Fireproof

Last night Libby and I had a date night. We went down to Indy so she could shop (her love language...not mine!) and then had dinner with my parents. It's always good to see them, I feel like I don't very often even though they are so close. Guess we should have a kid :-) Just kidding. But then we went and saw the movie "Fireproof". It's from the makers of "Facing the Giants". If you haven't seen the giants one...you need to. If you are married, you need to see fireproof. Even if you aren't...it's incredible. But if you are married, you will leave the movie loving your spouse so much more and not take them for granted and appreciate so much more about them. I've only been married about 5 months (wow, I can't believe it's been that long!) and I've seen myself as the main character is. You become complacent. There is a part where a guy is talking about how you study your love while you are dating and you know so much about them and what will draw them closer to yourself. When you marry the person, it's like getting your high school diploma in regards to how you studied that person. But for most, once they are married, the pursuit stops. He tells the guy to continue to go for your college degree, your masters, even your doctorate. You never stop studying the other person and finding ways you can show your love to them. Marriage isn't a destination, it's a journey. I was challenged by that movie to find ways I can love Libby in the way she deserves to be loved. To capture her heart daily and pursue her constantly...not out of duty, out of love. I desire to know her more, to love her more deeply and to grow closer to her daily. As I came home, I thought of how many marriages around me I see where people just live together and just do life without truly pursuing each other. Even getting my hair cut, the guy was impressed we go out on a date atleast once a week. We had a good talk about it and I encouraged him to never stop dating his wife. (this was all before I had even seen the movie) But I knew that when I dated Libby before we were married, those were the times we just fell more in love with each other. Now I know even more the importance of dating once we are married. Marriage is a commitment till death, but it is also a "battle" until death and I have won her heart and I will continue to pursue her heart and never give up on our love. She is worth fighting for, amidst the struggles we have with each other, we will overcome and be drawn closer together. Is your spouse someone that you want to fight for? Are they someone you want to pursue and be drawn closer too? Then what are you doing about it? If you don't capture their heart...who is?

Random ending note: I was having some really cool alone time a little bit ago and just talking with God about life. Tomorrow at youth I'm talking about surrendering our will and asking for God's will to be done. As I prayed, I kept saying "Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" - how often do we pray this? How often do we ask for God's will to be done? If we could see the picture of God in heaven and He tells us this is how we should pray - shouldn't we be excited? When I close my eyes and imagine heaven, I get excited. But God asks us to pray that His kingdom will come!! Heaven is all around us, we see God's glory shone throughout our worlds, but how many of us open our eyes to it? Or are we stuck in our own control and we can't surrender ourselves to God's will? That hits me between the eyes, so I thought I'd share.