For Guys Only: T-Minus 5 Days and Counting!

Did you ever wonder where Valentine's Day comes from? I have - so I got online and googled "Valentine's Day." I found out some interesting things. The holiday is named after two MEN (go figure that one!). Both were Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the high middle ages - a time when courtly (not costly!) love was flourishing. I also learned that according to estimates by the American Greeting Card Association, approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide. This makes Valentine's Day second only to Christmas when it comes to sending greeting cards! One billion - now that is a lot of cards!

Now guys - let me talk to YOU just for the moment. The Greeting Card Association also tells us that of those billion Valentine Day cards - a whopping 85% are purchased by WOMEN! How many times do us guys kinda "forget" our special someone on this day. You say -- "Wait a minute John, what's the big deal about Valentine's Day?" OK. If that is what you are thinking - you either did not have your morning coffee yet and are still half asleep OR you are a little dense! Let me repeat the statistic I mentioned above - a whopping 85% of Valentine Day cards are purchased by WOMEN! That means, that although the day might not be a big deal to YOU, it is a BIG DEAL to HER! So, allow this word to the wise to be sufficient. You have ONLY five days left to go out and purchase a Valentine's Day card for your sweetheart! And it will be worth every minute and every dime you have to spend to do so! Show her that she matters to you -- on Valentine's Day -- and EVERY DAY!


Thanks for listening! (and I hope to see you in the greeting card section of the store - before the 14th!)

pj

Marriage is healthy!

The research is in! Marriage is healthy! That's right. According to research, married people are healthier and live longer than their single counterparts. OK. Marriage is healthy - but are marriages healthy? In a day when so many marriages end up in divorce court and many that don't easily could - can we say, on the whole, that marriages are healthy? Regrettably no. And that is sad!

Our Creator-God designed marriage to bring joy and fulfillment to humanity. But all too often, it has brought disillusionment and shattered lives instead. Why is this? The answer is often complicated - but I think I can simplify it. It usually comes down to the fact that far too many husbands and far too many wives are SELF-FOCUSED. We look at our spouse and say, "I have needs. Meet my needs!" Since our spouse can not meet our needs in the way we demand, we grow disenchanted and eventually embittered. Given enough time, our marriage will die. Divorce often follows.

What is the solution? We need to replace this SELF-FOCUS with a SPOUSE-FOCUS. By this I mean instead of looking at our husband or wife to meet our needs, let's look at the opportunity we have to meet our spouse's needs! No, we will never do it perfectly. But that doesn't mean we should not try. Marriages will be far healthier (and happier!) if a husband is seeking to serve his wife and a wife is striving to serve her husband. So if you are married - seek to serve your spouse today. Your marriage will be better for it!

Thanks for listening,

pj