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AVAILABLE NOW!
Winning Him
Without Words:
10 Keys to Thriving
in Your Spiritually
Mismatched Marriage
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We are pleased to partner with Kathi Lipp and her wonderful project books, which are designed to enrich your personal, marital,
and spiritual lives.
Visit Kathi's website
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Speaking & Radio Engagements
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Lynn Donovan
March 11-13
Sunridge Community
Church
Women's Retreat:
A Rock Solid Marriage
April 8
The Prodigal Hope Network
10:00 a.m. PT
12:00 p.m. CST
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If you missed
our interview on
The Janet Parshall Show, click to listen to the recording.
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Greetings!
We have some great things to share with you in our very first newsletter! In the sidebar, you can click on our site to download an excerpt from our book, Winning Him Without Words. We are so excited to watch what God is doing with this book, and we are praying like crazy for hearts and marriages to be healed and restored.
In this first issue we take a look at how to be content in our mismatched marriages and have a powerful testimony from one of our readers, Angela Smith. Be sure to read to the bottom. More surprises are waiting for you!
Instead of waiting until the end of March for the Marriage Basket Giveway, we decided to give it away now because so many of you jumped on board with the premier of our newsletter. So, it's our pleasure to announce the winner:
Lucy at lusouza10... Congratulations, Lucy!
Be sure to stop by our websites and our Facebook page (links are in the sidebar). We have more books to giveaway, a blog tour that will run through March, and don't miss The Intentional Marriage broadcast on March 18th.
We are so grateful to be on this journey with you, friends!
Thrive in Love,
Dineen and Lynn
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The Key to Contentment
Have you ever had one of those weeks where you notice a common theme? The subject of a devotional, an email that comes over your favorite prayer loop, Sunday's sermon, this weeks subject at your small group Bible study...
Those are the times I pay close attention, because I know God has something teach or show me. This has happened recently and the subject has been about contentment.
Paul touches on this subject very clearly in Philippians 4:11-13:
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
At first glance, it's easy to assign material needs to these verses, and you would be correct. But Paul addresses a deeper level in the latter part of verse 12--"being content in any and every situation."
On daily basis, we struggle with this issue in our unequally yoked marriages. How do we find contentment in the midst of conflict? How do we reach the point of saying like Paul did, "I am content in my situation?"
First, there's one fallacy in the questions I posed above. If you'll notice my emphasis is on "we." Yet if you look at verse 13, Paul gives us the answer to those "how" questions.
We are not capable of finding this contentment alone. Paul gives all the credit to Jesus, totally and completely. He recognized his own limitations and believed completely in Christ to make up for what he lacked. And more.
But the true, underlying theme here goes even deeper than contentment and is true in any situation, no matter what it may be. And I can say this with certainty. Keeping our eyes on God is the key to contentment, to peace, to hope, to perseverance.
He's our one and only answer to everything we need. And more.
Praying and believing,
Dineen
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The Words We Pray by Angela Smith
 A person's belly will be filled with the fruit of his mouth; with what his lips produce he will be filled.
The tongue has power over life and death; those who indulge it must eat its fruit.
~ Proverbs 18:20-12 (CJB)
Words are very powerful, especially the spoken word. "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me!" Many of us were taught this when we were young and recited it faithfully when confronted with hurtful words from our peers. But we also know deep down that it is just a band aid to cover up the all too real pain that someone's spoken words inflict on our hearts, many times leaving scars that haunt us the rest of our lives.
But the spoken word not only has the power to hurt us, but to heal, encourage and build us up. Scripture tells us it was God's spoken word that created the heavens and earth. All that exists was created by His spoken words.
If this is true, if our spoken words hold this type of power for good or for evil, then we must ask ourselves what kind of power will our spoken prayers possess?
God revealed this to me one night as I drove home from work. As is my habit, I called my husband on my way home. At the sound of his curt tone I realized he had not had a good day and was in a bad mood. The fact that he hung up without so much as an "I love you" boded for a very unpleasant evening. As I continued my drive home I sent up a quick prayer, "Lord, please help me to deal with my husband tonight. Give me the strength to get through this night without saying something I'll regret later."
Even before I could say Amen, the Lord spoke to me. If Proverbs is true and the words I speak to others have the power of life and death, wouldn't the words I use in my prayers have even greater power? The words I choose when I pray reveal my heart and they influence how I look at my life, others and how I relate with God.
Since that night I find myself being more conscience of my choice of words when I pray, especially when my prayers are focused on my beloved husband or our marriage. I now pray, "Lord, help me to love my husband tonight. Help me to see past his words and actions to his true needs. Please love him through me and be my strength tonight."
It is amazing how changing a few words has changed my reaction to and my love for my husband and my relationship with God. How do the words you pray affect your life? What sort of fruit do you fill your belly with when you pray?
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Praying for the Lost
 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you, _____________, the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you, _____________, may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you, _____________, may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe (Eph. 1:17-19). |
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 Thank you for being part of this amazing community of believers. We are delighted to walk this journey with you. Please share this newsletter with anyone you think may need encouragement in their marriage. Invite them to be part of this fantastic community as we travel together, loving our Lord and loving our spouse. May the Lord's rich blessings be yours this day. Hugs, Lynn and Dineen Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. -1 Peter 3: 1-2 May these word prove to be powerful in your life and marriage!
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