Valentines Day

1. Valentines Day Good Morrow! 'Tis St.Valentine’s Day All in the morning betime, And I a maid at your window, To be your valentine! Ophelia, Hamlet by William Shakespeare

2. Valentine’s roots- Roman celebration on Feb.15th Lupercalia to ensure protection against wolves young men would run a race and whip people as they passed by...

3. Young women who desired to have a child would stand in their way to purposely be hit. They believed it made them fertile.

4. Stranger Yet !!! Up to 13th century marriage was legal by capture. India- Kanjar groom would gather sticks,stones and muskets with his friends and war against his chosen brides’ house until the bride’s family would give her over.

5. Most strange !!! Austrailiasian tribesmen “married”by simply shooting barbless arrows through the legs of the maiden of their choice.

6. Marriage the union of one man and one woman… Gen2:24

7. In Love So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. Eph 5:28

8. Love; 25 agapao (ag-ap-ah'-o); perhaps from agan (much) [or compare 5689]; to love (in a social or moral sense): KJV-- (be-) love (-ed). Compare 5368.

9. 5368 phileo (fil-eh'-o); from 5384; to be a friend to (fond of [an individual or an object]), i.e. have affection for (denoting personal attachment, as a matter of sentiment or feeling; while 25 is wider, embracing especially the judgment and the deliberate assent of the will as a matter of principle, duty and propriety: the two thus stand related very much as 2309 and 1014, or as 2372 and 3563 respectively; the former being chiefly of the heart and the latter of the head); specifically, to kiss (as a mark of tenderness): KJV-- kiss, love.

10. Love is expressed in 5 ways • Faith • Financial Goals • Social Interests • Recreation and Hobbies • Conduct in the home (Discipline)

11. “What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined for life- To strengthen each other in all labour, to rest on each other in all sorrow, to minister to each other in all pain, to be one with each other in silent, unspeakable memories at the moment of the last parting.” George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) 1819-1880

12. 7 Rules for a happy Marriage 1) Appreciate your mate for who they are. 2) Avoid recreating your mate 3) Criticism sabotages any relationship 4) Show your love 5) Little things do count. 6) Practice simple courtesies 7) Seek counsel when necessary

13. Consider this statement… “I know some good marriages - marriages where both people are just trying to get through their days by helping each other and being good to each other.” Erica Jong, b.1942

14. 1) Appreciate your mate for who they are. “Why does a woman work ten years to change a man’s habits and then complain that he’s not the man that she married”? Barbra Streisand b.1942

15. Ex.4:24-26 Pr.21:19 27:15 25:24 Pr.14:1 Pr.26:21,24 *Pr. 31:10-31 (regarding problems- set aside a quiet time to discuss unpleasantries.) If you have to repeat yourself more than once, you’re nagging.

16. Avoid recreating your mate “It begins with a prince kissing an angel. It ends with a baldheaded man looking across the table at a fat woman” Anonymous

17. We marry illusions and images the exiting adventure of marriage is finding out who the partner really is.” James L.Framo b.1922 from “Explorations in Marital & Family Therapy”

18. Phil 2:12 Rom 12:18 1Pe. 3:9-11 Phil 2:1-5 Jam 3:14 1 Thes 4:11 Rom 9:20,21 Jam 3:17 “Do not marry a fixer upper… Perfect your love

19. Criticism sabotages any relationship Alberta statistics1998 17,986 marriages1998 7,668 divorces43% Alberta stats. (Stats Can.)

20. Main source of criticism - Financial Crisis's Lack of Intimacy

21. Settle on a budget. Settle on a budget and who is going to be responsible for it. And Consider the word -

22. “Ours” The one word that makes a partnership successful. Joanne Fink

23. “If there is something you need to say to your loved one, remember to say it lovingly, as if holding his heart in your hands.” Ellen Sue Stern

24. Pr. 18:19 17:14 29:22 Eph.4:30-32 Pr.17:1-5 1Cor 14:20 Look at the rose petals despite the thorns

25. Honest appreciation goes a long way. Heb.10:24 Don’t be unthankful 1Thes 5:18 Rom 1:21 1Pe. 3:7-9 Eph.5:35 Mrk 10:28-32 God is First Lu 14:26,27 1Pe.3:8 love as brethren Pr5:15-20 Pr 28:20 Pr 25:20 Show Your Love

26. Avoid these comments “It’s about time” “What have you been up to”? “You never…” “If only you were like …” “I wish you were …” Insults and sarcastic remarks

27. Little things do count “Little things compounded over time, build great legacies”.

28. “Stirring the oatmeal is a humble act… it represents a willingness to find meaning in the simple unromantic tasks: earning a living, living within a budget, putting out the garbage.” Robert A. Johnson

29. Birthdays, Anniversaries, Mother’s days, Valentines days, etc. Special gifts that mean something to the other person. Get aways, walks, pleasant talks. “Nothing can match the treasure of common memories” Antoine De Saint-Exupery (1900 - 1944)

30. Forget the grudges!! M’t. 18 “Never forget the nine most important words of any marriage: 1) I Love You. 2) You are beautiful. 3) Please forgive me.” H.Jackson Brown Jr.

31. Practice simple courtesies… “Please” “Thank you” “I’m sorry”

32. Some scriptures to help 1Pe.3:7 Pr 18:22 M’t 7:12 (Never cut your spouse down. Ever! At home or in public)

33. Learn to use words of peace… 1Pe.3:9 1Cor 13 (study) Pr.15:1 25:15

34. Remember… “Love means to commit oneself without guarantee, to give oneself completely in the hope that our love will produce love in the loved person. Love is an act of faith, and whoever is of little faith is also of little love.” Jean Anouilh (1910-1987)

35. Heb.10:36 1Cor.7:1-16 Eph5:33 Rom16:3-5 18:24-26 Pr 27:8,9 12:15 15:22 Seek counsel when necessary

36. In Conclusion Marriage … “to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part….” from the common book of prayer