I am married to the woman in the picture above. Doreen is wise in many ways. In light of me counseling some married folks recently, Doreen shared her insight with me:
“Our jobs as wives is not to make our husbands who we want them to be. Rather, it’s to encourage them to become who God has created them to be.”
Seems like pretty clear counsel, but how many of us follow it? And by the way, this also applies to us husbands!
I am currently reading through this terrific book with our youngest son, Chris, who is on a summer missions trip in the Dominican Republic. Courtesy of Skype, we were able to talk through the first two chapters this past Sunday.
One excerpt for your reading pleasure:
“On one occasion a widow put into her husband’s coffin two cans of the spray adhesive that the dead man had used to paste on his toupee, causing an explosion that bent the furnace door.”
(Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright, p. 12)
“Never make light of the king, even in your thoughts. And don’t make fun of the powerful, even in your own bedroom. For a little bird might deliver your message and tell them what you said.” (Ecclesiastes 10:2)
Here is a funny, but good example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b9rOji_PWY&index=6&list=PLykzf464sU9-uj2DvWN3k3S6k_EPDw9pN
“Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”
John Wooden
“…in later years he made a point of quoting Georg Christoph Lichtenberg: ‘There is a great difference between still believing something and believing it again.’ All his beliefs were beliefs again.”
As one who has experienced some severe seasons of doubt about the Christian faith, I definitely resonate with this quote.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2007/dec/06/auden-and-god/?pagination=false
“Fame means millions of people have the wrong idea of who you are.” Erica Jong
“A conservative is defined as one who believes in the credibility of Scripture and the edibility of Jonah.”
Peter Kreeft, Boston College
“A man will give himself for a mystery, but not a question mark.”
(Archbishop Edwin O’Brien as quoted by Richard John Neuhaus, “Book TV/In Depth,” June 5,2005)