Category: Marriage and Family

One evening, my husband and I were having a heated discussion. We had been sharing our different opinions on a topic all evening, but we weren’t getting anywhere! We decided to go to the Living God’s Word as a Family class syllabus to get a little help. We read this quote: “To resolve conflicts or avoid them in the first place, both lovingly ask questions to find out what each wants and to find a solution which blends your interests. You want it to be a win-win situation where both are blessed.”

After we went to the Word in the syllabus, it was much easier to communicate our perspectives on the topic. We decided together to go to the Word first before sharing our opinions so that we could start off the discussion with what God had to say. Since then, we have revisited the truths we learned from the class in many of life’s situations, and we have always grown together. Now that we have a new baby, we are again going to the material to learn how to live God’s Word as a family. We are incredibly thankful to make the Word taught in this class our standard.

I knew all my grandparents throughout my childhood and as a young adult. They were each generous with their grandchildren to share life lessons as well as to teach by example. Their teaching stood out in part because of their casual manner. After all, they had the benefit of giving me back to Mom and Dad at the end of the visit. But more than this, their sharing of their life was purely out of love. They weren’t teaching me so their home life would be improved. They simply wanted to expose me to good learning for my growth.

As a result of having known both good parents and grandparents, I have many rich memories and a broader base of examples and reasons to live according to sound principles.

Proverbs 22:6:
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Later in life one of my grandmothers became sick and was in the hospital. She was in her mideighties. My wife and I were both long-standing believers by this time. My grandmother knew our stand regarding God’s Word, and she had never expressed a negative about us. We were blessed that we had planned a trip home at the time she was in the hospital, which allowed us to visit her. The timing of our visit was ideal. Mom and Dad were there, and we enjoyed family time together. Everyone was cheerful.

During the visit, my wife and I had a short time alone with my grandmother. She confided that earlier in the day, the doctors had given her a rather bad diagnosis without much direction as to what they could do about it. We asked her if she was afraid. She said, “No, I’m not afraid of anything.” It wasn’t a defiant confession or boast. She actually seemed not to have considered the question before we asked, and having now thought about it, simply didn’t find any fear in her thoughts. We asked if she would like for us to pray for her. She said that she would be very happy if we would. Our prayer was simple, but focused. She appeared to believe along with us wholeheartedly. One of the verses that we both had in our hearts to share was III John 2:

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

The simple truth that God cares about us and wants us to be whole communicated easily to a woman who had lived love and demonstrated care for her family, including ten grandchildren, for decades.

Two days later, my mom called to let us know that my grandmother had been released from the hospital and was back at home. Once at home, she recovered full strength and soon enjoyed resuming her regular activities. I am so thankful to have been taught in The Way Ministry not just great verses on wholeness, but also how to work God’s Word to see for myself that God is good to His children, and how to believe for His promises to come to pass.

In 2011, the Word of God that I had learned for years in The Way Ministry made it possible for my husband and me to start a family. We had tried for some time to become pregnant, and after more than a year it was recommended that we try in vitro fertilization, a process which can cost thousands upon thousands of dollars. As we made our decision to pursue this route, God was right there, providing for our every need. God’s timing was such that I happened to be working for a company that covered 80% of the in vitro medications and procedures, making the process affordable when otherwise we could not have paid for it. Following the in vitro procedure, we received a call from our doctor warning us that our outcome looked bleak and that we should prepare ourselves for the very likely event that we would not become pregnant. It was a moment in which we needed to believe God and His Word. I remembered what this ministry had taught me about believing.

Hebrews 11:1:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

The Way Ministry taught me that faith, or believing, is the title deed to receiving what we want in life. What we believe for according to God’s Word is ours, even before we see it with our human eyes. This verse is what I clung to for ten days as we allowed the in vitro process to take effect and waited to find out if we were going to have a baby. The day I received the call from the doctor’s office to tell us we were pregnant is among the sweetest and most joyous times of my life. It was the Word I had been taught that gave me the strength, endurance, and peace I needed to believe for one of the greatest blessings I have ever received, the blessing of children.