Love and Respect for a Lifetime...a book review

by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

I believe I have found a new 'go-to' wedding and anniversary gift!!!

This little gift book packs a whole lot of scriptural and practical ways to relate to our wonderful spouses in a mere 152 pages...and I love it!!! (yes, I pretty much just love books, but this one is really cool!!!)

A quick summary of the book is on page 106..."Winning or losing during conflict is not the goal. Oneness is..." Oh, how true and how my heart was lifted to read these words in black and white!

We are coming upon 22 yrs of marriage and while I wish someone would have given us something similar in the beginning, I think the fact that we have fought through so many areas and issues makes this book even sweeter now...so, it really is for every stage of marriage!

I hope that if you do purchase Love and Respect as a gift, that you will take the time to read it for yourself and ask God to help you apply the principles in your own relationships, not just marriage!

The book is an easy read, and while it can be convicting at times, Dr. Eggerichs is never condemning or condescending, in my opinion. This is a companion book to Love and Respect; The Love She Most Desires, The Respect He Desperately Needs. I'm hoping to read that one soon!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....like my wonderful husband of 22 yrs!

God's girl,

Pamela

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

She Still Calls Me Daddy

by Robert Wolgemuth

I will have to be honest: I was kind of in a hurry the day I chose this book for my next review and didn't really take the time to read what it was about! I am so far out of the prime demographic - Dads that have recently given their daughters in marriage or those with a daughter's impending marriage on the horizon - but truly found so much practical advice for now and in the future, when our two girls do make that walk down the aisle!

If you have read my blog at all over the last few months, you have noticed that 'letting go' has been heavy on my mind for our oldest daughter! While I realize that we do not yet fully let go (she is still under our physical, spiritual and emotional protection) there is some breaking away that needs to be done so that in just a few years, when she does find the man God has set aside for her, we will be gracious in doing just that - let her go!

One thing that caught my attention was how the author parallels letting go with how we raised our daughters in our home. The chapter on protection will be re-read a few times around here, I'm sure! When they are small, it is our job as parents to protect our children in so many ways; touching a hot stove, crossing the street, talking to strangers. When we give them away in marriage, it becomes our job to protect their marriage....even if that means from us! Protecting their marriage means we give them respect as a family and let them grow together, and not expecting our children to always be available to meet our needs.

I really enjoyed how the author, Robert Wolgemuth, made the book personal by using stories, good and bad, of letting his own two daughters go. His story of purchasing a dining table for his daughter is a reminder that none of us are immune to doing the wrong thing in regards to our grown children. I have relayed several stories from the book to my daughters in hopes that we will remember to put into use what was learned from this book - several years from now!!!

I would certainly recommend She Still Calls Me Daddy to anyone - Mom, Dad, Grandma - who is realizing just how fast the children in our lives are growing up and are beginning to see a need to simply let go.

My favorite part is when he acknowledges that the young man at the end of the aisle does not deserve our daughter, but that she was first a gift to us and we are simply re-gifting this precious young lady! Did we deserve the gift God gave us twenty or so years ago??? Do we deserve the gift of His Son???

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.....

God's girl, Pamela

This big ol' house

As I mentioned in my post below, I love my house! It was an answer to prayer 12 yrs ago and holds many memories of love, laughter and life. It is also BIG! The girls were small when we moved in and I wanted a place they could grow up in. Now, don't get me wrong, by current Dallas standards, it ain't so big...not even 2,000sf. But it is big enough for us!

However, the girls are at camp this week so it is just hubs and I wondering around in this big ol' house....and it seems HUGE!!! The puppies aren't too sure what to think about it all, they are just happy to always have a seat in the living room! (up on the furniture!!!)

See, yet another reason to be thankful for my house!

Another reason to be thankful today...it is hubs 40th birthday! I thought it would be our first one alone since his 21st but now it looks like after Miss PD goes home, we will have dinner with his parents. That is okay, though, since we didn't get to on his 21st...we were overseas!

I remember the first of his b-days we shared together, he was turning 18! We went to a really nice restaurant with his parents and Grandmother McCurdy. I also gave him 18 kisses for that birthday! Not sure that he would sit still for 40!!!

I am always amazed at the amount of time we have actually been together, and it is only by God's grace. Both of us came into this marriage with some really buried secrets, and those secrets almost tore us apart at the seams.

If you are divorced, I want to let you know that God's grace covers your situation when you give it to Him! I know there are times when there really is no other way...or when a spouse wants out, no matter what pain it causes others around them. I am only telling you my story, not the way it should be.

My story hurts! I can only love this 40 yr old man by the grace of God. If I held a grudge, I would not be here! I remember one day just desperately asking God if He still loved me, because I knew my hubs didn't and I no longer loved myself because life had worn me down!

You already know how it turns out, God did not leave us in the desert of pain. It was not instant deliverance, we had to walk through consequences of our sin and had to learn to truly love one another and live together. It took years! Thankfully, hubs is patient and a bit selfish...you see, he never wanted out of the marriage, he knew where his blessing was! It was me that could not stand the pain. Me, that could only see the walls between us. Me, that had to call upon God just to make it through an hour.

I really did not intend for this blog to be so long! I hope you can now understand a bit more about how thankful I am for the wonderful man God gave me. We began dating in Mar of '86 and married in Dec '88. We have lived in two different countries, 3 different states, 4 if you count the one overseas, and lived in 9 different cities. God has been faithful each step of the way. GOD IS SO GOOD!!!

I pray that you have and will continue to find God faithful in every area of your life. Sometimes, it hurts! But nothing in my life compares to the hurt Jesus felt on the cross, I'm sure. He knew not only rejection, but horrible physical pain as well. He has already walked the road set before you, He only asks that you follow him. I am so preaching to the choir, I am still learning this truth myself.

Be blessed by the mighty hand of God today!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow....

God's girl, Pamela