How Things Look and What’s Most Important (Blog Hop)

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Deb & Blake close up44 years ago, I waited in Rev’s dorm room for him to return from his part-time job at the post office. He walked in, hugged and kissed me, grabbed something out of his top dresser drawer, and dropped to one knee.

And I said, “Yes!”

Wedding Photo

13 months later we walked down the aisle. My parents gifted us with planning and hosting a beautiful day. Mom designed and made my dress taking ideas from my favorite parts of dresses I’d tried on at Bridal stores and from pictures I showed her in Bride magazines. And Rev wrote the service as a class assignment. I’m happy to say he received an A+.

Our honeymoon was a weekend at an inn not far from home and four nights at our family’s cabin surrounded by snow in northern Michigan.

By today’s standards our engagement, wedding and honeymoon were simple. Not fairy-tale proposal and wedding stories . . . just a couple of kids crazy in love anxious to spend their lives together.

If you’ve done the math, we will celebrate our 43rd Anniversary next month. And we’re still a couple of “kids” crazy in love. Sure we’ve experienced life—everyone does. Our marriage has come under attack a few times, but the blessing is we’ve always, by God’s grace, worked on our relationship. Not on how things look but on how we are.

We’re quick to say “I’m sorry and I love you.”
We spend intentional time together.
We know each other’s hearts . . . yes, we even finish each other’s sentences.

I’d like to encourage you today.

We live in a reality television world where how things look is more important than how things are.

And I believe it’s easy for that to be true of our faith walks. Of course that’s not a reality television thing it’s gone on forever.

Jesus said

“Stop judging by the way things look. Be fair and judge by what is really right.” John 7:24

Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me.” John 14:6

And Paul said.

I always pray to the great and glorious Father, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that He will give you the Spirit, who will let you know truths about God and help you understand them, so that you will know Him better. Ephesians 1:17

We’re blessed. We have a Father who knows us inside and out and who wants us to know Him. He’s not looking for a fairy-tale story to talk about. He’s looking for people who are quick to say, “I’m sorry and I love you.” People who spend intentional time wanting to know His heart.

And now it’s time to join the Faith ‘N Friends Blog Hop

Top Posts from Week #2

Little Did I Know by Susie Klein @ Recovering Church Lady

Living Authentically by Yolanda DeLoach @ Live a Better Story

What Happened Our Year of Intense Prayer by Me @ Counting My Blessings

Thanks to everyone to shared a link!

Welcome to the Faith ‘N Friends Blog Hop #3
We’re so glad you’re here!
This is a place to share faith, make friends, and have fun.
If you’ve never done a blog hop before they are super easy.
Scroll to the bottom of the list and click the Add your link button.
Add the Faith ‘N Friends button to your post or sidebar.

5 Minutes for Faith

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7 Responses to How Things Look and What’s Most Important (Blog Hop)
  1. Debbie
    February 14, 2015 | 8:21 am

    Thank you for hosting!

  2. Joanne Viola
    February 14, 2015 | 8:23 am

    Forty three years is such a beautiful achievement! May you both enjoy this Valentine’s Day!!!

  3. Yolanda DeLoach
    February 14, 2015 | 8:35 am

    Congratulations on 43 years! Simplicity is wonderful. I love that your husband wrote the service for an assignment.

  4. Clare Speer
    February 14, 2015 | 11:21 am

    Wow – I love your sharing about “true” love and “commitment” – and it’s so refreshing to read about long-term sweet marriages! (I’ve been married 33 years) Blessings!

  5. Mary Geisen
    February 14, 2015 | 2:45 pm

    Love this post and the beautiful way you describe love especially our Father’s love. We do need more people who are quick to say “I’m sorry and I love you”.Thank you for the linkup and your words that remind us what is needed in this world.

  6. Reyna Baptista
    February 15, 2015 | 8:40 am

    Dear Deb,
    Your blogs, and everything that you write is always inspiring, reading for Valentine´s day encourages people to find the true love, some of us haven´t found it yet, but after reading it, for sure we will try to look and have the opportuity to experience what you´ve done, and I always prove that it is also cause God is there.

    Blessings, and thanks for sharing those beautiful and deep writings.

    Reyna from Bolivia

  7. Michelle Westbrook
    February 18, 2015 | 9:46 am

    Deb, Thanks for linking up to the Sparks of Happiness Link up! This post is awesome. It is so true that in today’s society we sometimes get caught up on how we appear to others and not how we truly are. I hope my husband and I can look back on our lives in 40 years and say we focused on our relationship and not on how it appeared to others.

    I am sharing this on Pinterest and Facebook 🙂