Long Term Success in MarriageIf you've been married 10+ years and consider your marriage a success, post your success story here. Help others by talking about what works for you.
30 years with the same man !!! WOW do I feel blessed to be with him & he with me. We are very happy & we try and get away when we can once in the spring for our anniversary & then again in the fall just to see the fall colors & to enjoy one another and with this it has made our marriage much stronger !!
Thank you very much ... We are very happy together and sure over the years we have hit some bumps and those were pretty hard bumps in the road ... but we picked ourselves up & moved on and we were always there for each other ...
~ Doctor's Appointments ... He was there 2 go w/me & to help me understand what would be happening to me. For example was a few years back when I found out I was diabeatic he was with me when the DOCTOR shared the news with me & I broke down & cried ... but he was right there helping me through it all and here it has been 5 years since & without him helping me through all this ... I do not know where or what I would be !!
~ Surgeries ... If I had to have something done he was right there with me ... helping me through the rough time there at the hospital ... and most of right here at home to help me out when needed
So, it's good to have a loving man right there on your side !!!
thank you all very much for the kind words ... I too hope to come back and to be there to help other's if they are needing help ... so see you all soon !!
Thanks for sharing with us Karen.
What have been some of the most difficult challenges you've overcome in your marriage?Anything else you've learned that you can pass on? Glad you're here.
Thank you for the question Chris ...
Difficult challenges that we have overcome ?
# 1 Hmmm ... I think that is was about 10 years ago when I was caught cheating { yes me } online w/ a married man & well I was going to the BIG 40 & I was really wanting the attention & I was not getting it here at home until he found out & then we talked about it & all was out in the open & it made our lives a lot stronger. We became a lot closer & he was there for me as I stood in front of the church & told them that I had commited adultry & I was everyone to be praying for me.
# 2 Another time was when I had to be there for him to get him to understand that something was wrong with him medically and he just would NOT take himself to the DOCTOR ... till we finally sat down & I told him that I want him around for a long time & I love him very much ... and he then told me " Ok give me a couple of more days & if I am not feeling better I will let you make that check up ... well those couple of days were the worst day ever for us as he was up sick every night & just was not himself ... so I made the appointment & long story short he ended up going to the hospital and spent 9 days in & found out that he has something called: Cohn's Disease which he has had for the last 3 years and we have overcome a lot since that day he found out !!
So, I really think that the best tip to remember is COMMUNICATION that is the KEY WORD in a marriage !!
Our faith walk is not a casual swagger through the flower garden under blue skies. Oh, we often wish it were and complain to God when it’s not. Yet He was clear when He told us to “Stand your ground” (Ephesians 6:11 & 13).
The enemy of our soul seeks to put a wedge in our relationship with God. God warned us to “be self-controlled and alert for your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
Yet God does not leave us as easy prey. He has shown us the cunning ways of the devil when Jesus Himself was tempted in the wilderness.
The temptations came on the heels of an exceptional spiritual experience. Jesus had just been baptized and felt the favor of God the Father as He spoke from heaven saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).
Every one of the three things the devil used to temp Jesus were things that He was perfectly capable of doing in His role as Son of God. (See Matthew 4)
He was totally able to turn stones to bread.
He was capable of throwing himself off the mountain and being unhurt.
He knew the kingdoms of the world would one day all bow to Him.
He also knew that to do these things without the word of the Father would be to put a wedge in His relationship with God. He was very clear in that He only spoke and did what the Father told Him to. “I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me” (John 8:27b). To do anything more or anything less would interrupt His fellowship with God.
We read often in Scripture that Jesus spent time listening to the Father. “…while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed” (Mark 1:35).
Could it be that we sometimes unwittingly find ourselves in the midst of chaos and discontentment or confusion because we have stepped into the temptation to do something we are perfectly capable of … yet without the word of the Father to go ahead?
Could it be that we let our busy lifestyles keep us from the quiet times we need to listen to the voice of our Father and inquire of Him as to what He wants us to do?
For many Christians the restlessness and disquiet of our souls may well be the subtle battle strategy of the enemy of our soul. Doing what we do well, without the word and blessing of the Father, will leave us weary and with a wedge in our
friendship with Him. Our spiritual energy will be depleted.
When our soul is in fellowship with the Father, through times of worship, prayer, obedience and feeding our spirit on His word, there is nothing to compare with the peace He brings to our hearts. It fuels our spirit!
Don’t let the good rob you of the best. Ask the Lord to direct your decisions. Don’t just ask Him for help when it is out of your comfort zone, but depend on Him to guide even the things you do well.
Spiritual battle doesn’t always look like we imagine. When you feel the wedge in your friendship with your Savior, move quickly to your prayer closet and spend time hearing again the voice of the Father through His Holy Spirit.
Ask Him to increase your hunger and thirst for Him and you will be filled. It’s a promise. (Matthew 5:6)
After getting saved, I knew that there were some things in my life that were going to have to change. I sought desperately in the Word of God to find what He would have me to do. He was gracious with me, teaching me slowly. I learned almost immediately that my husband was to be the head of the home. It became a great avenue of prayer for me to lift him up daily since we were both just learning so many things about living for God. I knew that for Bill to be what God wanted him to be it was extremely important that I, as his wife and helpmeet, find the correct path to travel. Much of what I am going to say here may sound “out of date” or impossible to perform, but I think the one thing we will be able to agree on is that what is said will remain faithful to the Holy Scriptures. We find in the Bible if you are willing to do what God shows you, then He will also make it possible for you to do it. So are you willing? Do you really want to be in His will? No ifs, and or buts?
John 7:17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
We need to go back to the beginning to learn God’s plan…to watch things unfold. God walked through the garden one day and found Adam and Eve hiding…shivering in the nakedness of their sin. And God said…”Thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee” Gen. 3:16. Then of course we know that He clothed them with skins…that required shed blood.
Okay, lets get this much out in the open…I am the first to admit that this is not a easy path…I don’t always like it. But it is the best way…it is God’s way. And we again can all agree that the Bible says…”He doeth all things well”. So lets take a step of faith here and see just why we need to obey our husbands.
1. God has set a chain of command. The Bible says in 1 Tim. 2: 11-13,“Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. (12) But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. (13) For Adam was first formed, then Eve.And then 1 Cor. 11:3 gives the rest of the chain of command: ”But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” So we see here the order of authority in our universe, is set up in the verse we just read …
God
Christ
Man
Woman
The truth of the matter is that there no shame or dishonor for a woman to be under authority, if the Lord Jesus…the very God Himself…submitted to the authority of the Father. Also, we can be sure that God thinks no less of us because we are women …we have His promise…Gal. 3:8”There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”
And there is no reason a man needs to be or should be puffed up…because he is above the woman. Lets consider these verses…”1 Cor. 11: 7-12 ”For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. (8) For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. (9)Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. (10) For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. (11) Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. (12) For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.” So we see that there is no room for boasting is there? Each has a blessed responsibility, A purpose in life.
We can also agree that a woman is different from a man. I know that sounds like a stupid statement. But if you have read some of the writers of the women’s movement, you’ll realize they don’t believe it! They think a woman is different only because she has been conditioned to feel that way from babyhood, and exploited by it. A woman is different in her body, in her intrestests, in her thinking, in her abilities: not inferior—different.
I will have some more up tomorrow so stay tune. A good friend sent this to me and I was encouraged by it and I do hope that you will too !!!
30 years !! 
30 years with the same man !!! WOW do I feel blessed to be with him & he with me. We are very happy & we try and get away when we can once in the spring for our anniversary & then again in the fall just to see the fall colors & to enjoy one another and with this it has made our marriage much stronger !! 
Re: 30 years !! 
Energized in Your Faith 
