But I have been saddened this morning and maybe a little frustrated. Now, I have to go out and SELL. Now comes the drinking. No, I am not talking about the bar. I am talking about leading a horse to water. But why would it ever be difficult to make them drink? Why should we have to? What could possibly be the reason that a horse or in this illustration, people would not want to DRINK? The truth is that it is much easier to lead them to the bar. You don’t even have to ask them to drink there.

So lets think this through, one reason they might not drink, is if they aren’t thirsty. Maybe they truly are drinking the water and are being led to the water too many times. But can we ever drink too much when it comes to the water of spiritual growth? So, that would lead us to a topic of complacency. I believe we should always be striving for a closer walk with God and should drink as much of that water as we can.

Another reason they might not drink is that they might believe that the water is not good. This may be the result of our marketing world. There are so many people saying “DRINK” that it may be difficult to know which water hole is the best. I guess it is true that there are some bad drinking holes and we are right to be cautious.

Finally, There are still those who will not drink. It is clear that they are thirsty. But they have found every excuse in the book to not read the book. First and most importantly, the Bible and then books that lead us to the Bible and to the Author.

So here I am leading you to water. I promise the water is good. And I think we are all more thirsty than we appear to be and once the water touches our lips, we will know that it is good and our thirst will be evident.

My final prayer is that the water I am leading you to, will give you a thirst for more directly from the creator of the water.

Or if you would prefer, you can purchase it on Amazon at Buy it Now on Amazon!

Please feel free to make comments here. If you have enjoyed the book and God has blessed you through it, please share your thoughts for others who may be considering purchasing a copy.

Other Places to find “The Marriage Guarantee by James Price”
http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781935245216
http://books.google.com/books?id=INd2RQAACAAJ
http://www.worldcat.org/title/marriage-guarantee-promises-you-can-count-on/oclc/610843372&referer=brief_results
http://www.betterworldbooks.com/detail.aspx?ItemId=9781935245216&utm_source=Affiliate&utm_campaign=Text&utm_medium=booklink&utm_term=3630151&utm_content=Homepage
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Marriage-Guarantee-Promises-You-Count/dp/193524521X
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Marriage-Guarantee/James-Price/e/9781935245216/?itm=1&USRI=marriage+guarantee
http://www.borders.com/online/store/TitleDetail?sku=193524521X&schid=pfggle
http://www.alibris.com/booksearch.detail?invid=10285150777&isbn=9781935245216&qsort=p&page=1
http://www.booksamillion.com/product/9781935245216?id=4793132075463#overview

What is the reason we are so busy? Some of you are busy because you like to be busy. You fill your time with the next project without even thinking if it is necessary. And others of you will fill your time with more relaxing things like reading or watching television.

Who is using their time most wisely? Well that question does not have a clear answer, although as you read this, I am sure you will have your own opinions of the best use of time based on your own beliefs or personality. And that is the point I want to make today. You can not trust your own opinion based on your personality. You may say to me “why not? It’s my time”, but is it? Whose time is it really? If you have taken a biblical financial class, you have learned that your money is not your own and that you need to seek God on every financial decision, because He has entrusted it to you safe keeping. So why not our time? It is true that everything we have been given has been given to us by God, so then why does it seem that we know these things but do not live like we believe them?

So I challenge you today and for days to come to ask God, “What is the best use of my time?” Don’t be busy just to be busy.

Psalms 46:10a Be still and know that I am God

Invest your time, talent and treasures as though they were not your own. Honor God and ask Him to help you when you plan your day. And always be willing to change your plan if His spirit moves you.

Deuteronomy 11:18-20
18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates,

We also must remember what God says.

Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

And finally we need to know who we are and how God has made us. We must learn what types of things cause us stress. Some may feel stress when others are expecting too much of them, some will feel it when finances are low, some will feel it when there are too many things to do or remember, and some like myself will not stress about any of those things, but will find themselves feeling great pressure because of relationships.

God showed me something today, I do not worry or stress about very many things, except relationships. My most stressful times are when I have done everything I know how to do to build up a relationship and for some reason; the relationship still is in jeopardy. I become stressed when some of the couples I meet with don’t seem to hear the simple solutions from Gods word. When they come to see me and I pour my heart out trying to help them and they go back and repeat all the same behaviors. I have been known to be up late in the evening worrying about a couple who have been struggling. My stress sometimes comes in the form of wondering how I can get through to them. And sometimes it comes in the form of what could I have said differently to help them. I always end, by acknowledging that it is only my job to tell the story of how God made us and instituted marriage, much of what you will read in my earlier writings and my writings to come, focuses on this very thing.

If you are reading this you might think I should stop meeting with couples to help them in their marriages because it causes me to stress. But, that would be like asking me to stop breathing. I LOVE helping them. Helping couples does not cause me stress. The stress comes when they do not want to be helped or think it is too late. I don’t want to give up on them even if they have. I know God has not given up on them, and that is my struggle, I believe that there is some level of stress or burden or pressure that I feel that is God given, it is my driving force. We all need to find that fine line, without loosing the drive and passion, we need to hear from God, when we have done enough.

This tendency of mine also carries over to my relationships. If there is someone that I am having difficulty getting along with, it will bother me late into the evening. The most stress comes when I have done all I can possibly do before the Lord to salvage the relationship and the other person is not responsive or is unwilling to put forth the same effort.

So after bearing my soul to you and sharing my weaknesses with you, I ask you to take my challenge to do the same and define what areas of your life cause you the most amount of stress, The first step to stressing less is to know your weakest point in your armor. Ask for help from a friend or spouse. And I will try not to stress if you ignore my challenge.

Stress is usually considered a bad thing, but there are some types of pressure that could be defined as stress that motivate us, so in closing I suppose you could define stress in such a way that it would be wrong, but if you do so you will need to stop using the word so much, because stress, pressure, drive and passion are simular and can be the very elements that cause us to make a difference and help others. Don’t think too hard about it. Just keep using your talents and checking in with God regularly to see if He is saying keep going or wait, rest a little, let me show you a miracle or two that have nothing to do with you.