Priorities

Melanie came to Minnesota this weekend for the first time. We drove thru snow, and walked on a frozen lake. We also experienced the spring thaw that leads to wearing t-shirts in 55 degrees. The two dimensional rooms of my house that she had only seen thru skype became real spaces that form the walls of what I call home. She met three of my daughters and ate dinner as part of our family. She held her own in the sparring spree of wit that never ends.

Retreat

Melanie came to join me at a winter retreat I started hosting five years ago when God placed in me a desire for more intimacy. Intimacy comes from many places -God, our spouse, our family and our friends. This retreat was born out of a desire to have intimate connection with friends.

At retreat 20 women talk, eat, worship, serve and pray together. Instead of listening to a speaker, we spend time sharing stories of how we have seen God. Our focus this year was how we have experienced God’s healing in our lives and asking for more.  While sharing testimonies, we heard amazing stories of God’s goodness and power. We spent time alone asking what we needed to dig up, lay down,  or unwrap. We asked God for what we needed and wanted and we worshiped Him.

Priorities

During the weekend, Melanie and I got some much needed time just talking. We talked about how we met our husbands, how they proposed, the mistakes we have made, our insecurities and about what God is telling us. Over and over we are reminded of the importance of keeping our priorities right – God, our husband, our kids, and then everything else. For us, a lot of the that “everything else” is Awaken-Love.

Melanie and I have always encouraged each other that we don’t want Awaken-Love to become a full time job. But honestly, for me, it is. With my family grown, my husband has blessed me with the opportunity to spend my time devoted to Awaken-Love. Even though I thrive on ministering to people thru Awaken-Love, I have to be so careful to not let things get out of balance. I do not get my worth out of Awaken-Love. The only thing that matters is that I love God and I am following Him. As I sink more and more into full time ministry, I realize the importance of not just staying glued to my husband, but glued to God. Without Him nothing else matters. I do this for Him and because of Him.

And so whether you are working on your marriage,  your sex life, helping others or whatever passion God has place on your heart – be careful to keep God at the top.

Guard yourself from worshiping what God does in your life.

Worship God Himself. 

Next Monday, we start an awesome 4 week series called Getting to Know your Wife’s Body.