn't really do any practical good 00:09:09.89\00:09:12.06 in our marriage did it? I even 00:09:12.09\00:09:14.65 wrote you for if you remember 00:09:15.09\00:09:17.21 a paraphrase of that Love Chapter. 00:09:17.29\00:09:20.02 - Personalized it! - I personalized it! 00:09:20.06\00:09:21.54 But God needed to bring that personalized into my life! 00:09:22.10\00:09:26.37 And I just wanna entreat you that if you want 00:09:26.40\00:09:29.49 to have that experience of what true love is, 00:09:29.53\00:09:32.55 take 1 Corinthians and ask God to make it a personal, 00:09:32.59\00:09:36.03 practical part of your love experience. 00:09:36.06\00:09:39.35 So, we will learn to be patient with one another. 00:09:39.81\00:09:41.93 - That's right! - We learn to be kind and gentle 00:09:41.97\00:09:44.06 And then that lead us into our next part of the series 00:09:44.63\00:09:48.43 in developing respect. And you and I have recognized 00:09:48.47\00:09:52.24 how little respect many people have in their marriages. 00:09:52.27\00:09:55.49 And it's not because they mean for to happen that way! 00:09:55.95\00:09:58.48 It's because it just isn't there! 00:09:58.51\00:10:01.93 They respect other people, they respect the people 00:10:01.96\00:10:04.75 at the bank or at the grocery store, 00:10:04.78\00:10:06.66 or their employer, their fellow employees 00:10:06.70\00:10:10.05 but when it comes to the husband and wife respect 00:10:10.09\00:10:12.24 it really hasn't been there. 00:10:12.27\00:10:14.31 And we need to cultivate that 00:10:14.34\00:10:16.31 and develop that in our marriage. 00:10:16.35\00:10:18.89 And as that's been developing in our marriage 00:10:18.93\00:10:21.16 you respect my opinions on things and my perspectives. 00:10:21.20\00:10:24.41 That wasn't always the case early on! 00:10:24.44\00:10:26.57 - That's right! - And I also respect 00:10:26.61\00:10:28.67 your opinions and your understanding of things. 00:10:28.71\00:10:31.78 And so that respect will also then be countered 00:10:31.97\00:10:36.96 with restraint in ourselves. 00:10:36.99\00:10:39.04 That's the only way it can happen, if I really respect you 00:10:39.08\00:10:42.23 I will learn to be restraint of the spirit 00:10:42.26\00:10:44.48 to be determined not to injure you 00:10:44.51\00:10:46.91 by my words or my actions or my passions. 00:10:46.95\00:10:50.56 That's right! 00:10:50.98\00:10:52.15 So, respect and restraint really go hand in hand! 00:10:52.40\00:10:55.62 They're inseparable! If we really respect each other 00:10:55.66\00:10:58.85 then we will allow the Lord to restrain us. 00:10:58.88\00:11:00.85 And in that restraint He will make us new people. 00:11:00.89\00:11:03.59 It's not gonna: "Ok I'm not gonna say this right now!" 00:11:03.63\00:11:05.80 it's gonna change how we think! 00:11:05.83\00:11:07.98 So those responses don't even wanna come up! 00:11:08.02\00:11:11.01 Yes! So, does that mean we just bite our tongue? 00:11:11.05\00:11:14.01 No! We may have to at the beginning! 00:11:14.04\00:11:16.91 That's right! 'Cause I can remember sometimes 00:11:16.95\00:11:19.24 when the Lord has helped me develop respect 00:11:19.27\00:11:21.49 and cultivate that restraint but there were times that 00:11:21.53\00:11:25.13 everything inside of me wanted to say it but I 00:11:25.18\00:11:27.92 bit my tongue so to speak! 00:11:28.66\00:11:30.48 But God began to show us that when He's working in us 00:11:30.52\00:11:34.64 we don't have to bite our tongues! 00:11:34.67\00:11:36.84 And God will show you that too as we move forward 00:11:36.88\00:11:40.82 in developing respect and cultivating restraint 00:11:40.86\00:11:44.77 God will show us that His power 00:11:44.80\00:11:46.90 can go beyond biting our tongues 00:11:46.93\00:11:49.01 and change us from the inside out! 00:11:49.05\00:11:51.06 And you know, it may seem like biting our tongue at first. 00:11:51.10\00:11:53.46 It's because it's our natural response. 00:11:53.49\00:11:55.56 But it may be the call of the Spirit that we wanna say it 00:11:55.60\00:11:59.22 but we're willing to be restraint of the spirit. 00:11:59.25\00:12:01.51 And it may feel like it's a biting of the tongue initially 00:12:01.58\00:12:04.67 but as we get accustom to responding to 00:12:04.70\00:12:07.15 the Spirit of Christ calling to our hearts 00:12:07.18\00:12:09.60 it's no longer a difficult restraint 00:12:09.63\00:12:13.03 or a biting of the tongue the feeling like I can't. 00:12:13.07\00:12:15.95 It's a desire to be surrendered to that still small voice 00:12:15.99\00:12:21.06 and to know that God has something better for us! 00:12:21.09\00:12:24.25 Yes! And that led us into then talking about 00:12:24.28\00:12:27.77 making the best of the roles in marriage 00:12:28.23\00:12:31.63 and really getting the highest 00:12:31.66\00:12:34.65 out of those roles. Rather than it being in contention 00:12:35.06\00:12:38.39 and trying to take over each other's roles 00:12:38.42\00:12:41.28 we went back to the beginning. We looked at how 00:12:41.32\00:12:43.73 God just established the original roles 00:12:43.76\00:12:48.37 for man and woman and how sin came in and affected those 00:12:48.41\00:12:51.65 roles and then how God has worked to restore that 00:12:51.96\00:12:55.25 in the marriage through the years. 00:12:55.50\00:12:57.14 It's not that one is less than the other 00:12:57.18\00:12:59.87 but God has given us distinctive roles in the marriage 00:12:59.91\00:13:02.68 for the betterment of both husband and wife. 00:13:02.71\00:13:04.91 And as I've learned to be a submissive wife in the Lord 00:13:04.95\00:13:09.08 to you I found the joy of what true 00:13:09.11\00:13:11.72 womanhood can be in a marriage! 00:13:11.76\00:13:14.30 Yes! And it's been an encouragement to me to be 00:13:14.34\00:13:16.47 the man who truly loves his wife as Christ loved the Church 00:13:16.51\00:13:20.33 and gave Himself for it! 00:13:20.36\00:13:22.84 But we need to take a break right now. 00:13:22.87\00:13:24.54 We hoe you'll stay with us! 00:13:24.57\00:13:26.49 We'll be back in just a moment to continue talking 00:13:26.52\00:13:29.12 about how you can have a marriage heart to heart! 00:13:29.16\00:13:31.75 There are many "How to?" books available, 00:13:39.89\00:13:41.74 but there's one that's free and perfect for every couple: 00:13:41.78\00:13:45.14 how you can "Build a Better Marriage". 00:13:45.17\00:13:47.64 Bible-based, matrimonial advice 00:13:47.67\00:13:50.05 is given in a lighthearted, easy-to-read manner, 00:13:50.09\00:13:52.65 for those contemplating marriage, 00:13:52.68\00:13:54.24 newlyweds, couples in their golden years, 00:13:54.28\00:13:57.13 and everyone in-between. 00:13:57.16\00:13:58.81 Simply call or write for your free copy 00:13:59.40\00:14:01.26 of this amazing little booklet, a handy little tool 00:14:01.30\00:14:04.14 to help build a better marriage. 00:14:04.17\00:14:06.08 Welcome back where we were talking about 00:14:14.31\00:14:16.67 how we can make our marriages heart to heart. 00:14:16.71\00:14:19.32 In this closing program of our series we've been 00:14:19.36\00:14:22.41 just going back and recapping the main points 00:14:22.45\00:14:25.43 of how this can be a reality in each of our marriages! 00:14:25.47\00:14:29.14 So finding forgiveness is a very vital part 00:14:29.40\00:14:32.28 of having a marriage heart to heart! 00:14:32.31\00:14:33.70 - Absolutely! - Learning to say 00:14:33.73\00:14:35.03 "I'm sorry honey! Will you forgive me?" 00:14:35.07\00:14:37.58 And be specific about what it is 00:14:37.61\00:14:39.61 that I've done to offend you! - That's right! 00:14:39.65\00:14:41.35 And the offering true forgiveness 00:14:41.38\00:14:43.80 in my heart even if you don't ask me to be forgiving. 00:14:44.53\00:14:48.72 That's very important and that leads us 00:14:48.75\00:14:50.49 then to the next program where we talked about 00:14:50.53\00:14:54.36 the grave for faults. 00:14:54.84\00:14:58.09 Your faults should find a grave in my heart, 00:14:58.47\00:15:01.23 they shouldn't be given to other people. 00:15:01.27\00:15:04.00 It should be a sheltering love that we have for each other 00:15:04.56\00:15:07.56 that we don't talk about the faults of one another out there 00:15:07.59\00:15:10.56 to other people who don't understand those situations. 00:15:10.59\00:15:14.10 Or even to each other. You know, if we only talked about 00:15:14.22\00:15:17.61 what I don't like about you or how you disappoint me 00:15:17.65\00:15:21.01 that's only gonna deteriorate the marriage. 00:15:21.04\00:15:24.26 So, our heart truly should be that grave for faults. 00:15:24.30\00:15:28.08 And not even, you know not that we can't say 00:15:28.11\00:15:30.19 "Honey I'm not sure about this!", 00:15:30.22\00:15:31.93 not that we can't communicate on a very deep an honest level; 00:15:31.97\00:15:34.94 - That's right! - But it should not be 00:15:34.97\00:15:36.00 the focus of our communication. 00:15:36.03\00:15:37.75 And it should not be something that's rehearsed 00:15:37.79\00:15:39.63 over and over and over! Which brings us 00:15:39.66\00:15:41.75 to the next topic that we had. 00:15:41.78\00:15:43.37 It was building our marriage on a Sure Foundation! 00:15:43.41\00:15:46.61 The importance of having the Scriptures, 00:15:46.64\00:15:49.20 guide us in all of the decisions that we make! 00:15:49.23\00:15:52.51 and all of the laws of our home and how we treat one another 00:15:52.55\00:15:56.24 that is truly our Sure Guide, God's Holly Word! 00:15:56.27\00:15:59.79 That's right! And if we will take the Word of God 00:15:59.82\00:16:03.31 off the shelf so to speak, 00:16:03.34\00:16:05.24 of the night stand and we will bring It 00:16:05.59\00:16:07.86 into the practical places of our hearts. 00:16:08.31\00:16:11.14 And allow God to change us! His Word will be 00:16:11.17\00:16:13.97 and has been for us a Sure Foundation 00:16:14.42\00:16:17.25 for a marriage that's heart to heart! 00:16:17.28\00:16:19.27 And if we're in God's Word then we're gonna be desiring 00:16:19.92\00:16:23.75 to be in prayer as well, to meet the needs. 00:16:23.78\00:16:26.80 And so we talked about prayers of love; 00:16:26.84\00:16:29.83 very meaningful that have been a growing 00:16:29.90\00:16:32.84 part of our growing love in our marriage! 00:16:32.88\00:16:35.79 And it's helped us then to develop common goals. 00:16:36.70\00:16:40.21 One of the greatest challenges that couples face today 00:16:40.25\00:16:44.34 is everything around them is so busy. 00:16:44.37\00:16:47.02 And we need to look at what are the goals 00:16:47.40\00:16:50.39 that we have in life and form those goals together! 00:16:50.43\00:16:53.59 Talk about it and expand our thinking from 00:16:53.62\00:16:57.51 getting through a day to where we wanna be in our home 00:16:57.55\00:17:00.95 in our marriage, in our lives together! 00:17:00.98\00:17:03.15 Form those common goals with the Lord Jesus 00:17:03.18\00:17:05.67 and with one another! - Which hen led us into 00:17:05.71\00:17:08.17 setting priorities. 00:17:08.20\00:17:10.12 You know, it' very interesting that sometimes 00:17:10.16\00:17:12.29 priorities get set for us and they almost funnel us into 00:17:12.49\00:17:16.11 what we have to do. 00:17:16.14\00:17:17.54 And we found that if we're going to be successful 00:17:17.58\00:17:20.52 in meeting the goals that we believe are important, 00:17:20.56\00:17:23.47 then we need to set our priorities. 00:17:23.56\00:17:25.67 And carve out the time to make those priorities a reality. 00:17:25.71\00:17:29.61 And for us those priorities that we set 00:17:30.69\00:17:34.84 gave us time to communicate, effective communication. 00:17:34.88\00:17:38.43 That's what we talked about next 00:17:38.46\00:17:39.68 the need for effective communication. 00:17:39.72\00:17:42.01 Without communication we're sure to dissolve 00:17:42.05\00:17:46.59 the love in our hearts for each other. 00:17:46.62\00:17:48.50 Communication is what draws our hearts together 00:17:48.54\00:17:50.77 just like it does with God! When we communicate 00:17:50.81\00:17:52.93 with Him our heart is drawn to Him. And when 00:17:52.97\00:17:55.06 we communicate with each other 00:17:55.09\00:17:56.53 in effective communication our hearts grow closer together. 00:17:56.57\00:18:00.19 Well, part of that effective communication 00:18:00.37\00:18:02.81 was when we talked about "Please Understand Me". 00:18:03.21\00:18:06.19 Do you like to be understood? 00:18:06.85\00:18:08.79 Always! You don't have to agree with me 00:18:08.83\00:18:11.14 but I do like to be understood! 00:18:11.17\00:18:12.75 Yes! And that's something that we found is very important. 00:18:12.79\00:18:15.77 I don't think anybody likes to be misunderstood! 00:18:15.80\00:18:19.43 Taking time to communicate but 00:18:20.04\00:18:22.39 taking time to really understand 00:18:22.42\00:18:24.70 not just to hear, not to finish half uttered sentences 00:18:24.74\00:18:29.84 but taking time to understand what is your wife, 00:18:29.87\00:18:33.26 your husband really trying to say! 00:18:33.29\00:18:35.38 So, then we have to deal with things 00:18:36.42\00:18:38.00 that break communication. And we dealt with those 00:18:38.04\00:18:41.52 in our personal life. We identified some of those areas 00:18:41.56\00:18:44.37 in our life that were communication breakers. 00:18:44.40\00:18:47.36 "You always do this!", "You never!" 00:18:47.39\00:18:50.28 And those types of responses 00:18:50.31\00:18:53.30 although they seem real in the moment 00:18:53.34\00:18:55.86 are untruthful statements. 00:18:55.89\00:18:57.18 And they break down communication. 00:18:57.22\00:18:58.56 We talked about many - That's right! 00:18:58.59\00:19:00.10 things that break communication down. 00:19:00.14\00:19:01.62 Sometimes it's silence, sometimes it's our posture 00:19:01.65\00:19:04.52 so we need to be sensitive that we don't use 00:19:04.81\00:19:07.86 communication breakers but we look for ways 00:19:07.90\00:19:10.81 to effectively communicate. - That's right! 00:19:10.84\00:19:13.72 And one of the most effective ways to build communication 00:19:13.92\00:19:18.23 is to be honest in our communication! Real integrity 00:19:18.48\00:19:22.94 if that's there we call it transparent communication. 00:19:23.70\00:19:27.74 That means there's nothing that I can't talk about with you! 00:19:27.78\00:19:31.50 And that's important, isn't it? 00:19:31.94\00:19:33.59 We couldn't always say that on our marriage! 00:19:34.10\00:19:35.98 No we couldn't! Neither one of us could! 00:19:36.01\00:19:37.82 Because there were things that maybe we thought or we did 00:19:37.86\00:19:40.01 that we really didn't want the other person to know about. 00:19:40.04\00:19:42.16 So it was hard to be really honest. 00:19:42.19\00:19:43.95 Or we were afraid of how the other person would react. 00:19:43.99\00:19:46.53 So, honesty in communication, real integrity and transparency 00:19:46.73\00:19:51.51 is vital to having a marriage that's heart to heart. 00:19:51.54\00:19:55.44 And so is learning how to manage our money! 00:19:56.08\00:19:59.00 - Oh, is that important? - Absolutely! 00:19:59.03\00:20:01.50 So many marital disagreements happen because of 00:20:01.54\00:20:04.76 "Who spent what?" or "You got this and it cost how much?" 00:20:04.80\00:20:07.98 or "You didn't tell me that you did this with the money!" 00:20:08.01\00:20:11.16 And so managing our money is a very important part of 00:20:11.32\00:20:15.73 effective marriage to build it heart to heart! 00:20:15.76\00:20:19.17 That's right! You know a lot of marriages are 00:20:19.21\00:20:22.59 floundering because of the financial pressures 00:20:22.89\00:20:25.68 that they find themselves under. 00:20:25.71\00:20:28.41 We need to honestly deal through 00:20:28.44\00:20:31.11 the money matters that 00:20:31.14\00:20:33.16 are there every day! If we're not it creates a barrier 00:20:33.20\00:20:36.79 between us! 00:20:36.82\00:20:38.16 And we wanna learn how to move from the discord 00:20:38.20\00:20:42.46 to harmony, from the arguing to the understanding. 00:20:42.49\00:20:46.72 That's what God wants us to experience! 00:20:46.87\00:20:48.75 And that's what we're learning and it's 00:20:48.78\00:20:50.63 an on growing process isn't it? 00:20:50.66\00:20:52.60 - Yes it is! - And I'm thankful to say that 00:20:52.64\00:20:54.81 there isn't discord in our marriage but we have harmony! 00:20:55.35\00:20:57.84 It's beautiful! I love to be with you! 00:20:57.87\00:21:00.11 We love to be with each other and there's nothing 00:21:00.15\00:21:02.30 that we'd rather do that makes more happy 00:21:02.33\00:21:04.80 than to be in each other's presence! 00:21:04.83\00:21:06.21 That's right! And it wasn't always that way! 00:21:06.25\00:21:08.98 We always enjoyed each other but we didn't enjoy it 00:21:09.14\00:21:12.78 and it didn't have the same meaning because 00:21:12.81\00:21:15.60 particularly in the early times there was 00:21:15.63\00:21:18.39 some disaccording notes! 00:21:18.42\00:21:21.54 And to have harmony in the marriage means 00:21:22.03\00:21:24.47 the foundation of having harmony in the family. 00:21:24.51\00:21:27.03 - That's right! - So that makes 00:21:27.06\00:21:28.68 a huge difference! 00:21:28.71\00:21:30.23 Well, we can't do that if we don't deal with 00:21:30.27\00:21:33.07 our emotions properly. And that's what we talked about 00:21:33.10\00:21:35.12 after that. Because if we have discord 00:21:35.15\00:21:38.30 we need to look for ways 00:21:38.71\00:21:41.40 to regain that harmony through the Lord Jesus. 00:21:41.44\00:21:44.20 And so handling our emotions was something that 00:21:44.24\00:21:46.97 we both recognized not something that you 00:21:47.00\00:21:49.19 just needed to recognize But emotions play themselves 00:21:49.23\00:21:53.01 out in anger, frustration, irritation all kinds of things 00:21:53.05\00:21:56.80 that we both needed to recognize 00:21:56.83\00:21:59.59 to allow Go to come in and as we surrendered ourselves 00:21:59.62\00:22:02.92 to Him; 00:22:02.95\00:22:04.05 And you can move away from those emotional reactions 00:22:04.09\00:22:09.25 that you find happening almost spontaneously. 00:22:09.28\00:22:12.72 And you can regain that harmony in your family 00:22:12.75\00:22:16.12 by dealing effectively with the Lord for those emotions. 00:22:16.16\00:22:19.94 And it makes a huge difference doesn't it? 00:22:19.97\00:22:22.60 - It does! - For both of us! I mean 00:22:22.63\00:22:24.84 my response if God is managing my emotions 00:22:24.88\00:22:28.91 then I am now more effective in 00:22:29.35\00:22:33.34 clearing up a misunderstanding that may be 00:22:33.54\00:22:36.09 between us or vice versa. 00:22:36.12\00:22:38.30 And if we're both willing to do that 00:22:38.34\00:22:40.16 it's even that much greater. - Amen! 00:22:40.20\00:22:41.95 But you know, sometimes it's difficult for people. 00:22:41.99\00:22:44.87 They've been in, they feel helpless, 00:22:45.04\00:22:48.09 they feel they've gone too far, 00:22:48.12\00:22:50.41 they feel they're inadequate, insufficient 00:22:50.45\00:22:53.53 to manage their problems. And there is a time 00:22:53.57\00:22:56.58 when an outside source to help a couple to maintain 00:22:56.62\00:23:00.11 that marriage or to begin to rebuild that marriage 00:23:00.15\00:23:03.61 is necessary. 00:23:03.64\00:23:04.74 - That's right! - And we spent quite a bit 00:23:04.78\00:23:07.00 of time talking about the three areas of 00:23:07.03\00:23:09.32 counseling, you know that is important when 00:23:09.36\00:23:11.54 you're seeking an outside source for help! 00:23:11.58\00:23:13.73 Yes! One of those was to make sure 00:23:13.76\00:23:16.85 that it wasn't just a sympathy session, 00:23:16.89\00:23:19.81 that would not just going to find out 00:23:19.84\00:23:22.67 you know, how good I am and how terrible this other person 00:23:23.06\00:23:25.58 is and that we need this counselor to 00:23:25.61\00:23:28.06 be sympathetic to my side. 00:23:28.09\00:23:30.11 And that the Lord's principles from His Word 00:23:30.76\00:23:33.56 are what we can count on! - That's right! 00:23:33.59\00:23:36.36 So, if counseling is made available at the appropriate 00:23:37.63\00:23:43.24 time it will help us keep love alive. 00:23:43.27\00:23:45.44 And that's what we talked about next. 00:23:45.47\00:23:47.61 Are you doing those things that keep your love alive? 00:23:47.73\00:23:51.53 Are you making the commitment 00:23:51.56\00:23:54.03 to do things like you do for all the other things 00:23:54.21\00:23:57.03 your business, your you know, the activities 00:23:57.06\00:24:00.43 that you commit to socially, your Church responsibilities? 00:24:00.47\00:24:03.49 Are you making a commitment to keep love alive? 00:24:03.65\00:24:07.17 in your marriage? 00:24:07.28\00:24:08.62 Even the commitments we make to please ourselves. 00:24:08.66\00:24:11.34 if we put as much energy in trying to please 00:24:11.37\00:24:13.49 the other person as we do to try to please ourselves, 00:24:13.52\00:24:16.81 our love for the other person would be alive and growing! 00:24:16.84\00:24:20.12 - That's right! - And we talked about the need 00:24:20.15\00:24:22.19 to develop moral purity! How to keep the marriage pure; 00:24:22.53\00:24:26.23 How we deal with our thoughts; How we conduct ourselves; 00:24:26.27\00:24:29.94 our deportment, even the way we dress ourselves. 00:24:29.97\00:24:33.02 Are we dressing modestly? The importance of that moral purity 00:24:33.06\00:24:36.61 in the marriage that keeps the marriage very close and secure 00:24:36.64\00:24:40.50 and the trust there. 00:24:40.53\00:24:42.31 Yes! And last time we talked about 00:24:42.58\00:24:44.74 mutually meaningful intimacy. 00:24:44.77\00:24:47.94 And we really spent quite a bit of time talking about 00:24:48.07\00:24:50.74 how that happens throughout the day. 00:24:50.77\00:24:53.91 Because if there's not mutually meaningful intimacy 00:24:53.95\00:24:58.51 in every aspect of life 00:24:58.54\00:25:00.87 to show how much my wife really means to me 00:25:01.17\00:25:04.40 then how can we expect it to suddenly become 00:25:04.44\00:25:07.64 mutually meaningful as we close the day? 00:25:07.96\00:25:11.55 So it's a part of both of us! - That's right! 00:25:12.55\00:25:15.01 It's not just you towards me. The wife has much to do 00:25:15.04\00:25:18.89 to encourage that in her husband as well. 00:25:18.92\00:25:21.12 That's right! You know, as we come to the close 00:25:21.15\00:25:24.03 of these series there's some verses 00:25:24.06\00:25:25.93 that I think are very beautiful 00:25:25.96\00:25:28.51 that I wanna bring to each of you. 00:25:28.54\00:25:31.06 They're words that come from John 17:21 00:25:31.82\00:25:35.89 and they're part of the prayer of Jesus for us. 00:25:35.93\00:25:40.36 John 17:22 to 24 it says: 00:25:41.08\00:25:43.93 "that they may be one, even as we are one: 00:25:43.96\00:25:48.07 I in them, thou in me, 00:25:48.70\00:25:51.97 that they may be made perfect in one; 00:25:52.01\00:25:55.45 that the world may know that thou hast sent me," 00:25:56.19\00:25:59.52 Jesus wants the world to know 00:25:59.96\00:26:02.24 that God sent Him in the World to save the World 00:26:02.28\00:26:04.98 and one of the ways that He's trying to do that 00:26:05.02\00:26:07.65 is through the unity and the harmony in the marriage. 00:26:07.69\00:26:10.29 Because it's a representation of the union 00:26:10.74\00:26:12.46 of Christ to His people. 00:26:12.49\00:26:14.29 "that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, 00:26:15.26\00:26:17.52 and hast loved me. Father, I will that they also," 00:26:17.56\00:26:23.05 That's us! That's you! 00:26:23.08\00:26:25.34 They're listening, viewing this program. 00:26:25.38\00:26:28.50 He says: "Father, I will that they also, whom 00:26:28.78\00:26:32.36 thou hast given me, be with me where I am; " 00:26:32.40\00:26:35.95 That's our privilege! 00:26:35.98\00:26:37.85