Parrott Leslie L. - The One Year Love Talk Devotional for Couples

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The One Year Love Talk Devotional for Couples

Copyright 2011 by Les and Leslie Parrott. All rights reserved.

Cover photographs copyright by Image Source Photography/Veer. All rights reserved.

Designed by Daniel Farrell

Published in association with Yates & Yates (www.yates2.com).

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from The Holy Bible , English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NKJV is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the Holy Bible , King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked NCV are taken from the New Century Version. Copyright 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NCV is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked The Message are taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-4143-3739-5

Introduction

Most people fail in the starting.

Maureen Falcone

Weve got a confession to make right at the start. The two of us are busy. Sometimes hurried and harried. We live in a busy household in the city of Seattle with two little boys and a jam-packed schedule. We feel the press of impending deadlines. We dont always have the luxury of time to talk like we want. But thats not our confessionthats life!

The confession is that we wrote this One Year devotional for ourselves as much as we did for you. Its not a hard-hitting, roll-up-your-sleeves kind of book with challenging techniques, tips, and tests. Weve written plenty of those kinds of books, but this is not one of them. This is more contemplative, reflective. Not so much a study in how-tos as it is an experience in having time to talk about what matters most as you walk together with God.

Along the way weve found something to be true for us that may become true for you as you read these daily meditations together. Sometimes we feel as though we are shoehorning into our lives these four or five minutes of reading and talking and sometimes praying. On occasion, we feel as though we are even forcing it. There, weve had our time together, kind of idea. Now we can check that off our list and get back to the real tasks at hand. You might feel the same way occasionally as you go through these pages.

Thats okay. Some days youll have more time than others. What we have also found is that the daily effort, even if it was very little, seemed to make a big difference. In fact, weve come to call these little meditations our penny moments. Why? Well, because pennies are a dime a dozen, so to speak. Without much effort, one could find a penny on the floor or in a parking lot. And without much effort you can spend five minutes at some point in your day on a meditation from this book. No big deal.

Or so it seems.

In truth, these penny moments seem to add up when a husband and wife begin to collect them, just like actual pennies do, and even compound. For example, did you know that a one-cent-per-case increase of Coca-Cola would bring the company an additional $45 million a year? Or that if Krispy Kreme increased the cost of each donut by one penny, the company would increase profits by $27 million?

Its hard to believe, but its true. And it may seem hard to believe that the few minutes youll spend each day, over the course of using this book for a year, could have a huge payoff, but we are confident that it will.

It says a great deal about you and your marriage that you have decided to start this process. We wish you every success as you join your spirits together in this daily routine.

Les and Leslie Parrott

Seattle, Washington

January

Setting Your Sail for the Coming Year

Trust in the L ORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Youre driving to a new location when the following takes place:

Does this seem right to you? she asks.

Im not sure, but lets see whats up the road a bit, he replies.

Why dont we ask for directions, she urges.

Thats when you know you have arrived at one of those prototypical marriage moments. And thats when your husband begins to drive faster, right? I know where Im going, he will say, as if hes suddenly tuned into an internal gyroscope that only he can read.

We all know an experience like this. And more than likely we will repeat it many times. But when it comes to setting out on the metaphorical journey of marriage each year, we cant afford to wander without a clear sense of direction. So we dedicate this first meditation to helping you set your sail for the coming year.

What does it mean to set your sail? It means being proactive about where youd like to be as a couple twelve months from now. Rather than simply reacting to outside forces, it means taking charge and sitting in the drivers seat. Far too many couples ride like passengers on a bumpy bus, watching the scenery flash by their window as life passes by.

Well be honest. Setting your sail for the coming year is not easy. It requires initiative. It will ask that you take responsibility for the condition of your marriage. It will then demand that you make the sacrifices to make your dreams a reality. In other words, the kind of marriage you want will be forged by your efforts. You will never achieve your ideal marriage as a mere passenger; you and your spouse must have a hand on the wheel. It is as George Bernard Shaw concluded, in his play Man and Superman : Hell is to drift, heaven is to steer.

Some couples look for any reason to avoid charting their courses; they go through life piling one excuse on top of another for the state of their marriage: fate, in-laws, lack of money, temperament, the government, or even their church. Setting your sail does away with the blame game and puts an end to excuses. It gives you the opportunity to make your marriage everything you want it to be.

Take a moment here at the beginning of a new year to talk with each other about where you want your marriage to be in twelve months. Be as concrete as you can: What awaits your relationship out on the horizon in a years time, and what can you do to ensure that you will get to the destination you desire?