I have been giving a lot of writing tips lately, and I plan on continuing to do so. Now, however, I have a question for you: Would you have time to help me with something? It would be great if you could serve on my launch team.
I want you to know how much I appreciate the interest you have shown in my walking with Randy videos and in my blog posts here. My desire has been to give you something that will be helpful to you in your writing journey. I value you and your time so I’ll be quick.
You probably receive many requests and I know you’re also focused on your own projects right now. Please know that I intentionally refrain from asking too much or too often from my friends like you. Also, I know that the timing may not be perfect, but my schedule has become crowded and forced me into a three-week deadline.
My Newest Endeavor
My most ambitious book yet, “How to Write a Book in 28 Days or Less Without Stressing Yourself to Death”, releases on November 15, 2021. This book summarizes over 40 years of writing experience for me, including 15 years of writing books and articles online. It truly includes all the secrets that I’ve learned about how to plan, write, and publish books and how to do it with a minimum of stress. There was a lot of stress involved in getting to that point though (Ha).
I know the book is going to help people who don’t know where to start when it comes to writing and publishing their own books. But it will also shortcut the process and time it takes existing authors to create more of their sparkling books. It will also equip a whole new generation of authors to start living their dreams instead of the dreams of others.
I Need Your Help
It would be an incredible honor if you could give the book a quick look by joining my launch team. Now I know it’s a big thing to ask with everything you have going on, but it would really help me a lot.
I do intend to continue giving many writing tips from here on out, but I would appreciate it if you have enjoyed those if you maybe could help me out just this once.
If you’re willing to consider this, I would make the process as easy as possible for you. In fact, if you’re on the launch team then you could share some emails and some blog posts with others. I could also write you some of those sample emails or maybe you could just share the blog post the way it is, and I can keep you updated in a private Facebook group. That is just for those that are on my launch team. I can also send you an advanced PDF copy of the book that includes the fully approved, but not completely edited, manuscript.
You Will Get Several Bonuses Too
Joining a launch team will take you along on the journey with us, and it will give you an idea of some things that you might want to do for your own book launches. So if you’re curious about what’s going on behind the scenes, then this will be a good thing for you to be involved in.
I would just ask that you apply to be part of the launch team. There are only six very short questions, but when you read them they will let you know what will be involved and it will help us to get to know each other better too.
Have you ever made yourself do something that’s really hard? I had an email that I needed to send because I had to talk to someone about an issue. I was dreading sending it and the response. I put it off for about 3 weeks.
Difficult Tasks
I have a room full of books, literally. Rhonda and I went down to Nashville, Tennessee, a few weeks ago and took along several books that I was hoping to get rid of. There’s a store in Nashville called McKay’s Books. They will take your used books and either give you credit or cash for them. We brought a lot of books, hoping to make a couple of hundred dollars. Well, the store wound up only taking about 7 of the books we had brought, but it was enough for me to be able to get another book. It’s called, The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins.
Mel had a problem getting out of bed in the morning. Her alarm would go off and she’d just procrastinate about getting out of bed. One day, she was watching a rocket launch and heard the countdown, “5, 4, 3, 2, 1, LIFTOFF”, and it gave her an idea. The next morning, when her alarm clock rang, she did a mental countdown, “5, 4, 3, 2, 1” and jumped out of bed.
Back to the email: I sat down at the computer and said, “5, 4, 3, 2, 1” and started typing. Then I did the same when it was time to hit send. The response wound up being great!
About the Prophet and Chapter 25
Jeremiah was a prophet in the Old Testament. By the time we get to Jeremiah 25, he’d been preaching for 23 years. He was called upon by God to give an unpopular message. I don’t know if he did a mental countdown, but he may have taken a deep breath and just delivered the message as God had told him to.
In chapter 25, we’re going to look at some names and terms. Then we’ll look at four actions we can take. These actions will help with serving God in difficult time. The first one will help us make sense of an increasingly difficult world. Do you know what I mean? The second will help us gain a measure of peace in an increasingly difficult time. The third one will help us maintain a right relationship with God, and the fourth one will help us be ready for the end of time if it happens in our lifetimes.
Jeremiah 25
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying: 3 From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, these twenty-three years the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you have not listened. 4 The LORD has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear. 5 They said, “Turn now (repent) again everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and to your fathers forever and ever. 6 And do not go after other gods to serve them and to worship them, and provoke Me not to anger with the works of your hands, and I will do you no harm.” 7 Yet you have not listened to Me, says the LORD, that you might provoke Me to anger with the works of your hands to your own harm. 8 Therefore thus says the LORD of Hosts: Because you have not obeyed My words, 9 I will send and take all the families of the north, says the LORD, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations; I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, a hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of laughter and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones (bad economy), and the light of the candle. 11 This whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. (The message is “If you don’t straighten up, you’re going to go into captivity!” 12 It shall come to pass when seventy years are finished that I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, says the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. 13 I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 14 For many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them. And I will recompense them according to their deeds and according to the works of their hands. 15 For thus says the LORD God of Israel to me: Take the wine cup of this fury at My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it. 16 They will drink, and totter, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. 17 Then I took the cup from the hand of the LORD and made all the nations, to whom the LORD had sent me, drink: 18 Jerusalem and the cities of Judah and the kings and the officials, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; 19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his officials, and all his people; 20 and all the foreign people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines (even Ashkelon, and Gaza, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod); 21 Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon; 22 and all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands which are beyond the sea; 23 Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all who cut the corners of their hair; 24 and all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the foreign people who dwell in the desert; 25 and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes; 26 and all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the earth which are upon the face of the earth, and the king of Sheshak shall drink after them. 27 Therefore you shall say to them, Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Drink and be drunk and spew and fall and rise no more because of the sword which I will send among you. 28 It will be, if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you will say to them: Thus says the LORD of Hosts: You shall certainly drink! 29 For I am starting to bring calamity on the city which is called by My name, and should you be utterly unpunished? You shall not be unpunished. For I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, says the LORD of Hosts. 30 Therefore prophesy against them all these words, and say to them: The LORD will roar from on high, and utter His voice from His holy habitation; He will mightily roar against His fold. He will give a shout, as those who tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. 31 A noise shall come even to the remote parts of the earth, for the LORD has a controversy with the nations; He shall enter into judgment with all flesh. He shall give those who are wicked to the sword, says the LORD. 32 Thus says the LORD of Hosts: See, disaster shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the remote parts of the earth. 33 The slain of the LORD on that day will be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They will not be lamented or gathered or buried. They will be as dung on the ground. 34 Howl, you shepherds,(leaders) and cry; and wallow in the ashes, you leaders of the flock. For the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and you will fall like a choice vessel. 35 The shepherds will have no way to flee, nor the leaders of the flock to escape. 36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds and a howling of the leaders of the flock shall be heard, for the LORD has devastated their pasture. 37 The peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the LORD. 38 He has left His lair as the lion; for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor and because of His fierce anger.
Unpopular Message
The message in this passage was delivered by Jeremiah, and it was definitely unpopular. The message was that judgment was going to come (remember I drew your attention to “turn now” meaning repent, Babylon, all these surrounding nations, and the shepherds, or leaders) and that God wasn’t going to put up with what they were doing much longer. They didn’t learn from their brothers and sisters from the North and continued to worship false gods. Moses had warned them against doing this years before.
Evangelist G. Campbell Morgan
In speaking about the passage above, evangelist G. Campbell Morgan said, “It described the processes of the Divine procedure in judgment in enlarging circles. First, there would be the judgment of Judah, Babylon being the instrument. Then would follow the judgment of Babylon by many nations. Then the judgment of the nations shall follow. Finally, the whole earth will be involved.”
There Can Be Increasingly Larger Areas of Judgement
In Jeremiah, it started with Judah, then went to Babylon, then many nations, and then goes to the entire earth. The longer you go, the worse the judgment can become. Judgement makes it difficult, but we can be serving God in difficult times.
There was a time in this nation when, if you held up a Bible, people, even if they weren’t Christians, would know what it was. They would say, “That’s The Good Book”, or “That is God’s Word”. Now, there are many who will not say that or are “offended” by the mere mention of the Bible. As we go further into judgment, it’s going to get worse.
The Bible has explained everything perfectly.
Scripture is written in such a way, I was told, that in every generation, people could think that Christ’s return was imminent. When Paul wrote First Thessalonians, they thought Jesus was returning right away. So much so that some quit their jobs and sat and waited for His return. That prompted Paul to write another letter, Second Thessalonians, and instruct them to “occupy until the Lord comes.” (Chapters 2, 3) We don’t know when He’s coming, but it could be any time.
A woman I knew who was in her 90s said they had been saying her whole life that He was coming, and it hadn’t happened yet. It’s been nearly 2,000 years and Jesus hasn’t returned yet…but He is and it could be today!
Watch for Judgement
Although we may not like it, we can at least understand it. We can understand that people are bringing things upon themselves. If we were to repent, things could get better. Just like if the people that Jeremiah was preaching to had repented, they could have been spared. But he knew they wouldn’t, so he told them they were going to go into captivity for 70 years, and they did. They were going to be serving God in difficult times.
The countless victims of the Holocaust probably thought the end was near, and Christ would surely return soon. But He did not.
I believe that the reason is that God has been longsuffering is that there are still some who need to come into the fold.
Watch for judgment. One of these times, it’s going to be the final one!
Serve God
I believe we live in the best Nation in the world. But I’m concerned, as many are. I’m concerned that there are 300 people being held without being charged.
When my church decided to return to live services, we left it up to the individual if they wanted to wear a mask or not. It’s their choice. Just be respectful of their decision.
Getting the vaccine is also a choice. Some have decided to do it, while others have decided against it. Some are still doing research. I’m concerned about the mandates. The mandate nearly shut down the Nation when so many flights were canceled due to pilots pushing back against mandates. It feels very oppressive. At this point, the vaccine is still experimental.
As an adult, if you got the vaccine, that’s great, it was your choice. If you haven’t been vaccinated, again, great, it’s your choice. My concern is for the children. Long-term effects are still unknown, and I don’t want the blood of the children on my hands.
According to the statistics, there’s very little likelihood that children under 20 will have a serious illness as a result of contracting COVID. But what our government is wanting is to take minors and force them to have something put into their bodies that is still experimental with unknown long-term consequences.
I’ve seen microscopic slides that show living organisms in the vaccine. Fetal tissue is used in the vaccine. Some young people who have received the shot have developed myocarditis, which is an inflammation of the heart. There have been over ¾ of a million adverse effects reported.
This is not meant to scare you. We’ve all made the best decisions that we could with the information we had.
This is all to say that the government is getting to the point where they’re saying, “We’re going to make you do this.”
Jeremiah warned the people that they would come under an oppressive government. He told them to make the best of it. However bad, good, oppressive it is, do the best you can with where you are. If God leads you to take a stand, and you’re punished for it, know that He will be there. It may be that we will be called to be serving God in difficult times.
Repent when Necessary
Repentance is required!
Even during all of this chaos going on, some people will turn to God. I have heard that, right now, the countries with the fastest-growing churches are Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Praise God!
We can be concerned about the state of our nation, and complain, or we can do the best we can in our circumstances. Repent where you need to repent. This is a good time for all of us to examine ourselves and see what areas of our lives need to be confessed and changed. Our repentance will help us with serving God.
There WILL Be a Return!
For the people in Jeremiah, it would be a physical return to their land. For us, Christ will return. There have been different viewpoints about the timeline throughout the years. Some think that we’ll meet Jesus at the beginning of the Great Tribulation, some think it will be halfway through, and still others think it will be at the end. But everyone agrees that there will be a kingdom where we rule with God. (Some think it will be on the new earth, others think in heaven.)
It could happen today!
So, what we need to do is be ready! Regardless of what happens when, if you know Christ, you’ll be all right. If you don’t, you’re on dangerous ground. The certainty of Christ’s return will encourage us when it comes to serving God.
Watch for judgment. Serve God anyway. Repent when necessary. Watch for the return of Christ.
We don’t know when He will return but we do know that He will, and his return is closer today than it’s ever been before.
Hello everyone. Today we’re talking about writing, and the topic is “creative nonfiction writing examples.”
A little while back I did some study in copy writing. It was the sort that you do for sales letters and things like that. One of the things that they advised us to do was to find a good sales letter and then copy it by hand. I’m not asking you to complete things by hand, but I do have some resources for you today. I’m going to give you six places to find creative nonfiction writing examples.
Here’s one from Tom Corson-Knowles. If you’re not familiar with Tom Corson-Knowles, I’ll give him a little plug. I studied his writing and read some of his books. Actually, when I did my first book on marriage as an e-book it became a bestseller. I had read some of Tom Corson-Knowles’ writing and I found it to be very helpful. That website is TCKPublishing.com. This article is apparently a guest article because it’s written by Kaylen Barron. The title of the article is “What is Creative Nonfiction? Definitions, Common Examples, and Guidelines”.
Now, for the finale: Drum roll! Here it comes! Here’s an example of creative nonfiction writing. As I mentioned previously, we’re only about a month away from the launch of my new book “How to Write a Book in 28 Days or Less Without Stressing Yourself to Death”. That would be a good example of nonfiction writing.
When we talk about creative nonfiction writing. Sometimes we can use narrative elements to illustrate the main points of what we’re talking about. So in this book, I give some examples and true stories from my own life that illustrate some of the things that are in the book. The stories are narrative. So, even though they’re nonfiction, not fiction, they are stories, much like fiction stories.
You also can borrow things from fiction when you’re writing nonfiction, to use as good illustrations of what you’re talking about.
Janet was walking along and saw the edge of the cliff. Then her right foot slipped! She didn’t regain her balance, and she slipped over the edge She began to slide down the slope. She grabbed a branch and was hanging on for dear life.
How does that relate to your article or chapter? It may not relate at all. But if it did, you would surely have everyone’s attention. Let’s talk about four nonfiction writing techniques.
Narrative Items
First, you can use narrative items. Tell a story. The story can still be a true story, so you would still be writing non-fiction. You can also invent a story. In that case, you would be adding some fiction in with your non-fiction writing. At any rate, you can use storytelling or narrative techniques.
You can do that in the form of an illustration. After all, who doesn’t love a good story?
Another thing you can do is use the story arc to develop your material. You would have to do a little more research on what the story arc is, but it’s something you can do. Basically, you have a beginning, middle, and end. You have a problem, then a conflict, then escalating problems, and then solving the conflict. You can set up non-fiction writing in a similar manner.
Another place you can use that technique is in the introduction. You can use narratives in the introduction just like I did with the fictional story of Janet and the cliff. Or you can use a personal or historical story as you go about doing that.
A couple of other techniques that aren’t necessarily narrative in the introduction is asking a question or questions. You may be trying to solve a problem anyway, so you may want to restate that problem in the form of a question.
Another technique you can use in the introduction is interesting, unique, or funny thoughts at the beginning of your writing
So use narrative techniques.
Details, Details, Details
Also, use details. Sometimes, you need to have some details just to help with the clarity of your writing. You can also add sensory details. Talk about the smell, or sound, or the sounds in the setting. Use those sensory details. Sometimes, those sensory details relate to emotions. If you are involved in sales, many people tell you that people buy from emotions as well as from want. So use sensory details. Add emotional triggers where that’s appropriate to do so.
This is the second technique.
Keep it Simple
Third, use simplicity. Abraham Lincoln said if you have the choice between a simple word and a complex word, and the simple word will convey the proper idea, use the simple word. That was good advice coming from our 16th president. Use short or clear words where you can.
Use short paragraphs. One of the ways to use shorter paragraphs may be contrary to what you were once taught in school. In the old way of writing books, you may have had 2-3 long paragraphs per page. One of those paragraphs may have included five items within that paragraph. And that is a proper way of doing that. You would have a topic sentence, then you would enumerate the 5 items, and you may have a clincher sentence at the end.
The more modern way of doing that is to make that 5 paragraphs and have the topic sentence in the first paragraph with the first point, and the second item would be the second paragraph, third- third paragraph, fourth- fourth paragraph, and fifth – fifth paragraph. Or, you may have six paragraphs, with the topic sentence being a paragraph on its own, introducing that topic. You may even make it seven paragraphs, having a “clincher” paragraph/sentence at the end.
You’ll notice in a lot of online writing, a lot of blogs, and a lot of areas where you observe writing techniques, you’ll notice in modern-day copywriting, there is a lot of “white space,” or there is a line between the paragraphs, which gives more white space. That is if you have black letters on white paper, which is how it’s usually done.
So, use simplicity. Use short paragraphs and short, clear words, and white space where possible.
Variety is the Spice of Life
The last technique is to use variety. You can use variety in sentence lengths. I know I said to use short sentences, but don’t use only short sentences. If you do that, they will be like little bullets one right after the other. So you want some variety in sentence length. Many of them will be shorter because you made a conscious effort to do that, but some should be longer so you have variety.
Also, use variety in the sentence types. You have simple sentences, you have compound sentences, and even compound-complex sentences. You may want to use several short sentences, but for variety, you should throw in compound, and compound-complex sentences. Use variety in sentence length and types.
Another thing you can do is use variety in points of view. If you are using stories, either fiction or nonfiction, to illustrate your points, you can tell them from the first-person point of view. You may have been talking about something that was a personal experience. In that case, you would say, “I did this. I did that.”
Another story may relate to someone else and you may speak about that in the third person. Sometimes, you can tell a story about someone else, and you can tell it as though you are that character. You should make clear to your reader that you are not that character, but you can tell it in first-person.
If you’re writing conversationally, many of your sentences will be the second-person point of view where you’re addressing the reader as “you.” Or you could do a third-person point of view.
Think of each story as a scene in a movie. You just don’t want to change the point of view within the scene or illustration. The first story may be from the first-person point of view, and the next may be a third-person point of view. Just don’t mix the two within the same illustration.
In Summary
These are some nonfiction writing techniques that can make your chapters or articles more interesting. 1. Use narrative items. 2. Use details. 3. Use simplicity. 4. Use variety.
For more writing tips, head to Randy’s Blogs. On the top of the page, you’ll find a heading labeled “writing”. There is a lot of helpful information there. This article relates to the idea of steps to writing success.
To get even more help and advice, check out my book, ” How to Write a Book in 28 Days Without Stressing Yourself to Death”. Just go to Amazon.com, type in the full title in the search bar, and you’ll be able to purchase either an eBook or a print book. ( Note, the book is officially launching in November, 2021. I encourage you to participate in the launch. There will be some perks during the launch.)
I hope this has been helpful for you. Happy writing!
There are three simple steps to success for non-fiction authors. Here, I will explain how to lay out a book plan and get started writing a great book. Writing non-fiction books is one of the best ways to start as an author.
Step One: The Big Idea
Come up with a big idea. Figure out what the reader’s main desire is. Figure out what the reader wants to accomplish. Another way of looking at that is what is the main problem he or she wants to overcome?
What Problem Are You Solving?
Figure out the problem you’re going to solve. You may have already done that trying to figure out the big idea. If you haven’t now is the time. Look at a specific problem that the reader would like to have solved. Also, think about what are his/her past obstacles in this area. They obviously haven’t overcome those or they’d have no need to read the book you’re planning on writing. So, figure out the big problem that you’re going to solve.
List the Steps
List steps taking the reader from where they are now to where they want to be. How do you get started? That’s often the main question for someone trying to solve a problem. Just where do you start? Analyze that situation and help them answer that question. Another thing is to figure out is what obstacles will have to be overcome to get the reader from where they are now to where they want to be.
Once you have those general ideas for your steps, then figure out what is the first baby step to take. List that first. Then think about other steps that will lead them to the best chance for success in that area. Then, list the steps in the best order. It may be chronological, or some other way. Whatever is the best order. Try to come up with at least 8 steps. You have the general idea of how to get to the solution, just keep breaking that big idea down into smaller steps.
In Summary
You can come up with a concept for your book…that’s the big picture. You can identify the problem that the writer wants solved. You can break the journey into progressive steps. You can lay out a plan for your book!
If you are an author or aspiring author, and you want to learn how to make this process even easier, go to Amazon and search for my newest book, “How to Write a Book in 28 Days or Less Without Stressing Yourself to Death” by Randy Carney. If you are reading this before October 15, 2021, you may want to wait until launch week on October 15, where you can get a discount for a limited time.
Today we’re talking about nonfiction topics to write about. You can do a search for non-fiction topics to write about and you can come up with a lot of prompts that will help you.
I have come up with a few ideas that you may want to use. I’m going to give you a sentence and put a blank in the sentence that you would fill in.
Some examples could be, “Something most people don’t know about is _______. “ “You could be more _______ by _______.”
Another thing you can do, instead of saying by _______. You can say a specified period of time. For instance, “How to Write a Book in 28 Days or Less” or “Have a New Husband by Friday.” Those are some ideas for that.
Here’s another one: You can say, “You Can Be More Confident!” or “You Can Be More Assertive!.” You fill in the blank.
Perhaps you can try “You Can Be Less _______” or “You Can Be Less _______ by _______” or “You Could Be Less _______ in ‘X’ days or months” Maybes something like, “You Need More _______ in Your Life” For example, “You Need More Pizzazz in Your Life”, “You Need More Confidence in Your Life” or “You Need More Money in Your Life.” What would you use to fill in the blank?
Other suggestions include, “You Could Change _______ by _______”, Then you could list a technique or a certain general category of techniques.
There are some more. “You Could Make More Money by _______”, “You Could Save Money by _______”, “You Could Speed Up the Process of _______ by _______”. As an example, “You Could Speed Up the Process of Writing by Using a Timer” or “You Could Improve Your Health by _______.” “How to _______ without _______” like “How to Write a Book in 28 Days or Less Without Stressing Yourself to Death”.
What could you put in those blanks?
My wife and I like to watch reruns of a television series that we saw when we were children. It was called Maverick and it starred James Garner, as Brett Maverick. He would often say, “Well, my old pappy used to say, and then fill in the blank.” What did your parents advise you? What did some respected person in your life tell you?
There are some popular genres on Amazon. A study was done in 2017 and they looked at both print and e-books and found a list of popular topics. The most popular ones were biographies and memoirs, religion and spirituality, health, fitness and dieting, and business and money.
Now I’ll give you a little caution about memoirs; unless you are already famous your memoir may not sell very well. You might need to go ahead and write it. It may turn out to be something that would be very valuable to your family. In fact, many authors say that that is the one thing you should write. But, it likely won’t sell very well for someone who doesn’t know you.
Now, here’s the trick for using your life story and how to use it: write a nonfiction book, and then just use parts of your life story that apply to the topics within your nonfiction book.
In my book “How to Write a Book in 28 Days or Less”, I gave several examples of problems that I had with writing. For example, there were problems I had with procrastination and problems I had with perfectionism. I told stories out of my own life to illustrate those topics and ideas.
Here are some more problems/questions: “How Can I Be a Better _______?” Then think about what interests you have, and you can write about your interests. You can write about the skills that you have that you can share. You can write about what quick and easy solution you can offer someone.
You could also specify a time for your desired result, as I previously mentioned. Kevin Leman wrote the book, “How to Have a New Husband by Friday.” I think he also wrote another one like “How to Have a New Child by Friday” and maybe was another one talking about a new wife. But he did that and specified a time frame in which to get those results.
I hope these ideas for nonfiction topics to write about have been helpful to you. To get more information on topics like these, go to www.randycarney.com and click the tab that says “writing.” There you will find many blog posts like these.
In addition, I have a new channel on Rumble. Just go to www.rumble.com, search the name Randy Carney, and you’ll find many videos like the one here. So I hope you have a great day. Until next time for walking with Randy, I wish you the best.
Exciting news! Be watching for the release of my newest book, “How to Write a Book in 28 Days or Less–Without Stressing Yourself to Death” coming the week of November 15, 2021.
This is the fourth and final post in the series on mistakes that Christian family members make, when dealing with one another, without realizing it. In the first part, I discussed the mistake of not knowing how fragile your family members are. You can read the first post and watch the video here. The second post addressed the importance of encouraging words. Read part two here. In part three, I talked about understanding how general attitudes of encouragement benefit the entire Christian community. See that post here.
In this final post, I will explain how examples of encouragement can benefit others.
The Teacher and Teddy
In 1974, a lady named Elizabeth Silance Ballard wrote a story that appeared in “Home Life Magazine”.
On the first day of school, the teacher looked at the fresh faces of her fifth-grade class. Smiling, she told them, “I love each of you the same!” But in her mind, she knew that wasn’t true. She looked to the back row and saw Teddy Stoddard slumped in his seat. As the school year progressed, she somewhat enjoyed putting the big red “X” on incorrect answers and the big “F” on Teddy’s papers. He just wasn’t a good student.
The teachers were required to go through notes from their students’ previous teachers. Teddy’s teacher began reading: First Grade: “Teddy is such a delight to have in class. He is so excited about learning.” Second Grade: “He is a delightful young man. He’s so cooperative and so cheerful when coming into school.” Third Grade: “Teddy is having a little trouble. His mother is very sick.” Fourth Grade: “Teddy is having trouble focusing. He is never happy. His father seems disinterested.”
The teacher’s heart changed that day. She showed up to class the next morning with a new view of Teddy. She began encouraging him and cheering him on. She soon discovered that her pledge to love each child the same was still untrue because she had come to love Teddy the most. Christmas time came around, and all the children brought beautiful gifts for the teacher. They would get so excited when she came to each gift. Then it came time to open Teddy’s present. It was poorly wrapped in plain brown paper. She opened the package to discover a rhinestone bracelet with a few stones missing and a small, half-empty bottle of perfume. The students all began to laugh, but the teacher stopped it with the action of taking some of the perfume and applying it. Later that day, Teddy came to the teacher and said, “Thank you, Ms. Thompson. You smell just like my mother.”
The next year, Teddy was not in her class, but she got a note saying, “My grades are doing better. You’re still the best teacher I’ve ever had.” Two years later, she got another note from Teddy: “I’m graduating 8th grade. You’re still the best teacher ever.” Four years went by, and Teddy sent another note. “I’m graduating high school this year. I’m in the top fourth of my class!” Another four years, and another note. “I am graduating from college!” The next note read, “I have graduated from medical school!” Signed, Theodore Stoddard, M.D.
In time, another letter from Teddy came. “I am getting married in 3 months. I would like for you to come and sit in the spot reserved for the mother of the groom.” The teacher gladly accepted and sat proudly in the place of honor.
The story of Teddy and the teacher is fictional, but elements of it are taken from real-life events. The author of the story had taken pecans she had picked up to her teacher, and rather than allow the kids to laugh, the teacher made a big deal of it. The rhinestone bracelet aspect came from another family member’s experience.
It’s also true that encouragement goes a long way, and discouragement can rip us apart and destroy us.
I pray that the Word of God encourages you. I pray you encourage one another. I pray husbands and wives encourage each other and children do as well.
Thank you for reading. I hope that I have encouraged you. Please check out my other blog posts at Randy’s Blogs and don’t forget to follow me on YouTube and Rumble.
Proverbs 25:1-5 “These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied. It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth, so the heart of kings is unsearchable. Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel; take away the wicked from the presence of the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness.” A proverb is a short saying full of a lot of truth
The first thing I see in this passage is that God has placed many wonderful things in this universe for us to discover. He has hidden some things from us, but that is His prerogative.
God’s Hidden Treasures in Science
Sometimes people think that there is a contradiction between science and the Bible. That’s not the case. Not if it’s true science and true Bible. True science discovers the truth and the Bible is the ultimate truth. The Bible isn’t a textbook on science but when it speaks on matters of science it’s accurate because the Bible is infallible.
Our understanding of science has changed over the years. For example, I was always taught that an atom was the smallest part of matter. Then they discovered protons, neutrons, and electrons, so those were smaller parts. Now they’ve discovered what are called quarks. Those are smaller than atoms.
Then it was found out that if they split the atom, a tremendous amount of energy would be released. It was a concern, at first, that there would be a chain reaction and if an atom was split, that chain reaction would go off all around the world. Of course that wasn’t the case, but we do have atomic bombs and there are chain reactions, but they stop before going across the entire planet. The atom bomb that was dropped to end World War 2, it is said, is as small as the detonator of the weapons we have now. It’s amazing to me that men have this understanding.
The first understanding was similar to the solar system. It was a planetary model with the nucleus in the center and the electrons and such around it. That’s what I was taught in grade school.
Model of an atom
Another model of an atom is a bunch of dots. The dots are where the atom “might” be and the electron “might” be.
So there are all these different models.
The question is how does science come together to agree on anything? The solution is scientists and mathematicians have done enough experimenting and computing and figuring to find out what works. The equation will work for one situation, but not the other. Our understanding has changed. Scientists are trying to find out how God makes things work.
The Bible tells us in Colossians that all things are held together by Him.
There are things that God has hidden and put it out there for us to find. It’s the glory of God to hide a matter, and it’s the honor of man (or woman) to search out a matter.
God’s Hidden Treasures Unexpectedly Found in Scripture
There was once a man who asked “What can I do with this seeming waste of time?” He was suffering from a serious injury, lying flat on his back. Earlier in his life, when he was 19, his father wanted him to choose a certain career path. But the young man wanted to go to sea, and so he did. He became known as a brilliant oceanographer. His life became boring, however, and then he was involved in a stagecoach accident where he broke his right leg. He wasn’t able to be active, and he was relegated to working in an office. He began keeping maps and charts, and life was dull.
Matthew Fontaine Maury
While recovering from this injury, he asked his son to come read to him. His request was that the son read the Bible. The son read from Psalm chapter 8 and he read “Whatsoever passes through the paths of the seas…” The oceanographer had a thought, “paths of the seas.” No one had ever realized before that the sea had paths. This is one of the glories that God had concealed that the man discovered. The man was in bed for a long time and began to think about the paths of the seas. His name was Matthew Fontaine Maury.
Once Matthew recovered, he took God at His word and began searching for the paths mentioned in Psalms. He began experimenting. He took some bottles, added some weight so that they would stay underwater, but not completely sink. He put instructions in the bottles, asking the person finding it, to let him know when and where the bottle was found. Through this process, he discovered how long it took to get to a certain place. He noticed patterns and that is how we now have names and locations of the currents in the oceans.
One is the Gulf Stream Current. It’s about 50 miles wide and 3,000 feet deep. The rate of flow is measured by volume per second and is about 1000 times faster than the Mississippi River. Many ocean vessels ride this current in order to save valuable shipping time. Maury’s discovery of ocean currents took 3 weeks off of trips between the continents. All because he decided to search out the Paths of the Seas mentioned in the Bible. In the town of Richmond, Virginia, there was a statue erected to honor him. The inscription on the plaque read “Pathfinder of the Seas”.
The discovery of ocean currents changed shipping practices
We should search for the hidden wisdom of God. We grow during the process of searching. We don’t have to make the mistakes of others. Biblical principles will work in many areas of life.
God’s Hidden Treasures Discovered through Making Mistakes
What did the man who had everything conclude about his life? He was raised in a palace. His father had died, and he was now king. God asked him what he wanted, and he told God he wanted wisdom. God said since he had asked for wisdom and not riches, He was going to bless the king with both. So the king had wisdom from God, great riches, visiting dignitaries, like the Queen of Sheba.
Then the king began to do things for political gain. One of the things he did was participate in arranged marriages with women from other countries. Some of those women worshipped false gods, and the king (Solomon) worshipped the one true God. However, Solomon went astray and began worshipping the false gods of his wives. He quickly learned what life was like without God in the picture. Even though he knew God to begin with, he started wandering around in the world and had to learn some lessons. There are Christians today who do that same thing!
So, Solomon had a testimony about his experiences and wrote it down. Those writings became the book of Ecclesiastes. He finally came to the conclusion that man should fear God and keep His commandments. We need to search out the wisdom of God.
Wise friends are key to making good choices
We also need to surround ourselves with the kind of people who will inspire us to righteousness. The wrong friends can lead us down the wrong road, and the wrong counselors can lead us to many mistakes.
People in positions of authority can’t possibly know everything and read everything. So, they assign people to investigate things for them. When they have good council and good counselors, they will make good decisions. When they have bad counsel and bad counselors, they will most likely make bad decisions. Good friends and good counselors will inspire us to righteousness. How many times has there been a young person who was “on the fence” about serving God, and have met up with someone who is on fire for God? They were then inspired to serve or inspired to righteousness.
There was another king once, and he asked, “What shall I do?” He, too, was raised in a palace and became king when his father died. He was Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. He was fearful of ruling so he went to his father’s counselors. They were older men and they gave their advice. They said that Solomon had, toward the end of his reign, put a heavy load on the people and was very stern. The counselors advised the new king to “lighten up” and be less strict than his father had been. They said that if he did that, the people would be so grateful they would serve him forever.
Rehoboam didn’t listen to the wiser older men, and instead gathered some younger men and asked their advice. The younger men advised him to be stern and strict with the people. He listened to the younger counselors. The people were hopeful that this new king would be kinder, and when he wasn’t, the people rebelled. The ones who lived in the northern part of the kingdom rebelled especially hard, and they pulled away and named a man called Jeroboam as their king.
Rehoboam was trying to decide if he should take his army and attack the northern kingdom. A prophet named Shemaiah was sent by God and told Rehoboam not to attack. God told them to go home because He had caused the incident to happen. Rehoboam heeded the word of God and he was able to rule for another 16 years.
How does all this relate to us today? We need to realize there are many wonderful things that can be discovered by studying God’s word. Look at all that Matthew Maury accomplished by reading God’s word and following the signs.
A man named David Barton with an organization called Wall Builders said our American system of government has three branches, and those come from a verse in Isaiah.
Many things can be discovered by searching out the word of God. Commit yourself to Christ, and after that, commit yourself to reading or listening to God’s word daily. Commit to associating yourself with the right friends. The right friends can build you up, and take you where you need to go. The wrong friends can pull you down and lead you to destruction.
“Some say that I am mad, but, really, what’s happened is that I have a sharpening of my senses.” – The Telltale Heart- Edgar Allan Poe
The narrator of the story had been commissioned to be a caretaker for an older gentleman. The caretaker had actually begun to become mentally disturbed. His charge had an eye that the caretaker referred to as “The Vulture Eye”. It disturbed him greatly. It got to the point that he wanted to get that out of his life. In the story, he goes in night after night, carrying a covered lamp. He slowly opens the door to the man’s room, he doesn’t have the light on outside the room, and it’s completely dark. He goes to the man’s side and sees that his eyes are closed and he is asleep. This goes on for many nights.
Then, one night, the caretaker enters the older gentleman’s room and makes some sort of noise, and the older man wakes up. He looks around and says, “Who’s there?” The caretaker places the cover back over the lantern as he sees the “Vulture Eye”. In his insanity, he smothers the older man with the blankets. As he is in the process of this crime, the older gentleman cries out.
Shortly after, there is a knock at the door. The caretaker opens it to find a few police officers. His thought process is written out for the reader to see.
“I’m not really mad. I just have heightened senses. I can hear things more clearly than I did in the past.”
He covers up his crime pretty well. The police relax and decided to stay for a bit.
The man begins to wonder why they are staying so long.
Then, in his mind, he begins to hear a sound: a thumping. It’s a heartbeat. You see, after he had killed the old man, he buried him beneath the floorboards of the very room in which they were sitting. The heartbeat is all in his mind.
He keeps thinking to himself that he has these heightened senses. But, the beating becomes so loud that he begins to wonder how the others in the room cannot hear it. Finally, the man breaks down and confesses. He tells the police to tear up the floorboards, and they find the body of the older man.
It was the sense of guilt that the man in the story had. How to deal with a guilt is topic that can apply to all of us.
Guilt Has Mental and Physical Effects
Many people experience the effects of guilt. It can lead to insomnia, worry, shame, depression, ulcers, arthritis, and even hardening of the arteries. Medication is sometimes required to help with the effects of guilt. Learning how to deal with guilt can help all of us in this area.
Pastor Rob Blank went to visit a 14-year-old boy who was in a catatonic state. He was in the hospital room, and a nurse came in and said she thought the boy’s problem was (video freezes). Pastor Blank then told the nurse that he was the boy’s pastor. Embarrassed, the nurse left the room.
Guilt can affect you physically.
The pastor then went to the boy and began to speak to him. He read scripture and shared the plan of salvation. Suddenly, the boy began to speak. He wasn’t speaking to the pastor, however. He was praying! He confessed his sin to God and accepted Jesus as his Savior. There was an immediate change in his life. He sat up on the edge of the bed with his feet dangling over the side. The nurse came back in and could not believe what she saw. The young man had the effect of guilt that was in his life. However, when he confessed his sins and fully accepted Jesus, he was healed of his guilt and was healed physically in a dramatic way.
Psalm 32:3-4
For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried upas by the heat of summer. Selah
This is a Psalm of David. Many scholars believe that this was written after his sin with Bathsheba. To David’s credit, it’s amazing to me, with all the cover-ups that we can see going on in the political world, how David, being a king, could have completely kept this story under wraps. Instead, when Nathan came and confronted David with his sin, he not only confessed to God, he wrote it down and we are able to read it many centuries later. The entire kingdom became aware of his sin, and yet he confessed his sin. So David knew what it was like to have the feeling of grief. When he was keeping silent, it was like his bones wasted away and he had a groaning going on within his heart. Day and night he felt God’s hand heavy upon him. Then he started losing his strength. He said, “My strength was changed into the drought of summer.”
Psalm 32:9
Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.
In this verse, David is referring to those who continue on in their sin and guilt without confessing it. It’s like a horse or mule without a bridle. They would have to be restrained and controlled with a bit and bridle to get them to do what you wanted them to do. But whenever a person realizes his or her guilt and is willing to come to God, then they can come and repent.
Psalm 32:10a
Many are the sorrows of the wicked
Guilt has an effect on people mentally and physically.
People Try Different Ways of Coping With Guilt
Most of these coping mechanisms do not have lasting benefits. Learning how to deal with guilt is something that all of us try to learn.
One way is called escapism or trying to put it out of their minds. They attempt to distract themselves with things like work or entertainment.
Many people try to escape using alcohol, as it dulls their pain. While serving as a chaplain at the VA hospital, I once had a gentleman tell me that he began using alcohol to help dull his pain, and then it got a grip on him and he became addicted.
Alcohol can be something people use to cope with guilt.
Another way of coping is rationalizing. We want to rationalize our sin in order to make us feel better. In that process, there is the placing of blame. We may say, “I did this because of something traumatic that happened to me in my past.” Certainly, people go through traumatic events, but we are responsible for how we handle those events; for what we do, and how we handle those events.
Then, there is the idea of calling guilt – all guilt – “false guilt”. There is such a thing as false guilt. That is when someone feels ashamed of something that they are not guilty of or haven’t done at all. There can be some things that people would try to lay upon other people that aren’t really wrong in relation to God’s law. Some cult members experience a kind of false guilt.
The good news is that the truth can set them free from false guilt! When they learn that what they’ve been told is wrong; that what they’ve done isn’t a violation of God’s law, and the truth sinks in, it will set them free.
The trouble in today’s world is that all guilt is labeled as false guilt, and that sin is not really sin. A few years ago, a doctor wrote a book entitled “Whatever Happened to Sin?”. It said that we don’t call sin-sin anymore, but use different names.
There is false guilt, and there is true guilt. Calling all guilt false is not helpful, because true guilt is a real thing. That occurs when God’s law is violated. When God is disobeyed, that is true guilt.
Escapism may take care of the guilty feeling for a time. Rationalizing and placing blame may get rid of it for a while. Labeling it false guilt may help people feel better for a little. But none of those are true solutions, and will not work long-term.
We’ve discussed the effects of guilt and how people try to cope. Now, let’s look at the one sure way to eliminate true guilt.
The One Sure Way to Eliminate True Guilt
A couple of farm boys were in grade school. They were visiting with one another and decided to make some corncob pipes. They used the cob as the bowl and some vines as the stem and were going to smoke corn silk. After they had made their pipes, one boy went home. He checked around to make sure no one was home and went to seek out a place to hide his new pipe. He looked in the barn and decided that wasn’t a good hiding spot. Then he went to the shed, but wasn’t happy with that area, either. Finally, after finding a temporary hiding place, he went up toward his house, thinking he could hide the pipe inside.
What the boy didn’t notice, however, was the rest of his family sitting in the car, watching him wander around the farm searching for that perfect hiding spot.
He had a desire to hide his pipe.
People have a desire to hide or cover their guilt. The Bible says that it is the glory of kings to cover a matter, but it is even better to have that sin completely forgiven and to have it not only forgiven but, in the sight of God, it is gone; buried and forgotten!
Psalm 32:1-2, 5-8, 10-11
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
True guilt can be taken care of. If this was written after David’s “great sin”, then it’s easy to see how wonderful it was that he had said within himself, “ I will confess my transgressions to the Lord” and he knows that God forgave him.
The only true deliverance from guilt!
Sin can be forgiven. There is such a thing as false guilt. If you’re experiencing that, find out the truth and let it set you free. There are things that are not violations of God’s law; let the truth override that. But there are areas where we truly are guilty. The Bible tells us that we have all sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God and that the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ or Lord.
If we come to Him in the time He may be found, (when we still have breath, are still alive) and realize that we have sinned, we can come to a loving God, be forgiven, and reap all the benefits that were mentioned in Psalm 32.
A man was speaking to Doctor S.I. McMillen about his physical well-being. He began to tell the doctor about things that were going on. He told the doctor, “If people knew the things I have done, I would be in prison right now.” The doctor realized that he would not be able to fix this man’s problem with a pill. He spoke to his patient about Christ, and the man accepted Jesus as his Savior, and his physical ailments went away.
There is man’s way of trying to deal with guilt, and then there is God’s way. God sent His son to die on a cross for our sins. If we accept His Son, we enjoy all the rewards of forgiveness. This the true way to learn how to deal with guilt.
If you are not a Christian, realize that you are guilty before God, but accepting Jesus as Savior will erase that guilt with the shedding of His blood. Accept this free gift and call upon the Lord!
If you are a Christian, you may have come to a place in your life where you are experiencing true guilt, like Peter, who denied the Lord three times. He knew he was guilty. Jesus spoke to Peter and forgave him. Christian friend, if you have some guilt, the answer is the same; come to Jesus and confess your sins. The Bible says if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Freedom is found only in Christ.
Aren’t you glad that your sin is forgiven, and covered, and removed and God will remember it against us no more?
This challenge is for husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church.
I have a little box at my home. It has engraving on the top that reads, “Everything Men Know About Women”. When opened, the box is revealed to be empty.
Doris and Maurice
Doris and Maurice went to visit the doctor. Maurice was having some physical problems. They appeared to be very serious, and Maurice was wondering if he was going to survive. Doris went in to speak with the doctor, who began explaining that Maurice was overworked and extremely stressed. It was so bad, in fact, that Maurice may not make it! But, the doctor, said, there is hope. Eager to help her husband, Doris asked what could be done. The doctor said, “For the next six months, you must do these things daily, without fail. In the morning, greet him with a big kiss. Tell him good morning and wish him a good day. Then, go make him a nice breakfast. After breakfast, encourage him to go sit and relax. Throughout the day, don’t bother him with chores or problems around the house. In the evenings, prepare his favorite suppers. When he’s finished eating, guide him to the television, give him the remote, and encourage him to watch all the sports he wants. Do all this, and after six months, your husband will be fully recovered.” Sitting in the car after leaving the doctor’s office, Maurice asked Doris what the doctor had said. She looked at her husband and told him, “He said you’re going to die.”
Here, though, the shoe is on the other foot.
The Scriptures – Husbands Love Wives
John 15: 13 ~ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (NIV) Ephesians 5: 25-32 ~ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkles or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies, just as Christ does the church – for we are members of His body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you must love his wife as he loves himself and the wife must respect her husband.
For a Cause – Husbands Love Wives
I want to begin by saying that people are willing to give their lives for a cause. We’ve got military members all over our country who have given their lives for a cause.
In the Bible, there is the account of Ester. Haman came and told the king that some people who wouldn’t bow down, and wanted to have them executed. He was looking to exterminate the whole Nation of Israel. Ester was in the harem of the king, and her uncle Mordecai came to tell her of Haman’s plan. Even though the king had not sent for her in 30 days, Ester went to him, at great risk to herself. The king was merciful, and Ester saved her people.
Then there’s the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In the town they lived, there was a huge statue. The people had been commanded to bow down and worship the statue whenever the music played. These three men refused. King Nebuchadnezzar asked if they would bow, and they said no. He asked if they thought their God would deliver them. Their response was, “We don’t know if He will or not, but we will not bow down.” So the furnace was heated. In his anger, the king ordered it to be heated 7 times hotter than usual. It was so hot that the ones who put the 3 men in died from the heat. While watching from a safe distance, the king looked into the furnace and saw FOUR men walking around inside. The fourth was the Son of God!
Daniel was told he could not pray to any other god other than the “official” god of the kingdom. Daniel didn’t change his ways, though. He still prayed, daily, to the true God. He didn’t do it in secret, but where anyone could see him. He, too, was brought before the king. He was thrown into a den of hungry lions. An angel came and shut the mouths of the lions. The next morning, the king approached the lions’ den and asked if Daniel’s God was able to save him. Daniel replied that He had, in the night, saved him from the lions jaws.
I recently saw an advertisement for a western film starring Audie Murphy. He was an actor, yes, but he was also one of the most decorated soldiers in World War II.
These stores all tell of people who were willing to die for a cause they believed in.
A Command for Husbands (and Wives)
In the passage in Ephesians, Jesus is speaking to husbands, telling them to love their wives as Christ loved the church. How much did He love the church? He died for it!
As husbands, this isn’t always an easy thing to do. It’s even more difficult when there isn’t encouragement coming from the other side. There’s a responsibility for the wife, also. The same passage in Ephesians says that a wife is to respect her husband. Sometimes, men will not do things in the home, but will drop everything to help the widow lady next door. The wife wonders why he would do that? It is possible that the neighbor is appreciative and thankful while the man receives no recognition in his own home.
The command is there regardless. Just like the command for the wife to respect her husband is there. Even if the husband doesn’t do what he’s supposed to, the command is still there.
The ultimate challenge is this: Husband, love your wife so much that you would die for her. Romans 5:8 says that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That’s why we should do it.
Daily Decisions
We make daily decisions. Maybe you’ve been selfish in the past, and maybe you’ve failed. Don’t let past failures hinder you. Remember, every day you wake up is the first day of the rest of your life. The failures of yesterday are gone. It is a new opportunity to get it right. You can repent of past failures and make a decision to live for God.
Is your marriage not a cause worth fighting for? Some people may think that it would be better to “throw in the towel”.
I’m not a marriage counselor, although I sometimes preach about it and write about it like I’m doing here. I had a friend who came to me and said he and his wife were having some struggles and he wanted to come talk to me. I agreed to speak with them for a span of 6-8 weeks. I didn’t want it to go on endlessly. I His wife was close with my wife and would talk to her sometimes, as well. There were times when the wife was discouraged and talked of divorce. My wife told her that she didn’t realize the impact of what she was contemplating. The finances would suffer, the children would suffer, and they would both be lonely.
If you’ve been down this road and have gotten divorced, I’m not looking down on or judging you. You may have handled it better than I could have.
What I am saying is that your marriage is a cause worth fighting for! Even if the sides aren’t “even”. Wives, respect your husbands even if he doesn’t love you like he should. Husbands, be willing to lay down your life for your wives, even if she doesn’t respect you as she should.
We’ve heard stories about people who have seen a child in the path of an oncoming vehicle, and that person pushed the child to safety while losing their own life. That’s because they were willing to die for that child; that cause.
The time may come when we have to take a stand for religious freedom. Will we be willing to give our lives for that cause? How far would we be willing to go? Would we be willing to be put in jail? Throughout history, God’s people have taken a stand regardless of the consequences.
I pray that this will be a new challenge to each of us. Let the yesterdays of marriage be gone and make this the first day of the rest of your marriage. It is time to be willing to stand up and give your life for that cause.
