Week 46: Wonder & Worship

Fun Activity This Week:  Spend time worshipping God together in prayer and/or singing praises to the Lord.  If this is something you regularly do, consider adding a little more time to your routine this week. This is particularly helpful if you are struggling in any areas of your life or marriage as true worship lifts the spirit of heaviness.

Week 46: Wonder & Worship

Wonder: Do you still find the wonder and excitement you had when falling in love?  

When I was single, I remember listening to my married friends talk about their mates.  I often found myself pondering if the novelty of saying, “my husband,” or “my wife,” ever wore off.  Did they take the phrase for granted and not even think twice about what they were saying?  More than twelve years into married life and still each time I say, “my husband,” hear Mel refer to me as, “his wife,” or whenever anyone refers to me as, “Mrs. Ludeke,” I still feel a thrill of excitement in the words.  For me, the wonder of being a wife never will wear off.

If you feel marriage is no big deal and just a normal part of day-to-day life, I challenge you to find again the wonder you felt when you were dating.  The key is to never stop flirting, communicating, or dating!  

Mel and I no longer live where we met and fell in love, so I can longer follow my own advice, but if you can, try to recreate memories from when you were dating.  If you cannot return to the same places, you may be able to find a similar restaurant you went to when you were first getting to know your honey.  Mel and I went to a historical museum and a zoo during the first week we met, so it is easy to find these venues in other cities.  If you cannot afford to go out to eat or to another event (or even if you can) get out old photographs of your early years together and remind each other how you felt then.  Recall all you can about your courtship period including phrases spoken, feelings that swam through your mind, even the clothes you wore and food you ate. 

If taking a trip down memory lane does not bring back that sense of wonder of being in love, you may need to take a more drastic step such as going out of town (or send the kids away if you cannot afford to leave) and focus just on each other for a minimum of one evening.  In fact, any time you feel the sense of wonder waning in your marriage, take time out, look into each other’s eyes, and remind one another with words and with actions why you fell in love!  

Worship:  Take time as individuals and as a couple to worship God for all He has done.  Sing and pray unto the Lord for all His generous blessings.

So many of us stop and pray and ask God for all we need, but how many of us stop and just spend time thanking God for all he already gave?  I am guilty of focusing on all I lack rather than taking the time to focus on what I have.  It is perfectly okay to ask God for help as the Bible has many verses telling us to ask for what we need.  However, make sure you do more than just ask for help.  For every minute you spend asking for something (or for every item for which you ask for assistance), praise God for what He has already given you.  Praise Him first for choosing you as His child and His death on the cross, and then go from there.  

It d0es not matter when we have less than a dollar in our bank account or when we were facing other frightening/sad/frustrating issues, I am very thankful that God brought Mel and I together and has chosen us for a very specific ministry.  There is so much around us for which we can praise God; once you get started, you may find you are spending more time thanking God and less time asking Him for something.

If you have felt like I have, that you are not sure how to worship, or what to say, or maybe you are feeling so discouraged you are finding difficulty coming up with the right words, one simple way is to read the book of Psalms aloud. Or simply repeat the word, "Hallelujah."  

God loves the praises of his people, so no matter what quality of voice you have, sing often.  Go ahead, sing on the top of your lungs before your Creator, and feel the weight of the world slip away.  Praising alone is very acceptable, but when you worship as a couple, it will absolutely make your marriage better; I guarantee it!

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. Psalm 146:1-2

When we truly have hearts full of repentance, God will honor our humble hearts.  Spend time in worship and prayer and seek His face with hearts wide open to hear all He has to say.  When we pray, “Mold me, Lord, to be the vessel you want me to be,” and mean it with every ounce of our being, we open the doors wide open for God’s blessings and mercies.  

Marriage-Enhancing Ideas for the Week:  

Wonder:  Some people say the Song of Solomon is an allegory of Christ and His bride, but if you actually read the entire book, you will easily see the error of this assessment.  For one thing, it would be very inappropriate for our Lord to talk to us in this way.  When you read this book as intended, you can feel the wonder between the two lovers.  You do not have to read the entire book in one night (although it is not very long), but throughout the course of this week read as much of it to each other as you can.  If you have never done so, you will find it is very romantic and very well may spark a sense of sensuality in you and your mate as well.  

Art Project Option: Choose a favorite verse or two from the Song of Solomon.  Write or print it out, mount it on patterned paper, and frame it (to be displayed in a private area such as your bedroom).  This book is full of descriptions you could choose to illustrate (or print pictures from the internet – I am NOT suggesting pornographic pictures from the Internet) such a pictures of gardens, gazelles, gates, etc.  Another option: If you sew, you could embroider or cross-stitch the verses.  

The below verse is a fun one to frame and illustrate P.S. I am not suggesting you draw nudity unless you and your spouse would be comfortable with it.  When it is just for you and your spouse to view, I do not have a problem illustrating a married couple in a private manner (as long as it only represents the two of you).

I sleep, but my heart is awake; it is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, "Open for me my love, my dove, my perfect one; For my head is covered with dew, My locks with the drops of the night." I have taken off my robe; how can I put it on again…  My beloved put his hand by the latch of the door, and my heart yearned for him. I arose to open for my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, my fingers with liquid myrrh, on the handles of the lock... I am lovesick!  Song of Solomon 5:2-8

Worship:  Sing together as much as possible this week.  Sincerely worship the Lord together.  If either one of you writes poems or music (or even if you have never done so before) consider writing you own psalm (with or without music) to the Lord that specially deals with all He has done for the both of you!