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Faithfulness In The Big Things of Life

10/6/2014

 
My husband and I try to set goals every year.  
We have been doing this for at least the last year.  

Actually, we have done this before, but this year we took it a twist further.  We actually (ssshhh. .  . this is a secret!) READ THOSE GOALS EACH MONTH.  

Yes, we do.  

One of our goals is to read our goals.  It is listed right there on our goals printout.  Can I promise you that we have actually accomplished that goal for the first 9 months of this year?  I can't remember, but I think we have come really close.  I know this:  some years I forget our goals by February. This year they are constantly on my mind.  The result?  We are not accomplishing all of them, no, but we have accomplished many. 

Part of anyone's success with goals relates to how realistic and attainable they are.  That is a subject for a different post.  But a good part of that also relates to keeping them constantly in front of us.  

Anyway, one of our goals for this year is to strengthen Christian marriages.  After all, strong marriages make for strong families.  Strong families will result in strong churches.  And strong churches can change the landscape of a country!  

So we decided this year to do something really big.  We are renting the Araneta Coliseum and will be holding the first annual Metro Manila Christian Marriage Conference (MMCMC).  Tim will be sharing some of his stunning insights on How To Be a Fabulous Husband, and I will follow him with a session on How To Love And Respect Your Fabulous Husband.  We are splitting this 50/50 in an effort to show that "Marriages Take Two To Prosper."  (That, by the way, is the title of our new book, which will be released in May, 2015.)

Here is a picture of our venue.  We are hoping for a sell-out!  Buy your tickets now at 1-800-MAR-IAGE. 
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By the way. . . 

JUST KIDDING!

I really hope you didn't think I was serious.

There is no MMCMC.  There is also no book.  There isn't even a 1-800 number.

No.  The reality is that we are holding weekly small group "Couples' Nights Out" at our house.  We have 8 people plus us.  That makes ten.  Quite a difference from that stadium with the 10,000 seats.  And Tim and I aren't speaking.  We are using a set of DVDs that we have found very helpful. 

Not very BIG of a thing, right?  

Not something to plaster on the front of a newspaper.  

Not something, hardly, to write home about.  

But it is a big thing in God's eyes, and that is why we are doing it.  And it is a success!  (I know this because of the conversations we are having and the fact that we have to shoo people out our door just before midnight.  Last Thursday night we were tempted to tell our guests, "Sige, we are going to bed. Have fun together and lock the door on your way out!")  Everybody is enjoying these nights.

(If you are one of our guests and you are reading this, please know that we would be happy to have you stay until three o'clock, if you want to.  Seriously.  We love you guys and LOVE being with you!  Just put another pot of coffee on and enjoy.  Yaaawn.  Oops!  'Scuse me.)

How many times do we think we have to do something BIG in order to accomplish something for the Lord? I grew up singing one of my dad's favorite songs, "Little Is Much If God Is In It."  It is emblazoned on my brain that anything God asks me to do is big. . . to Him.  I just need to be faithful.

And we all know that little things become BIG things when they are left undone.  

For instance. . . 

  • Kissing your husband is a little thing.  NOT kissing him for 22 years, 3 months, and 14 days is a BIG thing.

  • Changing the oil in your car is a little thing.  NOT changing the oil in your car for three years?  BIG thing.  Ask your car's mechanic.  If you still have a car after trying that trick.

  • (For all you moms out there.)   Changing a diaper is such a little thing.  NOT changing that diaper until it blows up and explodes with colorful shrapnel all over the living room just as company walks in the door?  BIG thing, right?

This is why smart mamas everywhere insist on doing the dishes immediately after the meal.  That oatmeal that swishes right out of the pot at twenty minutes after 8:00 in the morning somehow morphs itself into a hardened gloppy monster by twenty minutes past 8:00 in the evening.

Okay, back to marriages.  How many times have you watched a marriage fall apart and thought, if only I had. . . (done something).  

How many fewer children would cry themselves to sleep at night?  How many fewer divorces would litter the landscape of America?  How many more family reunions would take place with 37 cousins all under the age of 16 running barefoot through the cornfields at dusk in the biggest, bestest hide-n-seek game ever?  How many more watermelon-seed spitting contests?  How many more happy memories for the next generation?

You see?  Little things, if left undone, have big consequences.  

And you can apply this to every area of your life.

Play a little game with your son.
Have a little chat with your daughter.  
Give your husband a little kiss.
Clean that little bathroom.
Bake a little cake for a sick neighbor.
Pay a little credit card bill.
Be a little friendlier at the grocery store.
Have a little compassion for the beggar on the street.
Do a little witnessing for Christ at your workplace.
Use a little self-restraint at the dessert table.

I've mentioned before that the entire Bible is pertinent to our lives, even Zechariah.  Zechariah 4:10 has something to say about this very idea of despising the "day of small things," and speaks of  the eventual rejoicing that will result from these seemingly little things.  Read it and see for yourself.  This is especially pertinent when you are a mom of many small children, like me, and entire days can be made up of diapers, dishes, and dirty laundry.

Take the time to do something little today.  
It is big to the Lord.
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MomP
10/6/2014 02:59:51 pm

I was really getting excited about the conference and the book and wondering why this was the first I had heard about it!

Laura Berrey link
10/6/2014 03:53:25 pm

That would be the first clue that there was a deeper meaning to this. =) When your mom doesn't know about it, it probably doesn't exist.

Marilyn
10/7/2014 05:39:37 am

I was excited about your book, since I know how beautiful your writing is. Would you mind telling me what the DVDs you use are?

Laura Berrey link
10/7/2014 12:47:39 pm

Marilyn,
I'm sorry about the book. Maybe someday. =) We are using the Love and Respect DVDs by Emerson Eggerichs. We don't use any tools like this without a disclaimer, but we do very much appreciate his heart for the Word of God and for couples in a mixed-up world! He is very burdened about the divorce rates, as we all should be. And he is trying to promote conversation about the differences between men and women. He is an entertaining speaker and also has a fabulous, straight-forward Gospel presentation. I think there is a new set now for sale, but we are using his older set. It is a five-session set. Thank you for asking!

Mary Jean Linville
10/8/2014 01:18:36 am

Dear Laura,
What a blessing your blog has been to me personally. Several times the topic of your post was just what I needed for a spiritual lift that day. I have recommended your blog to my daughters in law because I know you have a true heart for the Lord and your family.

Truly God is so good and how encouraging to see the Berreys growing in Christ and helping others to do so as well.

You are much in our prayers.

In Christ,
Mary Jean Linville

Laura Berrey link
10/8/2014 11:22:45 am

Mrs. Linville,
Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement! I am so grateful to hear that the Lord would use this in people's lives. . . grateful and always humbled by it. You and your husband have always been such a wonderful example for our family and to this day we quote things to each other that you all told us in your premarital counseling sessions with us! We loved having Ben here recently. What a joy to know that he is headed to Asia with his growing family!
May God continue to bless you and yours!
Laura

Mary
10/9/2014 04:03:15 am

Thank you, Laura. What sweet reminders for us! We have also just finished the Love and Respect series with young couples in our church and have learned volumes. The Lord is working miracles here even through our hurts and sins. So glad you're able to do that there!
Hugs to you and prayers!
Mary

Laura Berrey link
10/9/2014 10:13:01 pm

That is wonderful, Mary! God is so good!

Kina Berrey
2/18/2015 05:21:52 pm

I just discovered your website(where have I been?). I was enjoying reading all the blogs, got to this one and thought - what ?- I got call my Mom and ask her if she knew Tim and Laura were writing a book - then I kept reading. Good one!
I'm enjoying getting to read about your life, my niece and nephews, and what God is teaching you.
Love you


Comments are closed.

    Tim and Laura

    Timothy and Laura Berrey are missionaries with Gospel Fellowship Association.  They share a passion for missions which has taken them to several countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe.  They currently minister in the Philippines.

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