Feeling Change; Commitments Don't

Love never fails. I Corinthians 13:8

A national magazine devoted its Valentine's Day issue to the subject of love. It reported on the results of a study done in a university research setting that revealed that the hormones that produce the warm sensation of being "in love" eventually lose their potency and wear out. Therefore higher and higher levels of the same hormone are required to produce the same feelings of exhilaration, dreaminess, and infatuation.

Their conclusion: It will take something other than high-voltage body chemistry to keep a couple together for a lifetime. The radioactive hormones that produce a "romantic high" just can't be sustained.

But where infatuation ends, real love begins. Let us encourage you to seek out an older couple you both know well who have a love relationship. Meet with them, ask them questions, and observe their behavior. You may not see the same dreamy-eyed emotions displayed that infatuation brings, but what you will observe is deep respect, a strong sense of attraction, and a deep satisfaction and joy just being together. Real love is just as exhilarating, if not more so, than adolescent hormone rushes. So be encouraged. Just because the infatuation stage may have ended, you haven't fallen out of love. Something far more precious, beautiful, and long lasting can take its place. It's called real love.

Today's Marriage Minute comes entirely from the book Marriage Minutes by Dr. Bob and Cheryl Moeller.

The OSCARS!!!

Four years ago, a friend and I made an effort to watch the oscar winning movies or just the nominated ones because it is such a big deal in Hollywood. We wanted to see what all the noise was about. We understood after we watched some of them. Just to name a few: Cold Mountain, Last Samurai, Gladiator, Crash, Departed, Lord of the Ring, Ray, Collateral, etc.

The depth of the storylines are what continues to hold my attention. Even though, many are nominated for best costumes,visual effects, music, and sound which are very important to some movie watchers but I love the plots. These movies challenge you to watch something out of your norm. And, I eagerly accept the challenge of learning new information.

Last year, I saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which was terrific...it moved me to tears. It was just so heartwarming!!! If you get a chance, go see Brad Pitt 's performance in this movie which won an Oscar. This year I plan on going to see Slumdog Millionaire which won 8 Oscars and best motion picture of the year. The other one I plan to watch is Reader with Kate Winslet.

Here is a quick reveiw from yahoo:

Slumdog Millionaire: The story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show's questions. Intrigued by Jamal's story, the jaded Police Inspector begins to wonder what a young man with no apparent desire for riches is really doing on this game show? When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out...




The Reader: When he falls ill on his way home from school, 15 year-old Michael Berg is rescued by Hanna, a woman twice his age. The two begin an unexpected and passionate affair only for Hanna to suddenly and inexplicably disappear. Eight years later, Michael, now a young law student observing Nazi war trials, meets his former lover again, under very different circumstances. Hanna is on trial for a hideous crime, and as she refuses to defend herself, Michael gradually realizes his boyhood love may be guarding a secret she considers to be more shameful than murder.

Beauty Is In the Character, Not The Eyes Of The Beholder

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Proverbs 31:30

Our culture worships beauty, youthful physique, and sex appeal. If you don't believe us, count the number of models over fifty years old used in television commercials (excluding the arthritis pain reliever ads). Or switch on Monday Night Football and count the number of wives or children portrayed. Chances are you won't find many there. Why? Because portraying the reality of the aging process and life's necessary commitments would pop the fantasy of good brews, good times, and good babes.

Far too many people choose their life's mate on the shaky premise that happiness and intimacy are the direct result of a muscular body of a shapely figure. Certainly physical beauty is one element of the mystery of love between a man and a woman. But it is meant only as a minor movement, not the basis for the entire symphony. As Proverbs aptly observes, "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." It is the lasting character traits of faith, devotion, and obedience to God that gives a wife the traits a husband can love for a lifetime. Is culture's list or God's list more important to you?

Today's Marriage Minute comes entirely from the book Marriage Minutes by Dr. Bob and Cheryl Moeller.