Joe White @ Focus On The Family 7/25/11 :: Cross Centered Marriage

Focus On The Family has Joe White in for his imploring that couples have a cross centered marriage. Though he and his wife have been married over 40 years, he admits he still learns things everyday when it comes to marriage.

Joe has been heading up Kanakuk Kamps in the Missouri Ozarks (think Branson, MO) for many years mentoring youth, but in this message he wants to bring our attention to the idea of a cross centered marriage. A cross centered marriage is mindful of the servitude and sacrificial nature of Christ, and applying that attitude to your spouse. In the message he tells a story about his brother who provided a kidney to his wife when hers were failing and she lay dying in the hospital.
He also informs that he has partnered with the National Institute of Marriage supported by Dr. Gary Smalley, also located in Branson, MO as a facility for helping couples that are struggling. He reports that the institute has a 94% success rate, resulting in couples leaving there committed to their own marriage. Joe shares a little activity lesson that Smalley had shared with him that concerned a married couple being intentional about encouraging each other.

Robert Barnes on FocusOnTheFamily 7/19/2011 - Parenting Teens

Robert Barnes  in a discussion on the radio program, Focus on the Family, gives some great tips in handling things like dating, parties, and empowering your teen to make good decisions. He notes that today's teens aren't like the people of that age group 100 years ago in which there wasn't so much a 'teen' category. In that day, teens were basically in a quick transition to adult-hood, already incorporated into work tasks and even getting married. But today, the teen phase that we endure has many challenges that Robert gives insight on.

Part 1


Part 2

Media page added

Check out the Media page (see tabs above), newly added! The idea behind it is to have a spot for collecting inspirational video clips, music videos, and such all in one spot. If there are avenues for purchasing the items I'll try to link that as well to make it easy for you to secure it for your own collection of Positive motivators.

Max McLean performs Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, Interviewed on Focus on the Family

      Just a quick note to suggest the reading or listening to "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis as well as "Surprised by Joy." This referral comes by way of Max McLean who is performing The Screwtape Letters in play format, and tickets for thus can be purchased here: Screwtape OnStage

These works of Lewis are fabulously in your face, perhaps before in your face was a trend. Keep in mind the age of these works as you consume them, and I think you may, like me, respect and admire them all the more.  Lewis has an amazing way of describing the work of Evil's influence on man, a very down to earth practical way.
Books:

And on Audio:


Ebook


Interview with Max McLean, talking with Focus on the Family.

American History, textbook manipulations -David Barton on Focus On The Family

American History is one of those subjects that notoriously gets branded as "boring."  All students that have branded it this way, have done themselves a disservice since only by understanding the past can we make the most informed decisions in the future.

David Barton, described as an American Historian, has written several best-selling books, has founded an organization called Wallbuilders. He strives to educate Americans about the reality of American History that has been influenced, manipulated, and even blatantly OMITTED from our education system's textbooks. So many ethnic groups celebrate "heritage" and yet we as a nation have been removing and denying our own heritage as a Christian nation. Dave says things like The Mayflower Compact, once used to be in American textbooks, but now are nowhere seen. Why isn't it there, perhaps because it has this quote:
 "Having undertaken, for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith and honor of our King and Country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia, "  
Notice the REASON cited for undertaking the voyage of independence in the first place?
We've allowed Government and those against Christianity to lie to our children long enough. Disagreeing with a belief system is one thing, but literally OMITTING content that would and should appear in textbooks is a far different matter. And this has had some horrible effects on even modern day policies and legislation.

This is a must hear FOF broadcast, part 1 of a 2 part series, and you WILL be astonished by some of the legal cases Dave mentions, things happening in today's world. And Dave's theory is that it is the omission and manipulation of American History textbooks that has in a large part led to this type of irrational and illogical legislative action. Dave notices something else in his observations, only Jesus seems to cause the controversy.  Also, the OMISSIONS are a new thing, 50 years ago people like Governor Morrison who once wrote that "Religion is the only solid basis for good morals." Who was Morrison? He was just the literal writer of the Constitution of the  United States. Among the court cases he mentions as being ridiculously in error because of this influence, is a case in which a man accused of a brutal murder, was set free despite overwhelming evidence because a verse of the Bible had been recited during the proceedings. Three of his books are linked next, as well as a freely downloadable Kindle version of the Mayflower Compact.


Please do yourself a favor and hear the broadcast.
Part 1


Part 2

Got Conflict? Restoring your marriage (or any relationship) through proper conflict handling

     We all have conflict with others. Basically if you aren't pulling a Tom Hanks being stranded on an island, ala Cast Away (2000), then you have the opportunity for conflict with another human. Focus on the Family has had guests Gary and Barbara Rosberg on air in a two part session, to discuss how good conflict handling actually betters a relationship, whereas the more common poor handling of it will hurt or even dissolve a relationship.

Some couples claim to never have conflict. But if there is an absence of conflict and an absence of intimacy then there's a real problem.  Simply "not talking about" issues isn't the same as "not having conflict."

So whether you're newly married, getting married, been married for along time, think you might get married, or simply have relationships with other people- these two broadcasts are amazingly worthwhile to digest and get value from. This is relationship saving, MARRIAGE SAVING type of stuff, that is definitely worth the small amount of time and basically no effort to listen to, and it's free to you.


Part 1

Part 2