Making a Marriage Last

I was reminiscing with myself today about my life and the many years of marriage to the love of my life. I related my life with my wife to that of a car. Whenever you buy a new car, and it doesn’t matter if it is a luxury automobile, a sports car or an economy car it seems as if though the car was made for speed. It had a lot of pep and could accelerate quickly when you need to pass those slower cars. When you buy a new car you make special effort to take care of the car. Perhaps you wash it every week, wax it once a month, park away from other cars in the parking lot and take special care of it. Isn’t that how we treat our spouses when we first get married?

One thing for sure, new cars don’t stay new. As time goes by you are sure to encounter a few speed bumps along the way. It seems as if though every time you go across one of those bumps nothing good happens to your car. The next thing you know is you have a noise or a squeak or perhaps a rattle in the front end. If you don’t take the time to fix whatever the noise, squeak or rattle is, one thing is for certain, they won’t fix themselves. In marriage we will often encounter speed bumps and like our automobile, if we don’t take the time to fix it, it will not fix itself. There are many things that get broke in a marriage. Things that cause marital problems; money, trust, lying, working to much, not working enough, not trying to keep yourself attractive to your spouse, to name a few. Sometimes the fix may be the two of you sitting down together and talking things through, sometimes it may be receiving professional counseling. For sure, if you are to get back on the road you need to fix what is broken.

Have you ever traveled down a country road and found your car driving in a rut in the road? Maybe the rut is in the winter and you are in the tracks of other cars. Have you ever tried to steer your car out of the ruts in the road? It can be done, you can do it but it is not easy. Sometimes when we get out of the rut we slip and find ourselves right back in the rut trying to fight our way out again. Yes, couples have a tendency of getting in the ruts. We take our spouses for granite expecting them to do everything for us and never doing for them. It may be that as a couple you do the same thing everyday, week month and year. You are very predictable. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with that but you must be cautious, especially is one and not the other feels as it though they are in a rut. When one is in the rut and the other is not, eyes start to wonder, thoughts start to form. Like the speed bump that creates noises, squeaks and rattles and not being tended to, so too if you don’t make any efforts to get out of the ruts problems are sure to develop. The tires wear on the car, the muffler gets pulled off, the excitement is taken out of the marriage.

How long after you purchased your new car was it before you had a scratch or dent put on it? No matter how far away you park from other cars you always end up with a dent or two, a scratch or two. A lot of the scratches and dents can be covered up of fixed by simply buffing it out. Other times you have to take your car to a body shop for repair. You can drive the car with dents and scratches but the car just doesn’t have the look that is use to. Eventually, if you don’t have the dents and scratches taken care of, the car will rust. Sometimes marriages get a few dents and scratches. Sometimes it takes only a little bit of buffing, other times it takes going to the body shop. You can be certain, if you don’t take care of the dents and scratches, your marriage will rust.

We don’t always buy a car right off the showroom floor. Sometimes we buy cars that are used. Sometimes we buy cars that have been wrecked or have been damaged. We still take pride in them and do our very best to make them the best car possible. People who marry may also be used. The person may have been wrecked or damaged. Are you going to treat your spouse as if they are wrecked or damaged or are you going to treat them with special honor?

Getting married is easy. Maintaining your marriage is not. Marriages will go through many trials, tribulations and yes, even temptations. Making your marriage work takes a lot of work and a setting of your priorities, making your marriage priority one. When I say priority one I say this in light of your faith in God. I read a book written by Gayle Sayers many years ago entitled “I am Third.” In it he said that God is number 1, family and friends are number 2. That is how it should be, is it that way for you?

Gary Chapman wrote in his book The Five Love Languages the five languages of love. There is no one love language that works for everyone, we are all different. In his book he listed the following love languages; words of affirmation, gifts, act of service, quality time and physical touch. Do you know what your spouses love language is? If not, may I encourage you to find out what it is and then use it. The book can be purchased at Emmaus Road Christian Store for only $13.49

Kay Arthur

Since founding Precept Ministries International with her husband Jack in 1970 with the vision to establish people in God’s Word, International Bible teacher and four-time Gold Medallion award-winning author Kay Arthur has authored more than 100 books and Bible studies. Kay is also the teacher and host of Precepts for Life, a radio and television program, which reaches a worldwide viewing audience of over 94 million, teaching them how to discover Truth for themselves. Today God is using Precept Ministries to reach nearly 150 countries with inductive Bible studies translated into nearly 70 languages. Kay serves as Executive Vice President and shares the office of Precept CEO with Jack. The Arthurs live in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Kay’s enthusiastic practical approach to the Biblical texts has drawn thousands to the knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Her renowned distinguishable Christian character, Bible teaching, inductive study books, and national radio and television programs continue to touch innumerable lives with her passion to establish people in God’s Word and to teach them to discover truth for themselves. Kay’s fervor for the Lord is driven by remembrance of her humble beginnings. In August 2007 Kay received a Doctor of Humane Letters from Tennessee Temple University located in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

If you had followed the call to spread the Gospel in a foreign land but your health forced you to return home, what would you do? That was the troubling situation a missionary couple to Mexico, Jack and Kay Arthur, found themselves in the late 1960s, which led to their return home to Chattanooga, Tennessee.

After years serving with the Pocket Testament League, Jack Arthur met a young widow who had two small boys, Mark and Tom, at Tennessee Temple in Chattanooga. After marrying, they went on the mission field together to Mexico, where they had another son, David. Illness forced them to pack up and head home, but their disappointment was really God’s appointment for them in ministry. Back in Chattanooga, Jack became the Station Manager for a Christian radio station that brought Bible teaching to the airwaves in the Southeast. Kay started a Bible study for teenagers in their living room. As young people started to hear the Word of God and study it, the Bible study grew. By 1970, the Arthur’s had stepped out in faith to purchase what was a chicken farm to create a home for their fledgling ministry founded as Reach Out Ranch. Soon the teens were meeting in a barn they had cleaned out and patched up themselves.

Then the first Tuesday morning women’s Bible study class began, word spread, and then night classes began when husbands wanted to attend as they saw their wives’ enthusiasm. Soon Kay was traveling to Atlanta, Georgia, to teach a study of eventually 1800 adults every week. Knowing she and Jack would not be able to travel to Atlanta every week at some point, Kay wanted to teach others to learn to study inductively as she studied and share in the joy of learning to study the Word of God for themselves, and so began writing Precept Upon Precept courses. The Arthurs and Reach Out began to publish their style of Bible studies so believers could go deeper with God anywhere they were, irrespective of a single teacher’s personality or proximity.

Jack left his broadcasting career to devote his energy full-time to the growing Ministry as its president, overseeing it along with the building of the facility to accommodate booming distribution and training demands. Now the small team of staff and Bible study trainees packed and shipped studies to churches and small groups across America. The Ministry’s leadership developed training so that in-depth Bible study could multiply beyond their reach and Reach Out became Precept Ministries. Then the studies spread internationally, to Korea, Mexico, and Romania. By the time the studies had reached over 100 countries and 60 languages, the word “International” was added to the name. Today, Precept Ministries International trains millions of people to discover Truth for themselves. Through inductive study method training workshops and thousands of Bible studies in local churches and small group studies; through Precepts for Life television, radio and online media; through Bible study tours to biblical sites and Bible-centered conferences; and an international effort with studies in nearly 150 countries and nearly 70 languages, PMI is focused on establishing people in God’s Word.

You are invited to join fellow sojourners on the adventure of an eternal lifetime as we meet God through the daily, personal, in-depth study of His Word.
You can discover Truth for yourself!


Bible Studies for Women
Lord, Teach Me to Pray
Based on her popular trade book, Lord, Teach Me to Pray in 28 Days, this interactive, discipleship study helps women grow in a love for God's Word and in a desire to communicate with Him through prayer. Learn what the Lord's Prayer teaches us about effective prayer and how to put into practice its timeless principles. This dynamic study will include sharing answers to prayer and practicing prayer in a supportive small-group setting. The Lord Teach Me to Pray workbook has a leader guide, with session by session teaching suggestions, in the back of the book - pages 116-124 include these teaching plans. Softcover, LifeWay, 125 pages.


Bible Studies for Couples
Marriage Without Regrets
“This book isn’t about how to have a perfect marriage, or to change our spouses,” says Kay. “It’s about having the kind of marriage where you can stand before God and say, ‘Lord, I was all that You intended me to be.’ Only when we make that kind of commitment can we truly have a marriage without regrets!”
Speaking candidly about her first marriage, her conversion to Christianity, and her longtime marriage to Jack, Kay offers practical advice on effective communication, security and significance, difficult relationships, parenting, and God’s guidelines for divorce and remarriage.
Readers will discover what the Bible says about...
resolving conflict
understanding each partner’s role
improving the sexual relationship
becoming financially wise
respecting and keeping marriage vows
This re-release with a fresh new cover (more than 110,000 copies sold) contains the marriage–building and life–changing material Kay has presented to enthusiastic audiences worldwide—helping thousands of people in many countries experience supportive, Christ–centered marriages.


Bible Studies for Kid’s
How to Study Your Bible, for Kid’s
Discover 4 Yourself Inductive Bible Studies for Kids!. . .How to Study Your Bible for Kids -- by Kay Arthur and Janna Arndt -- (6- week study) -- Kids, learn how to discover God's powerful truths from the Bible, all by yourself! Observe, interpret, and apply the Bible with games, puzzles, and more! You'll become an "Inductive Bible Detective" with an "Inductive Detective" card and a 40% discount on the New Inductive Study Bible, when you mail in a card included in the book! Harvest House Publishers-- 7 x 9 Softcover Book - 185 pages. For ages 8-12 (Children's reading skills and maturity levels vary, so your child might be ready for these books at a younger age, or you might find them useful for 13-year olds.) Children completing this study who send in the enclosed card in their book will receive: a letter from Kay and Janna, plus a certificate with a detective card. If they score between 150-200 on the Inductive Detective Exam on page 138, they will receive a copy of the NISB excerpt (#20999) and the 40% off coupon for a New Inductive Study Bible.


To see a complete line of Kay Arthur material, click here!

To see other Bible study material, click here!

Please Visit Emmaus Road Christian Store at http://www.emmaus-road.com/

May God Richly Bless Your Life!