Movie, Soccer and the rest of this week

Friday night, Adam and I went to see the movie "Fireproof". It was amazing. The story was so moving and I think anyone who is married or thinking about getting married one day should go see it. The longer you are married, the easier it is to let things creep in and get between you and your spouse. Sometimes they are very little things that can totally destroy your relationship. At the very least, this movie reminds you to intentionally love your spouse, even when you don't "feel" like it. It is so easy to take them for granted...that they'll always be there, that you're both so confident in your relationship that you don't ever need to work on it. So not true...marriages are crumbling all around us and we have to fight to protect our marriages! I can remember when I first got married and I heard people getting divorced over money. I truly couldn't understand. I thought it meant they were fighting about how to spend their money or how to save their money. While that might sometimes be the case, now after 11 years of marriage (in November) I have learned that sometimes the marriage crumbles due to the stress of money issues. We all go into marriage with preconceived ideas and some marriages end simply because the marriage can't live up to the expectations. When you couple the stress of money and kids with the influences in the outside world, it takes both people truly committed to keep the marriage in tact. Not too long ago, one of my friends was celebrating their 16th wedding anniversary. She told me it was her anniversary by saying, "God in His great mercy has helped us stay married for 16 years." What a true statement. It takes both people and God to make a marriage work like it is supposed to. And, if you truly study the role of a wife and the role of a husband in the Bible, it is pretty much contrary to the way the world views men and women and their roles in the home. But, I have also found that my marriage only runs smoothly when both of us are aware of our duties as man and wife and trying and praying to follow those roles. (Okay, here is where everyone says DUH! God's plan is God's plan because it protects us and makes our lives so much easier! But, while His plan is always simple, it's not always easy!) Anyway, Adam and I ordered the Love Dare books from the movie and I cannot wait to get started. The movie alone had an impact on our marriage, so I'm looking forward to seeing what 40 days will do.
Onto a much more shallow subject...On Saturday, Zoe had a soccer game. She is doing so well this year! It's like something has just clicked and everything is coming together with her game. Her foot work has improved greatly - she kicks with both feet! And, she is getting faster too. She is also a lot better at anticipating things during the game. Last week, she scored three goals and this week she scored two goals! She really enjoys it too and she has a good coach this season. Also, her Daddy works with her just about everyday outside. It's so neat to see her play and play well!
This will probably be my last blog entry this week. Starting tomorrow, my week goes into hyperdrive. Tomorrow night is church. Thursday night, I have the Ladies Extravaganza at the church. This is where some of the ladies host a table and decorate it and we get together and have dinner and a speaker. I'm hosting a table with my friend, who is coming in from Alabama. During the dinner, Adam has to meet with our new prospective pastor who is coming in for the weekend. Then, Friday during the day I will be decorating a cake for a friend's marriage recommitment ceremony. That night, I will go to one building at the church to set up the cake, then go to another building to meet the prospective pastor for a few minutes. Then, we go back to the other building and go to the recommitment ceremony. Saturday morning, we have the big service day at the church. Then a soccer game. Then from 2-5, we have the big fundraiser at Zoe and Sebastian's school. Then, Sunday morning the prospective pastor is preaching in view of a call. At four o'clock, I have a meeting with the music ministry and the new pastor. Sunday night, we will vote on the pastor and then head to AWANA with the new pastor to await the vote. So, we are pretty busy this weekend, but I am looking forward to every bit of it!
Then, next weekend - we're going on our first family camping trip!!