Counting from #15 - #21

Sow a thought and you reap an act
Sow an act and you reap a habit
Sow a habit and you reap a character
Sow a character and you reap a destiny

- Charles Reade

A thought spilled out of my ever-wandering mind the other day:   Ideas are gifts.  The very thoughts of my head are gifts!  Especially if I act upon the thought.  And act again.  And again. And again.  A new thought produces a new act.  And a new act produces a new habit.  Over time, this little gift of an idea produces character.

So today I share seven good and perfect ideas (i.e. gifts) from Judi Rossi's book Enhancing Your Marriage.  The fifth chapter focuses on Covenant Love - love as an extension of the Cross.  Love as an extension of Christ's covenant love for us.  Love as an extension of Christ's love in us.  May these ideas root in the soil of our hearts, reap an act, grow a habit, shape a character, destine our marriages, for...

1. "As Christian marrieds, we have a high calling - forgive, reconcile, restore - the very message of the cross.
2. "If my life is based on proclaiming God's message to the world [and to my husband], I don't want to do anything that would challenge that message."
3. "Following God requires our commitment to build a marriage God's way.  H way takes time, wisdom, patience, courage, and perseverance, all of which God possesses.  And by His grace, so do we."
4. "What you believe about love right now - true or false - is presently doing three things.  1. affecting your marriage;  2.  shaping your behavior and responses to your mate; 3. helping determine your future happiness and emotional well-being.  What you believe is that important.  How much better to believe the truth!"
5. "God has chosen to love us, not with an irrational emotion but with deliberate kindness, genuine compassion, and righteous concern for our well-being.  Therefore, He doesn't love us because of who we are, but because of who His is."
6.  Moses permitted divorce because the hearts of men were hard toward their wives.  Thank you, God, that Jeff's heart towards me is tender and mercy-full.
7. In covenant love we don't love our husbands because of who they are but because of whose we are.  We are God's. And God's love is in us.  Love as an extension of Christ's love in us.  Love as an extenion of Christ's love for us.  Love as an extension of the cross.