This may come as a surprise

I know this is going to be a huge shock for you, but it appears the Gosselin children are beginning to act out!  Duhn, duhn duhn.......  The last few months have been wracked with pain, jealousy, anger and bitterness between John and Kate; and all is not well in the perfect little world of Kate.  OK, you've got to read this quote:


"'I'm trying to give them the grace to see, if they’re acting out of line, I'm trying to look deeper into why that is," she says in the article. "Why the kids are acting out. Cause it’s all inter-related. I mean, they don’t see it, but it’s all interconnected'."


What????  Why are the kids acting out????  IT'S BECAUSE THEIR PARENTS ARE MUD-SLINGING AT EACH OTHER AND YOU'VE TORN THEIR WORLD APART!!!  


It doesn't take any analyzing or seeing how things are inter-related!!!  The only thing that is going to make it any better (besides a complete miracle of God) is to let them say what they want to say and grovel for their forgiveness!!!  Once you've done that, then you can begin to rebuild their trust in you as their parents - and with that trust will come obedience!


There is a bigger purpose for this post, though.  There are families in churches all across our country that are right now going through divorce and CHOOSING to ignore Biblical truth for their own selfish desires.  I know this is messy, ugly and nasty stuff, and from a human and emotional perspective, I get it!  But long before divorce papers are filed, long before bitterness and apathy forms - married couples must be willing to step and say "Enough is enough!  I don't like living this way and I want to make this work!!!"  If you are on that edge in your marriage, talk to someone who will encourage and help you bring peace and reconciliation back into your relationship.


Dean


PS - Sorry about the "rawness" of this post, but I am pretty passionate about this topic - especially right now.

Google Search: Why Did I Get Married

If you've come to this site from Google, read below!!!!!!!!! Oh year, everyone else too.

OK, so you see that little Site Meter Stats box down a little bit on the right? That is a little way I can track how many people have visited Anchor CM's blog. It also tells me:

• Where they live - Port Huron, Toledo, etc.
• What Internet service provider they are using - Comcast, Verizon, etc.
• What pages or blog entries they visited
• what web browser - Internet Explorer, FireFox, etc., and
• How they came across my website - Linked from another blog, etc.

So get this: the overwhelming reason people visit my site has NOTHING to do with Children's Ministry or Colonial Woods (the church I work in)!!! I get at least 5 visits per day people referred from the Google search: why did I get married. A while back I had a couple of posts talking about those popular films by Tyler Perry using them as a springboard to encourage us to be more vulnerable with our spouse.

Now, I find that interesting because I wonder why people are searching for the answer to that question. Is it because they are looking for information on the movie? Or are they searching for answers to that question for THEMSELVES??? Given our current culture and the rate of divorce in our nation, it wouldn't surprise me that people might just be turning to the Internet to give me a 1 good reason why they should stay married.

Perhaps I am reading more into this that what is necessary, but what if people do happen to stop by this site on their search for answers? What should we tell them? What would you tell them? If I had to give the one answer as to why they should stay married, it is for the reason that you got married to begin with!!!!!!!!!!

You're asking the right question - why did U get married - because the reason you got married should be the SAME reason you STAY married. What is that reason? Depends.....

• Because I couldn't imagine spending my life without her.
• Because I came alive when I met her (had to borrow that one, but it's TRUE).
• Because there is no one on earth like her.
• Because my Love for her is only bettered by God's Love for me.

What would you say to that person if you knew someone was reading this blog and asking "Why am I married?"

Dean

How Early is too Early?

I read a recent article on Christianity Today's website spelling out one Christian professor's case for early marriage. (I find it intriguing that he works for a secular school in Texas...) The author does not give a specific age he has in mind, but one can figure he is talking about after HS from around 18-22 years of age; and he is definetly speaking about relationships and marriage in America and/or western culture - not of middle eastern or Indian arranged marriages of children as young as 8!!! If you haven't done so already, read through that article first.

Now, first off, I have not typically been a form of the group that publishes CT as I believe that have purposefully pushed a liberal agenda in the Church. So I was actually shocked, but pleasantly so, to see this article on the website (not sure if it is included in their print magazine). With that said, I believe this article makes some excellent points! I'm not going to get into the biological issues (since I am not a biologist or psychologist, nor have any interest to be so), but I do want to address one issue that I know will come up for most people reading the article.

Here is the question: "Don't young people need to get a college education so they can support themselves and any family? Doesn't that need to happen before they get tied down into a marriage and/or family?" Um, well, NO! I'm pretty sure that's not included as an 11th Commandment or anything.

So what's wrong for young persons to get married providing they show appropriate signs of faith, maturity and responsibility (which is key)? Yes, God has put some guidelines in place for our benefit, but not sure what those would entail in terms of early marriage??? Yes, sex and intimacy should be reserved until one is married (perhaps this should include even kissing - duh, duh, duh). For me, this hark ens back to a different discussion about the culture of college aged kids going off to school after HS rather than sticking around and starting to earn an income and attend a local community coll. or tech school. I think we perpetuate the problem by forcing kids to NOT take responsibility after HS by sending them to a school in which virtually all their expenses are paid for (tuition, R & B, books, etc.) b-4 entering the so call "real world."

OK, I'm not a crazy anti-education uber-conservative (I have both a Bachlor's and Master's Degree from fully accredited schools). But I think we have not only not listened to biology, but also to God's Word - "He who finds a wife (hear spouse), finds what is good."

I'm interested to "hear" what you have to say, so leave a comment or two.

A True Story of Love

Dr. J. Robert McQuilken had been the President of Columbia Bible (International) College for nearly 22 years. But his wife, Muriel, came down with Alzheimer's and he found himself torn between to divine callings. He made the right choice!

If you would like, you can get more information about Dr. McQuilken's story HERE.