Browning

To all of you who are fortunate enough to to be Mothers-may you have a wonderful day and be able to celebrate it with those who have given you the title.

This year my mom is hosting a buffet dinner in her home for our now 3 generations.

There's my mom and my mother-in-law followed by my sister, my daughter's mother-in-law and me, then there's my daughter. It's a special one for her, since this is her first.

My mom. what can I say that could possibly describe what an incredible woman she is?

Through her I've become who I am. Quite frankly, I've come to like how I've turned out. If someone were to ask me what my attributes are I'd say: loving, loyal, logical, determined and realistically optimistic. I try to add a good sense of humor and caring into the pot whenever possible. Okay, I'm as stubborn as a mule, but alas, that's okay with me too.

Mom has instilled in me the importance of self-reliance. Which I, in turn, did my best to hand down to my off-spring.

The greatest gift a mother can give to her children is to make them realize their worth. It takes a while . The teen years are filled with turbulence and raging hormones, so as mothers we try to forget them and push forward and through the lessons that we deem necessary.

I feel my mom made me strong enough to get past some fairly awful stuff: My husband almost dying shortly after our 10th anniversary, the ensuing emotional turmoil it took on us as a family and as individuals. Our daughter's extremely hard adolescence and our son's bouts of serious medical problems. There were also those years of my own medical descent and remission. Without her teachings, I might well have gone "missing in action". Yet, I got through it all, not always standing mind you or without some assistance, but make it I did.

Now our daughter is having her first Mother's Day. Wow Hard to believe, but oh so true. I know that I've given her that sense of worth (sometimes, as with all of us, it wavers)-she told me so.

We were at dinner, just the two of us, when she said, "You know mom, I could never understand why you hated me. I couldn't believe I was so awful that you wouldn't do anything for me and made me do it for myself. I had to talk to my teachers, take the lumps for my decisions, buy my own car and other stuff. Everyone else seemed to be given whatever they wanted You made me work for it.Now I realize you were doing it to make me be able to do things for myself. To be able to stand strong no matter what kind of "____" life tossed at me. And I can."

What I'm saying is-for me I don't need or want flowers, fancy meals or presents that come in a fancy bag or box, finding out I've succeeded in my most important job is the best thing in the world.

Mom taught me that as well.

First of all let me say this, I dont condone adultery. And just because it is forgivable by God, if a spouse repents and turns from their sin, doesnt make it justifiable in any way shape or form. Infidelity always hurts someone and causes much unneeded animosity between couples. Its best to be healthy minded spiritually and mentally so you wont be tempted by lustful desires in the first place. But unfortunately many Christians today are not keeping as spiritually fit as they should.

I got an email yesterday by a grieving man who couldnt understand how I could write articles on forgiving a spouse of adultery. He is still going through such a hard time of it, trying to forgive his wife, which at this stage of his grieving, would be worse than death itself. He is in the denial stage of forgiveness. Anger keeps us living in our horrid feelings and we deny forgiveness even exists. But the fact is, if Jesus would forgive adultery then we as believers need to do the same.

I explain to couples all the time about the basic principles on how to forgive their spouse of adultery. Why do I do this? Why do I waste my time on trying to explain to people how to forgive when they are in so much pain and suffering? I do it because it is scriptural! Its not about what I write in my articles and books. I dont tell people to forgive, God does! What I write comes from the word of God. If you see my opinion in an article I will usually say, I believe, or I think.

Just last week I get an email from someone who wants me to tell them its okay for them to divorce their husband or wife because of unfaithfulness. But I dont give them what they want. I dont tell them what their ears want to hear because that is not what scripture says. Many times I have to tell people things that they dont want to hear.

Infidelity is not a loophole for divorce! (Matthew 5:31-32) (Matthew 19:3-12) (Mark 10: 2-10) (Luke 16:15-18) (Romans 7:2-3) (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

I would never advise anyone to divorce his or her spouse because of infidelity. That is not what the bible says! I dont have this Christian marriage ministry to make friends. I have been given this marriage ministry to help people! In my articles on forgiveness I show couples how to forgive and work on healing themselves and restoring their marriage.

Adultery is common in Christian homes today and it is because they are not interacting with God about these moral issues but are relying upon their own understanding of things, which is most likely, based upon their feelings and what feels good. Most of these individuals are not bad people; they have only gotten lax with their beliefs and spiritual efforts in Christ Jesus.

As Christians, dont forget, we are the example to everyone else; isnt that important to you? The Christian life is not about going after what WE desire; at least it isnt for the believer. Christ Ones have a responsibility to Him that overshadows everything else. The believer has a responsibility to God before anything else in his life. If a Christian is not FIRST living up to his or her responsibilities in Christ, then how can you expect him to be responsible in his or her marriage? It isnt going to happen! For the Christian, there is only one way and that is Gods way.

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him. (John 14:21 NIV)

~~~

Angie Lewis is the author of three marriage books offering marriage tips and wisdom filled answers tackling such issues as addiction, adultery, pornography, emotions, beliefs, feelings, marriage, children, forgiveness, communication, submission and spiritual influence in the home. **Love The Man You Married** is a great teaching tool for couples. Every Christian wife and husband should read this informative book on marriage. ISBN: 1411677501 New Release ***Love The Woman You Married*** This is a great book on finding and putting to work your purpose for mariage, and understanding the aspects of submission and spiritual influence in the home. A wonderful teaching guide about how God designed marriage to be. Excellent resource for husband and wife to read together. ISBN 978-1-4303-0047-2 To preview these books go here: http://www.lulu.com/AngieLewis **Journey on the Roads Less Traveled** A Very inspirational book! Meet Jesus Through the Author's own spiritual journey. ISBN:1-4137-8890-4 Marriage Resources-http://www.heavenministries.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Angie_Lewis

To all of you who are fortunate enough to to be Mothers-may you have a wonderful day and be able to celebrate it with those who have given you the title.

This year my mom is hosting a buffet dinner in her home for our now 3 generations.

There's my mom and my mother-in-law followed by my sister, my daughter's mother-in-law and me, then there's my daughter. It's a special one for her, since this is her first.

My mom. what can I say that could possibly describe what an incredible woman she is?

Through her I've become who I am. Quite frankly, I've come to like how I've turned out. If someone were to ask me what my attributes are I'd say: loving, loyal, logical, determined and realistically optimistic. I try to add a good sense of humor and caring into the pot whenever possible. Okay, I'm as stubborn as a mule, but alas, that's okay with me too.

Mom has instilled in me the importance of self-reliance. Which I, in turn, did my best to hand down to my off-spring.

The greatest gift a mother can give to her children is to make them realize their worth. It takes a while . The teen years are filled with turbulence and raging hormones, so as mothers we try to forget them and push forward and through the lessons that we deem necessary.

I feel my mom made me strong enough to get past some fairly awful stuff: My husband almost dying shortly after our 10th anniversary, the ensuing emotional turmoil it took on us as a family and as individuals. Our daughter's extremely hard adolescence and our son's bouts of serious medical problems. There were also those years of my own medical descent and remission. Without her teachings, I might well have gone "missing in action". Yet, I got through it all, not always standing mind you or without some assistance, but make it I did.

Now our daughter is having her first Mother's Day. Wow Hard to believe, but oh so true. I know that I've given her that sense of worth (sometimes, as with all of us, it wavers)-she told me so.

We were at dinner, just the two of us, when she said, "You know mom, I could never understand why you hated me. I couldn't believe I was so awful that you wouldn't do anything for me and made me do it for myself. I had to talk to my teachers, take the lumps for my decisions, buy my own car and other stuff. Everyone else seemed to be given whatever they wanted You made me work for it.Now I realize you were doing it to make me be able to do things for myself. To be able to stand strong no matter what kind of "____" life tossed at me. And I can."

What I'm saying is-for me I don't need or want flowers, fancy meals or presents that come in a fancy bag or box, finding out I've succeeded in my most important job is the best thing in the world.

Mom taught me that as well.