Tag Archives: Marriage

When God is Your Husband

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Can I get personal with you? Like, really vulnerable?….My marriage almost ended a couple years ago. It was so close to ending, I’m sure satan was dancing with glee at the thought of his plan working.

Between life, sin, infertility, child loss, T1D, and a little bit of faith there was a family barely holding on. A threshold for sin to saturate. A wife letting her emotions rule her household. Children stuck in a game of war that they never asked to be in. And God, trying to help us see Him.

Life began to spiral out of control a few years ago, but I held on to my vision of being OK for as long as I could. But then the bubble burst, and I was left sitting there in a pile of clothes and sheetrock, crying out for help from a God I didn’t think knew I existed.

With my heart in pieces and my marriage in shambles, I laid on my bed empty searching my Bible for anything to make me feel whole again. And there it was, in the book of Hosea. I had never felt so connected to a book of the Bible before. He understood my pain. He had stood in the ruins of a marriage too. And God had responded to Hosea just as He had responded to me. “Go, show love to your wife again,….Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods…” Hosea 3:1

It was in this book that God put my heart back together and taught me the truth of marriage. Hosea 2:16 was the key verse that taught me.

This verse gave me so much hope! I learned how to accept the love of God in the place of the love of a husband. I allowed God to work on me and re-define marriage for me using His definition, instead of the world’s. He completely flipped my views upside down! I learned that my husband isn’t supposed to fulfill me or complete me. God is!

Thats why so many marriages fail! We go into marriage placing our spouse on the pedestal that God is supposed to be on. No wonder there is strife and bitterness! Only God can fill the emptiness in our heart. No other human alive can carry that weight for to long.

Through that season of sacrifice and pruning, God restored my marriage and I learned what true love really is. This eventually led to my husband accepting the free gift of salvation!  It was a wonderful ending to a very stormy season.

If you are in a stormy season in your marriage, let my testimony give you a hope for the future! God is the restorer of marriages. He heals the broken hearted. He is the miracle worker. He can and will restore what the locusts has eaten, if you are willing to let Him.

Please reach out for prayer or encouragement if you are struggling now. I’d love to pray for you!

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Couch Arrest

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This is not what I do. There are animals to feed, gardens to weed, eggs to collect, a house to look after, children to chase. I do not have time to sit on this couch while my leg heals. BUT apparently, that’s what I am doing anyway.

At first, I was kind of ok with the forced rest I’m on. Then an hour passed and I realized just how long a sitting hour is. It is LONG, and boring, and frustrating.

Having to sit and ask for people to do the things around the house that I normally do is a hard pill for me to swallow. One because I do struggle with control. Two because I should be able to do it, but I can’t. And it drives me insane. However, this time really opens my eyes to the village mentality!

This is one of the busy seasons. We were hoping to get more meat chicks and purchase some meat rabbits. Alot of our ideas are now on hold.

But, I am choosing to try and see what God is working on in me. There is always a reason for the seasons of life that we go through. Instead of sitting here stewing over the things I cannot do, I am choosing today to start celebrating the things I can still do.

I can show more love and attention to my children. I can spend more time in the Word. I can dig deeper in my studies of Jewish culture. I can devote more time for praying for my tribe of people and the chaos in the world. I have the time to sit and let God work on me. Change me. Remove the nasty world from me and replace it with Him.

This couch is a hard spot for me to sit all day long, but I’m determined to turn this around for the glory of God. I mean, He does work all things out for His glory anyway. Might as well bend to His will so its not really painful for me!

So, there is a small update on our life. Everything is running as ‘smoothly’ as possible at the moment. This down time does give me more time to write, so that will be nice for the blog! And probably humorous to all of you. Until next time!

God Bless

Grace Revival Homestead

Day 5

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MY HOUSE TURNED INTO A HOME

Dear Heavenly Daddy,

Today I want to thank you for the rain. It’s cleansing and purifying and it is bringing in the colder weather with it. As the seasons transition, I think back to how my own house has transitioned with my marriage over the years. This place was once a hostile battle ground with children held hostage between their selfish parents wants. Now God has purified this place into a holy temple that welcomes in the Holy Spirit every minute of every day. You pour out peace and tranquility on my home every morning before my children wake from their restful sleep. My cup overflows with your love. This house has seen many battles, both spiritual and mental, inside these walls. With Your constant guidance and strength, we have taken back territory from the enemy’s hands. You reached right into enemy territory and snatched my family and I right out; and for that I am eternally grateful. Place a hedge of protection around my house and place your angels on guard around it. Touch my children’s hearts with your loving hand so they feel safe and secure always. Protect their minds from any attacks of the enemy. Fill them with Your Word so they do not sin against you.

Lord, I pray that you do this exact same thing for the families of the world. Pour out your peace on their households. Protect little children from selfish acts of parents who haven’t yet witnessed your love. Help us to be examples to our neighbors of how a godly household should look and feel. Give us discernment to what the spiritual and physical needs of our friends and families are. Teach us to be a shining lighthouse to draw more of the world to the cross.

In Jesus name I pray, amen

With All of God’s Blessings,

Stephanie Smith

Day 4

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Today is a special day of prayer for me personally. Maybe it’ll be special for you to! On day 4 of this prayer journey, we are going to be praying about marriage. Mainly about over coming struggles in marriage! My husband and I did not know the Lord when we got married, so the first four years of our relationship were incredibly unstable. Our life was littered with selfishness, infidelity, anger, lust, frustration, and the constant threat of divorce. Once Holy Spirit pulled us into the Lord’s embrace, I wish I could say things calmed down immediately; but we all know that wasn’t true. It took time, persistence, prayer, and lots of time spent gleaning from God’s Word. So, here we go, giving God all the glory for His never ending love of us!

What God Has Joined Together

Dear Heavenly Daddy,

Thank You for this day spent with many children. It has been enlightening to watch them as I learn to have faith as a child. Thank You for the help-mate you have gifted me. He is an amazing man and we are blessed to have him as the leader of our home. Thank You for the obstacles we had to overcome that shaped us and our marriage into a living testimony of Your love and grace. Lord, and thank you for sending us Holy Spirit to comfort us and guide us. His presence in my life has shaped many bad situations into spiritual transformations.

Lord, there has been many attacks from the enemy lately in our marriage. I pray that you would protect my husband and my children from any assaults. You are the greatest protector and I have full faith that You will use these attacks to shape our faith and bring us to a new level of intimacy with You. I pray for peace in the storm and I thank You for these unsteady times so I can prove my faith to You. Your Word says Your grace is sufficient for each day, so I will stand firm against all forms of negativity with full assurance that You have supplied my arsenal with plenty of ammunition. I can block all attacks with my shield of faith.

Lord, I do know sometimes negativity in my marriage isn’t an attack from the enemy, but just plain old sinful selfishness from either I or my partner. So I pray for us to be emptied of self and fully filled with Holy Spirit. Pour out the fruits of the Spirit on us and into our lives. Teach us to be more like you and less like the world. Let my marriage be a true and holy representation of Your relationship with me. I fully submit to You and Your Will for my life and for my family. You are holy and righteous Lord and You are worthy of all our praise and admiration!

In Jesus name I pray, Amen

With All of God’s Blessings,

Stephanie Smith