PLANNING is deciding in advance what should be done, why it should be done, where it should be done, when it should be done, who should do it and how it should be done. John…
Sermon Illustrations
TIME TO RETREAT During the early days of World War II, General Douglas MacArthur vacillated on various plans for reacting to the imminent Japanese invasion of the Philippines. A plan to retreat to Bataan was…
I'D WRITE FOR YOU A RAINBOW If I could, I'd write for you a rainbow And splash it with all the colors of God And hang it in the window of your being So that…
LOVE I long to see you free and whole, growing and alive to the challenge of becoming who you are under God . . . I want to share the journey with you, not taking…
A UNIQUE SENDOFF When Corinne Hicks emerged with her new husband after her wedding at St. Paul's Church in Wodinham, England, her father released 2000 butterflies on the church steps. He began cultivating the butterflies…
COMMUNICATION IS THE KEY TO A HAPPY MARRIAGE A golden anniversary party was thrown for an elderly couple. The husband was moved by the occasion and wanted to tell his wife just how he felt…
PREVIEW If you wish to know how she will talk to you after marriage, listen while she talks to her younger brothers.
TENDER SYMBOLISM I was escorted to a wedding by my 24-year-old bachelor son. He appeared unaffected by the ceremony until the bride and groom lighted a single candle with their candles and then blew out…
PRAYER AT A WEDDING Giver of good and perfect gifts, Father and Shepherd of our souls, Source of all life and joy; Of Thee the family in heaven and earth is named; From Thee come…
WATCH OUT FOR THE LITTLE BUGS They tell a story of the mighty tree which stood high upon the mountain. It survived the hail, the heavy snows, the storms, the bitter cold of many years.…
HEAVY METAL A teen-age girl was examining her grandmother's wedding ring. The girl said, "Wow, what heavy and cumbersome rings those were fifty years ago." The grandmother replied, "That's true, but don't forget that in…
MADELEINE L'ENGLE In her book, Circle Of Quiet, Madeleine L'Engle offers this reflection on love, "Love can't be pinned down by a definition, and it certainly can't be proved any more than anything else important…
BE PREPARED There's a warming story about a husband who is going to ask for a raise. He told his wife that on this particular Friday, he was going into the boss's office to request…
FAMILY LOVE is that unexplainable emotion causing us to save the choice piece of meat for the kids, or take the other egg because it wasn't fried just right, or wear the same old suit…
NO SUBSTITUTES It seems this woman was suffering from depression; she was always upset and unhappy. The concerned husband took her to a psychiatrist. The doctor listened to the couple talk about their relationship, and…
MORE THAN RIGHT WORDS NEEDED A Peanuts cartoon shows Schroeder, the intellectual pianist, intensely at practice over the keyboard. Lucy, one of his greatest admirers, often interrupts him with some curious question. On this occasion…
PRIORITIES As a single parent with a teen-age son, I have gone through many financial difficulties. Consequently, we live in an old mobile home with all sorts of structural problems. When one of my son's…
BECAUSE SHE WAS LOVED I once knew a very old married couple who radiated a tremendous happiness. The wife especially, who was almost unable to move because of old age and illness and in whose…
MARRIAGE - A COSTLY VENTURE In Charles Dicken's Pickwick Papers, Sam Weller speaks: "When you're a married man, Samivel, you'll understand a good many things as you don't understand now; but vether it's worth while…
MARITAL COMMUNICATION After you're married a few years you develop sharp communication skills. Sometimes it only takes a glance, or a brief clue to communicate with one another. But sometimes the communication shorthand doesn't work…
