Am I suited up for marriage?

Yesterday in Sunday School I taught my young class of students all about the "armor" that God gives. We started out by talking about sin and what God says sin is. I asked if anyone knew what armor was used for and when we wear armor. It was so sweet when one little boy chimed in "When we fight ZOMBIES!!!" Even though there may not be zombies for us to fight there is a battle; a battle forging around us that we can't necessarily see with our physical eyes but a lot of time we can see the results once the smoke clears. It's called a spiritual battle. The Bible tells us a lot about this battle and what we can do to prepare ourselves for it.

I can still remember one of the first "real" fights that my husband Josh and I had. We were really young. I don't remember for sure but I would say it was probably within the first year of marriage. I know it was just us two; no kids yet. It's one of those things where I just can't for the life of me remember why we were even fighting, but I remember what happened next. He slammed a door and unintentionally made a decor (one of the first of my handmade creations) fall off the wall and shatter into pieces. Oh boy, that made me jump into serious WAR mode. All good behavior and intentions went out the window as I so nonchalantly proceeded to throw one of his most favorite VCR hunting tapes at the wall and it shattered as well. I think about it now and wonder how in the world I ever acted out so violently. I was so very mad at him and he was furious with me. Of course, we worked everything out and apologized as was necessary and have lived through many happy years along with more civilized "battles" since then! But here's the kicker...we read our Bible more and what we've discovered is what we've stuck to. Many battles come our way; whether with each other or with so many around us. The Bible tells us though that it's not really flesh and blood that we fight. It's not my husband (or my friend or the "friendly" cashier.) Our battle is really with the devil; the one who controls all the darkness and forces of evil in this wicked world. (Eph.6:12)

We don't know when battles will come our way so we have to be prepared daily for a potential threat. Read Ephesians 6:10-18

#1. The belt of truth: TRUTH.

Truth for my marriage: Make sure you know what's truth and what is not. The number one thing that has gotten myself and my husband in trouble in the past is assuming! I won't repeat what we in the south say assume stands for, but I'll give you a hint. It makes a "donkey" out of u and me! Communication is the key to not assuming. Ask before you assume that you know what your husband meant by his words or actions. Let him know that a specific tone spells trouble to you. But don't be upset when he in turn shares how he feels about your habits of body language.

Truth from God: When the Bible speaks of truth, gospel, the way, or the good news, it is mostly speaking of Jesus Christ. The truth is if you have a relationship with Jesus as your Savior and Lord, then you have the power to stand firm against Satan and his army.

#2. The breastplate of righteousness: BEING RIGHT WITH GOD!

Right for my marriage: The most important person in any relationship especially marriage is God. When we truly live our lives to please God then we will in return please our husbands. Right with HIM, means right with him!

Right from God: God only wants what is best for His children. When we live a life according to His Word, His Will is played out for us. The most important part of His Will is His protection of His family. The breastplate of "being right with Him" will protect our most vital part; our heart!

#3. The shoes of peace: CALM

Calm for my marriage: I tell my kids this often and even shared this with my Sunday School class and in other blog posts...the best thing we can do for ourselves is to stop and breathe and THINK about our next step; our next word; our next action. When we calm ourselves to a state of focus in the midst of battle we can feel a better sense of preparedness. We are ready, with the right reaction and response, for whatever comes our way.

Calm from God: The gospel of peace that God can give is called "the peace that passes all understanding." I've often times wondered how that peace is so amazing, because I've experience it first hand. It truly is unexplainable. This verse helps me understand by using the simple word "gospel." We can have that kind of peace only because God made a way; THE way. He sent His only Son to die for our sins so that even in the middle of the chaos we can truly know peace!

#4. The shield of faith: FAITH.

Faith for my marriage: God gives us the ability to love others because He loves us, to forgive others because He forgives us, and to have faith in others because He has faith in us. He knows that the commandments He gives for us to abide by IS possible and He expects GREAT things from us. We can foresee those same great things in our spouse! How great would it be for our husband to hear from us the faith that we have in him! All he wants is to know we trust that he will take care of his family, make wise choices, and love us unconditionally.

Faith from God: I'm so grateful that God gave us, as humans, a shield to protect ourselves. As if the breastplate of righteousness isn't enough, God gives us a shield to protect us from whatever Satan throws at us. This spiritual shield wards off unseen and often sneaky weapons from the devil like resentment, hate, guilt, and anger.  These weapons are potentially fatal to our marriages. Thankfully God's prepared us for them!

#5. The helmet of salvation: SAVED to the UTTERMOST!

Salvation for my marriage: There is no; and I mean NO marriage that God cannot save. If we were to say that one was too far gone we would be limiting God's abilities! I may not help, your pastor may not can help, your parents, friends, and even spouse may not can fix it; but GOD CAN!

Salvation from God: My personal salvation came when Josh and I had been married 8 years. Let me just tell you 8 years was a long time to depend on ourselves and my husband's faith alone. The best thing I ever did for my marriage was putting my faith and trust in an all-knowing, all-time loving God. I pray that you have salvation from God and that if so you have all the hope you need just from knowing nothing could ever harm you or your marriage when you have God on your side!

#6. The sword of the Spirit: God's Word

Word for my marriage: The best thing we can do in a marriage battle, whether small, big, serious, or not-so, is allow God's Word to do the fighting. God's Word can change a situation, a heart, or an outcome better than we could ever think possible. Study, know, and embrace what God says our marriage relationship should be or look like. Encourage your spouse to do the same. Let God do the talking for you!

Word from God: Any battle or war we ever face is no match for the Sword of the Lord, the Bible. Out of all the armor God gives to protect us, He only gives one to fight back.  Don't be afraid to use it; for harm against the devil and for good with your spouse!


Remember who the battle is truly against. It's not your husband or zombies"Put on the whole armor of God!" and watch as God protects your marriage better than you ever could alone!


This blog post has been a tough one. Not only was it a lot longer than most I write, it has been very much so battled against! Kids have not been cooperative. Phone keeps ringing. My head is throbbing. And in this last mad dash for the goal line we had our incredibly small chiweenie get lost in the couch lining, yes, i said lining! Now I can't even post this because my wifi box is dead! Not even half way through and about an hour into writing I finally had enough and said to myself "Why is this so hard!?!" Immediately I got the answer I felt God sent "Mary Helen, you're writing on spiritual battles; fighting against the devil. Do you seriously think it's suppose to be easy!" I knew right then no matter how long it took or what else happened I was going to write this, finish it, and post it for the world to see. Two hours later it's finished, saved, and waiting to be published! Praise GOD, that's my battle won today!!! Have you seen yours??

Bring on Fall! Changing of the Seasons!!!

I absolutely love times when here in South MIssissippi we can actually feel and see the changing of the seasons and my all time favorite is FALL!!! This morning there's a coolness in the air and a breeze blowing and for this ole girl it puts a pep in my step! I have 5,000 things I need to do inside my home today but I do believe those will all find the back burner since I know we will all want to be outside in this beautiful weather. It's a picnic-table-under-the-shade tree kind of school day! One reason I so love the changing of seasons is the great representation that it gives us of God's Word. In the Bible God tells us many different times about a newness He can give. Here are a few of my favorite verses:
#1. Lamentations 3:22-24 ESV
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
**How great to think that no matter what's happened yesterday God's mercy is new again every morning and they're never-ending! We can have that blessed hope in Him because of knowing this one truth!
#2. Revelation 21:4-5 (ESV)
"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
**As children of God we can trust in the hope of our future and eternity! He makes all things new for then and for now.
#3.II Corinthians 5:17 ESV
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."
**Oh the new creation I became once I gave my life over to God. I never knew how dead I had become inside. The feeling of a new fresh start and a Savior that took the broken clay I was and started molding me over and over was one I'll always remember and I return to that time of the start of my relationship with my Christ again and again.
And here's my newest favorite....
#4. Ephesians 4:22-24 ESV
"To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."
**It makes me proud to know that time after time when I feel like the old person I was is creeping back in I can shake off the dust and my newness shines through again. That's what being a new creature in Christ does for us. If we set our minds to being renewed over and over, again and again, He will help us to cast aside the old and let the new shine on!

Here's to a new season. A newness of life. Cool air, crispy brown leaves, and the hum of locust so loud all you can do is praise God with them!!!

Human Habits

Why is it that old habits are so hard to break? What about our genetics makes us so prone to want to stay set in our ways? These are the things that have been so heavy on my mind lately. My husband and I have set in our hearts to try our best to only be our best for years now. It started at an early time in our marriage. I often laugh and tell newlyweds that my first year of marriage was nothing but fighting and "the best kind of making up." HA! It's still funny to me. The serious set of real deal burdens to change our character came when our first baby started to grow into a bouncing toddler. It was a true wake up call when our sweet darlin' looked up at us and threw her first tantrum. I do believe any mama's first reaction to bad behavior is, "now where did she learn that from?" Then a gut-wrenching feeling comes across most times because the answer too often becomes, OH! NO! I do that. or I say that, or I react that way. So as fairly new parents we set out to change the way we talked, walked, and acted, but unfortunately old habits are hard to break. What is the statistic 31 times doing one thing and it forms a habit? I'm not sure how much I agree with that, but I do know that I have often looked back after trying so hard to set good habits and  thought wow! when did that become second nature? For an example my sweet Mama tried for my entire teenage life to get me to make my bed every morning. Yeah, not happening! Once I was married I had the sense of pride in my own home enough to realize how much neater it made our room look and one day when I was making my bed VOILA! habit was formed! So now we're back to this point in our life where we feel the slump that has happened over the last few months that has drawn us back to some old habits. Now please know that I'm not talking serious addictions or anything like beating our children or illegal actions. I'm talking raising our voice, letting out loud sighs of dissapointment at another family member, an occassional slamming door, and body language that all too well speaks for itself of our attitude. To some of you this all seems petty, right? But you see, we at the Daniels' residence really do want to do as God's word tells us. We truly want to, as a husband, love my wife as Christ loves the church (Eph. 5:25), as a wife, submit myself to my husband as head of the house (Eph 5:22), as parents, train our children to love God (Prov.22:6), and as a family, edify with our mouths and actions (Eph 5:29). It's not as simple as, well that's just life our husbands and kids will have to hear and see other people act that way. It's also not as simple as, well I can change but why should I if noone else in my house is. It is all about changing our actions and reactions because God loves us and wants us to. Think on this W.W.J.D? Remember how popular this was? It needs to come back in style in our lives not just on our tshirts. What would Jesus do? My husband recently preached a sermon on our ministry as Christians to children or youth. In Matthew 19 Jesus calls the children to Him even when all the disciples were turning them away. Jesus took the time to care for people, love others, talk kindly, teach, minister. I could go on and on about His example, but the thing is that when I think of some of the words I say, the attitude I have, the aggrevation I have when my kids just want a minute, or the attitude I have when my husband asks me a question, I can only hear in myself what Jesus would not do. It's time for change. Serious-real-made-into-a-lifestyle change. So here's what we have to do to change. 

#1. First and foremost PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! He already knows our heart's desires but it sure means alot for Him to hear it from us.

#2. Study what God word says we should be doing. Start in Ephesians 5 with some of the verses I gave before. 

#3. Think W.W.J.D. Nowadays it does seem so cliche' to say that but it's so very obvious that it's what we should've done in the first place. If Jesus would say it, if he would huff and puff over cleaning up a room, or raise His voice to a toddler who spills milk, go right ahead, but you and I both know that would never happen!

#4. If at first you don't succeed try and try again! Don't think that there weren't days of a messed up bed in my times of striving for a neat resting place, but that did not stop me from trying again the next day. How silly would it have been to say well, I did not make my bed today so why ever bother doing it again!?!

#5. Don't give up on yourself. Don't think that just because old habits are hard to break that it's not possible! Phillippians 4:13 says we can do ALL things through Christ. 

Let's pray. Father, help us to be women that set our hearts on being more like You. Help us to have a desire to serve our family, to only show them love and kindness, to edify and build up one another. May we one day be able to say that Your name was glorified because of the way we reacted to daily life was such an example to others. We love You and praise Your name and we know that "ALL things work together for good to those who love You" (Rom 8:28) Amen