Know Your Roots

Daily Thoughts – Know Your Roots

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” – Genesis 2:24

The seasons in life pass by without a watch.  Consistently, we are coming back to this same spot, and you would expect that we would have learned something along the way to make us more proficient at dealing with the problems in life.  I pause on this day every year to reflect on who I am and those things that helped shape the person you see before you today.  For it was on this day in 1960 that my parents solemnly swore to stay with each other through the good and the bad, the ups and the downs, the sick as well as the healthy days.  Two words were uttered that forever changed their small world – “I Do”.

I am the third child in our family.  I have an incredible older brother and beautiful sister that loved, protected, taught and yes even tormented me throughout my entire childhood.  But the love runs deep in our family and there is not a day that goes by where that love is not evidenced in one way or another.  All three of us have children, and some of them have children.  We have had the opportunity to pass on the legacy that comes from the two parents we learned from.  A legacy of truth, love, forgiveness, support, encouragement and serving God.

I am who I am because my parents and my siblings taught me right from wrong, good from evil and to serve God with every fiber of my being.  For in doing so, we are giving back to those that have gone on before and teaching those that will go on afterword what true love is about.  On this day, I want to stop for just a moment and express my extreme thankfulness and gratitude to my parents, Jim and Judy Palmer,  for their incredible marriage (59 years) and the love they have showered upon all of us over those many years.  God bless you and give you many more wonderful years together.

God designed man and woman to become one with each other.  He created Adam and then created Eve for her, as a companion and helper to the man.  They were brought together as one to pro-create and as such have populated the entire earth.  Man and Woman were formed in perfection for the purpose to love one another and to complement one another.  This is by the design of the Creator of the Universe with as much perfection as when He created the stars in the heavens.  It is perfect in its formation and purpose.  Thank you Mom and Dad for serving God in your marriage and abiding by His principles in your lives.

Prayer:
Father,
I pray for my parents, and all of those married couples in the world today.  I pray that their love may continue to be rich with Your purpose and that they might fulfill everything You have brought them together to fulfill.  Bless them, that they might in turn bless others with the example of their love for each other and their love for You.     – Amen

© Sondove Enterprises, 2019
For more Daily Thoughts go to: http://sondove.blogspot.com
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A glass of Coke can change the world

Daily Thoughts - September 5th 

A glass of Coke can change the world.

Let me share a personal story if you don't mind.

Picture the scene: Several high school kids go to the Christmas dance at the local Tecumseh High School.  Some were Seniors, some Juniors and a few Freshman.  All dressed in their best to impress.  In those days leisure suits and lace/twill dresses were in style.  At the completion of the dance in the high school gymnasium, this group of friends and girlfriends decide to go to the local Big Boy for a late night snack (fries, Cokes and Shakes).  God in His miraculous ways, used this event to impact a young man’s and a young woman’s life, and set in motion His plan to change the world for many years to come.  

At the table we crammed 6 of us into a booth, each sitting across from our respective Christmas date.  I was fortunate enough to be sitting at the outer edge of the bench seat.  I took the opportunity to demonstrate my sweetness and ability to flirt with the girls at the table, by grabbing a few candy canes from the Christmas tree in the restaurant, and handing them out.  As I returned to my seat I slid in next to a cute girl, and in doing so bumped her hip with mine as she was picking up her glass of Coke.  This resulted in the Coke splashing from the glass all over the left leg of my baby blue leisure suit, with quite a stain.  Apologies ensued, and were dismissed with laughter and a twinkle in the eye as we looked at each other.

Fast forward three years, I was a sophomore at Eastern Michigan, and had recently separated from my longtime girlfriend, because of the long distance in our college choices.  My best friend (still today), Paul came by to pick me up, knowing that I was in a depressed funk of late, just to get me out of the house.  With no plan in mind, we cruise through town a few times, listening to our favorite CCR cassette, before we pulled in front of a home I was unfamiliar with.  As we knock on the door and step into the home, my mind immediately flashed back to that Christmas dance.  Standing before me, for a matter of 15 seconds before she ran down the hallway, was that same cute girl from the Big Boy restaurant.  Emerging some 10 minutes later with her best friend (Chris Harris), we stumbled through a reintroduction.  A beautiful girl, with freshly permed hair and braces stood before me, with an incredible, flirtatious smile.  We decided to head out together, the four of us in Paul’s car, to the softball fields.  We all took turns hitting the softball as far as we could, and then decided to go to the water-slide and lake to cool off.  By the end of the evening, this beautiful woman and I were hand in hand, and had experienced our very first of many kisses.

That was the end of July, 1985 - 12,448 days ago, and we’ve held hands everyday since.  We were married 26 months later, 32 years ago today.  The Lord has blessed us with 5 incredible children that are becoming change agents for God, and raising their own children to become change agents for God. I am in awe and overwhelmed to look back and see God’s plan to use a spilled glass of Coke, and then through event after event, kept our paths intersecting over three years, and reconnecting us through our best friends, just so He could use our relationship to strengthen His kingdom through our children.  People ask me to explain to them why I believe God is real, and I can’t point to physical evidence.  But, I can point to this example as just one way He has been real in my life to ensure that His kingdom is strengthened. 

Not because of me, but because of Him, all of these factors fell into place.  I have been blessed to be with this woman for 32 years, and have so much more to look forward to in the next 30-40 or 50 years together.  She is my rock, my advisor, my counsel, my lover, my wife, my spiritual conscious, and my best friend.  We will grow old together and watch how God chooses to use our children and grand-children, and God willing great grand-children influence others in this world.  I can tell you without hesitation that next to God, the Father, I love Lisa most. 

Happy Anniversary my dear.  I am so proud to be your husband.  You can spill a Coke on my suit anytime you want.

I Still Do

Read It, Learn It, Live It, Share It

“And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?  So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” –Matthew 19:4-6

 26 years ago, we stood in front of a congregation of friends and family. The candles were lit, the sun shown through the stained glass windows and I held the hands of my wonderful, beautiful bride. Pastor Ken Boyd presided over the ceremony and talked of a relationship founded on the love and guidance of God our Father was able to withstand any struggles this world could bring forth. We were more than two young kids in love, we knew from the beginning that God had brought us to that very place for a purpose much bigger than us.

Love is a precious commodity and can be given or withheld based on our emotional feelings at any given moment. But, let me tell you this about the woman I was fortunate to marry. Her love is as genuine and unconditional as you will ever find on this planet. She has been gifted with the innate ability to love others through their problems, heartache and circumstances when others would normally turn away. I am so overwhelmed by the love she has given me for the last 26 years that it is beyond description.

A marriage built on the strength of the Lord and the principles of love, grace, mercy and servitude will endure.  The ratio of marriages that are ending in divorce is at an all time high, and it is my belief that in every single case you could trace the cause back to one of these areas.  There are situations of abuse, adultery and addictions that come between a husband and wife, and I hypothesize that these are outward actions to a deeper self-centeredness in one of the two partners.  Selfishness, pride and ego are all examples of one who is more concerned about themselves than those around them.  This individual offers up no grace or mercy and in most cases is not willing to serve the other person’s needs first.

If individuals took the words of the Lord seriously prior to marriage, I propose their marriage can withstand the trials of this world.  There are 3 levels of relationship: the Spiritual, the Emotional and the Physical.  At the young age of 20 – 25 most are so drawn to the other by the physical appearance and in most cases put this ahead of either the emotional or spiritual.  Any relationship that is built on sex, intimacy and a physical relationship is destined to fail at some point.  There is no substance there to hold it together for the long run, because let’s face it; there will come a time when that attractive, passionate spouse is going to become older and most likely less passionate.  At that point, what is left to provide strength to overcome obstacles in life.

The preferred path of relationship is to develop from a spiritual basis or foundation, evolving into an emotional relationship and then the realization of a physical relationship after marriage.  This path centers on God and the Holy Spirit as the strength of the relationship, forming the intimacy between the two individuals.  A solid foundation that will last throughout the married life between the man and woman shares a core belief in the one true God.  When life’s obstacles, struggles and situations arise the faith that binds these two together is held onto as the armor to defend what God has brought together. 

Furthermore, each individual with a strong relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, enters into the relationship with an attitude of love, mercy, grace and servitude.  As Christians, we are tasked in becoming more Christlike in our maturing life cycle.  This includes serving others first and thinking of themself second.  This self-lessness allows individuals to overcome many of the problems that cause strife in relationships today.  On their wedding day, individuals have no problem promising that they will stay with someone for the rest of their life, through good, bad, sickness and health; but without the love of God drawing them together and holding them together, it is nearly impossible to remain committed to that promise. 

The joy of my marriage to Lisa is that after 26 years I can still stand before her with love in my heart and state – “I do”.
             

© Sondove Enterprises, 2013
For more Daily Thoughts go to: http://sondove.blogspot.com
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While I'm Away

I will be unavailable to send out your Daily Thoughts for the week of September 3^rd.  So please take time to review some of the most popular Daily Thoughts of the last year.  These rank as the top 5.  

God is Love – period Jan 7, 2012

Jesus – Words from the Cross #2 Apr 3, 2012

An Esther Moment Jan 23, 2012

A Man of Courage Jan 16, 2012

Get Out of the Way Jan 24, 2012

 I hope you find these uplifting throughout the week of my absence as I will be on vacation with my beautiful wife celebrating 25 glorious and blessed years together.  

 Find peace each and every morning and joy each and every night and you will live a long and prosperous life.  But the more you choose to hold her hand and dance under the stars at night the longer you'll have a happy wife. 

 

© Sondove Enterprises, 2012
For more Daily Thoughts go to: http://sondove.blogspot.com