New Approach to Marriage Counseling

I have been a wedding principal sponsor or witness, many times over. When a couple try to get me as a principal sponsor to their wedding, my first question is why me? Most say, they want me to be a part of their new life together as man and wife. Some say, they want to be able to come to me and ask for my advice in different matters. Others say, well, they just want me to. Of course, I always say yes. I say, marriage is a great big step. It is not some event that needs to be done with in order to get on with your lives. It is an event that marks a new beginning.

Having been married for the last 28 years does not make me an expert on marriage per se. My marriage had its ups and downs on basically every aspect. I believe that marriage is a never-ending process of knowing your partner. I thought then that the getting-to-know phase would be short and sweet. How wrong I was!

Marriage counseling takes on a new form these days. Not so long ago, majority of married couples save marriage counseling as a last resort or not, to their marital problems. Today more married couples are enlightened on the crucial benefits of counseling. However, most counseling sessions are sometimes too long and painful. An innovation by Dr. Ellen Kreidman puts online marriage counseling in a new light. You might want to see for yourself samples of Dr. Ellen Kreidman's alternative technique.

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Third Fall

A man woke up early in order to have his morning devotion (prayer) in the Lord's house (church). He got dressed, set on his way to the Lord's house. On his way to the church, the man fell and his clothes got dirty. He got up, brushed himself up, and headed home.

At home, he changed his clothes, and was, again, on his way to the Lord's house. On his way to the church, he fell again and at the same spot! He, again, got up, brushed himself off and headed home. At home he, once again, changed his clothes and was on his way to the Lord's house.


On his way to the church, he met a man holding a lamp. He asked the man of his identity and the man replied 'I saw you fall twice on your way to the church, so I brought a lamp so I can light your way. The first man thanked him profusely and the two went on their way to the church. Once at the church, the first man asked the man with the lamp to come in and pray with
him. The second man refused. The first man asked him a couple more times and, again, the answer was the same. The first man asked him why he did not wish to come in and pray.

The man replied, 'I am Satan'. The man was shocked at this reply. Satan went on to explain, 'I saw you on your way to the Church and it was I who made you fall. When you went home, cleaned yourself and went back on our way to the church, God forgave all of your sins. I made you fall a second time, and even that did not encourage you to stay home, but rather,
you went back on your way to Church. Because of that, God forgave all the sins of the people of your household. I was afraid if I made you fall one more time, then God will forgive the sins of the people of your village, so I made sure that you reached the house of God (Church) safely.'

Do not put off the good you intended to do as you never know how much reward you might receive from the hardships you encounter while trying to achieve that good. For your righteousness can save your family and nation at large. Do this and see the victory of the Lord.

Praise be to God in the highest !

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Sky Angel Cowboy

Remember the sky angel cowboy? A remarkable phone call from a 12-yr old boy to Houston radio station KSBJ FM 89.3. So profound, the station had it posted on their website.The message imparted by that boy, Logan Henderson is so true and shaking, I cried. Click below to listen to it.

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Father James Reuter, S.J. Writes

Father James Reuter is one, if not the only Catholic priest that I admire. He was the official chaplain of my girls' high school and I have come to hear his sermons/speeches during the school's commencement and baccalaureate services. I received this email from one of his former students at Ateneo de Manila. The letter was written by Father Reuter. Read on....

The signs are clear. Our nation is headed towards an irreversible path of economic decline and moral decadence. It is not for lack of effort. We've seen many men and women of integrity in and out of government, NGOs, church groups & people's organization devote themselves to the task of nation-building, often times against insurmountable odds. But not even two people revolutions, bloodless as they may be, have made a dent in reversing this trend. At best, we have moved one step forward, but three steps backward.

We need a force far greater than our collective efforts, as a people, can ever hope to muster. It is time to move the battle to the spiritual realm. It's time to claim God's promise of healing of the land for His people.

It's time to gather God's people on its knees to pray for the economic recovery and moral reformation of our nation. Is prayer really the answer? Before you dismiss this as just another rambling of a religious fanatic, I'd like you to consider some lessons we can glean from history.

England's ascendancy to world power was preceded by the Reformation, a spiritual revival fueled by intense prayers. The early American settlers built the foundation that would make it the most powerful nation today - a strong faith in GOD and a disciplined prayer life. Throughout its history, and especially at its major turning points, waves of revival and prayer movement swept across the land.

In recent times, we see Korea as a nation experiencing revival and in the process producing the largest Christian church in the world today, led by Rev. Paul Yongi Cho. No wonder it has emerged as a strong nation when other economies around it are faltering.

Even from a purely secular viewpoint, it makes a lot of sense. For here there is genuine humbling & seeking of GOD through prayer, moral reformation necessarily follows. And this, in turn, will lead to general prosperity.

YES, we believe prayer can make a difference. It's our only hope.Today, we launch this email brigade, to inform Filipinos from all over the world to pray, as a people, for the economic recovery and moral reformation of our nation. We do not ask for much. We only ask for 5 minutes of your time in a day, to forward this email to your close friends and relatives.

This is the kind of unity which can make a big difference. Of course, if you feel strongly, as I do, about the power of prayer, you can be more involved by starting your own prayer group or prayer center.

We have tried people power twice; in both cases, it fell short. Maybe it's time to try prayer power.

GOD never fails. Is there hope? YES! We can rely on God¢s promise, but we have to do our part. If we humble ourselves and pray as a people, GOD will heal our land.

By God's grace, we may yet see a better future for our children. GOD bless and GOD save our country (from stupid and corrupt politicians)!

"If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and

pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I

hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their

land."

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Choose Blessing

Today's Scripture

“I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live…” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

Today's Word from Joel and Victoria

God desires that you live in blessing in every area of your life. He’s given promises in His Word and has established a plan for you to live in total victory. He promises to give you the answers, but you have to be the one to decide to obey His voice. You have the final choice, so choose life and blessing! Every time you choose to obey the Word of God, you are choosing blessing. When you put God first in your life; when you walk in love towards others even when it’s difficult, you are choosing blessing. When you turn away from ungodly influences and when you give to others, God will pour out His blessing on you in return. Start today and do what you know to do. Obey His word and His blessing will overtake you! You’ll rise higher and higher and live the abundant life He has for you.

A Prayer for Today

Father in heaven, today I choose life. I choose blessing by obeying Your Word. Keep me close to You so that I can honor You in all I say and do. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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Pass this On

My prayer for you today:

The eyes beholding this message shall not behold evil, the hands that will send this message to others shall not labor in vain, the mouth saying Amen to this prayer shall laugh forever. Remain in God's love as you send this prayer to everybody on your list. Have a lovely journey of life! Trust in the Lord with all your heart and He will never fail you because He is AWESOME !
If you truly need a blessing, continue reading.

Heavenly Father, most Gracious and Loving God, I pray to you that you abundantly bless my family and me. I know that you recognize, that a family is more than just a mother, father, sister, brother, husband and wife, but all who believe and trust in you. Father, I send up a prayer request for blessings for not only the person who is reading, but for me and all that I have forwarded this message on to. The power of joined prayer by those who believe and trust in you is more powerful than anything. I thank you in advance for your blessings.

Father God, deliver the person reading this right now from debt and debt's burdens. Release your Godly wisdom that I may be a good steward over all that You have given me Father, for I know how wonderful and mighty you are and how if we just obey you and walk In your word and have the faith of a mustard seed that you will pour out blessings. I thank you now Lord for the recent blessings I have received and for the blessings yet to come because I know you are not done with me yet.

In Jesus' name , I pray.

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Why Go to Church?

A friend sent me this short anecdote in defense of going to church. Read on and ponder.

A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday(or Saturday)'I've gone for 30 years now,' he wrote, 'and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all'

This started a real controversy in the 'Letters to the Editor' column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:

'I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals But I do know this.... they all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today.'

Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!' When you are DOWN to nothing.... God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!

Right? Right!

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