{"id":18789,"date":"2021-07-20T07:19:35","date_gmt":"2021-07-20T12:19:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/?p=18789"},"modified":"2021-07-20T07:19:37","modified_gmt":"2021-07-20T12:19:37","slug":"soap-serving-not-being-served-is-key-and-that-includes-marriage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/soap-serving-not-being-served-is-key-and-that-includes-marriage\/","title":{"rendered":"SOAP: Serving, not being served, is key. And that includes marriage."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Last week at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pinecove.com\/summer-camps\/family-camps\/\">Pine Cove Crier Creek<\/a>,  during the adult teaching time, Craig and Carrie Langemeier mentioned the books <em>Sacred Marriage<\/em> and <em>Sacred Parenting<\/em> by Gary Thomas. Since then, I have been savoring a read through <em>Sacred Marriage<\/em>, taking it a chapter a day so I can really think through the principles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The verse that grabbed me from today&#8217;s Bible reading most definitely backed up what I am learning in the book. But it&#8217;s not only for marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"362\" height=\"150\" src=\"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/SOAP-sidebar.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-18413\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/SOAP-sidebar.png 362w, http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/SOAP-sidebar-300x124.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 362px) 100vw, 362px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Scripture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-verse\">Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, in existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited.  <em>-Philippians 2:5-6<\/em><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Observation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus was the ultimate VIP&#8211; and yet he served and loved and didn&#8217;t claim the &#8220;VIP seats&#8221; or status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Application<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Where in my life can I serve more instead of wanting\/ expecting the VIP status&#8230; or to be served?  I can certainly work on this in my. marriage. I want to be revered. Instead I should focus on serving as Christ served those he loved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Prayer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Father, my selfish, sinful, human self wants to be served. But that is not the best way&#8230; and that is not what you showed me how to do, nor is it what you want me to do and it is not what I was designed to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You created me to follow you, and service is a big part of that. And that includes serving my husband better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Please help me, Father, as I retrain myself to see marriage as an opportunity to emulate YOUR behavior, to serve you by serving my husband in love.  I want to live my life more like you direct. Of course I want my marriage to be stronger. Serving, rather than expecting service, is one way I can do that. Help me to set aside my selfishness and serve more. And please continue to bless our marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thank you, Father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Jesus&#8217; name I pray, Amen<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>**Thanks for reading with me today. I don&#8217;t know what your marital status is or what your marriage is like. I do know that this verse applies to me in my marriage. My marriage is safe and kind and my husband and I have respect for each other. If there is abuse in your marriage or in any of your relationships, please seek professional guidance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In love,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last week at Pine Cove Crier Creek, during the adult teaching time, Craig and Carrie Langemeier mentioned the books Sacred Marriage and Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas. Since then, I have been savoring a read through Sacred Marriage, taking it a chapter a day so I can really think through the principles. The verse that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[363,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-study","category-soap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18789"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18791,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18789\/revisions\/18791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.momstoolbox.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}