#3. Accountability

When you get married, someone lives with you basically all the time. All your habits and routines are in plain view. Though possible, it is usually hard to hide things or be secretive of how you spend your time. All this points to the blessing of accountability. Together you can mold each other to be more pleasing to God. Just last week, I was watching an unedifying video on youtube.  Joyce awakened my conscience on what I’d been polluting my eyes and heart with. A proud man would harden his heart and find this constantly annoying. But a humble man would graciously receive the gift that is his wife–the gift that is marriage. Hope I stay humble.

#4. Laughter

There a lot of times that you just laugh at each other! One time Joyce and I were talking and during the conversation she was making a noise pretending to sleep/snore. It was so cute and unexpected that I was soon laughing myself in stitches. It was so funny! I’ve also already shared my sleep-talking story…. :P

Joyce and I have been married 44 days now. After the wedding, honeymoon, and move, we’ve been settling into normal married life. I think it’ll be fun to spend the next dozen posts on the blessings I’ve received in marriage. Let’s start with two:

#1. Yummy food
Joyce has been blossoming into quite the cook. She usually goes on allrecipies.com and tries out all the highly rated recipes of interest.

#2. Serving God
Part of why it’s so important to marry in the Lord, is so that you can serve God together. Imagine getting married and a month later, asking your non-believing husband/wife if you can leave home for a week to help out as a SSC counselor and serve the RE students. That conversation may not go so well. On the other hand, think about the mutual understanding that takes place when I have to stay late Saturday for a church council meeting or when Joyce is away for a week at SSC and two weeks at NYTS. This is a great blessing of marriage. It helps us both live a life of meaning–without persecution or complaint–to serve our true and living God.

Joyce had her first encounter with me sleep-talking last night. This is how the conversation went.

Joyce walking into the bedroom. I’m already sleeping. Apparently, I turn over to her, still asleep and say:

S: “Oh no!”
J: thinking I’m awake, “What Sam?”
S: “There’s icing inside the cockpit!”
J: “What?”
S: “There’s icing inside the cockpit!”
J: “What?”
S: “There’s icing inside the cockpit!”
J: realizing I am asleep. “Oh, are we in a plane?”
S: “Yeah”
J: “Oh where are we going?”
S: “…I don’t know…”
J: “So, what are you going to do about it?”
S: “About what?”
J: “The icing.”
S: “Oh,” pause for thought, “I’ll lick it.” then I turned over to face the other side.

Oh man. My next birthday is the begining of the end. Personally, I think I mentally peaked at age 19.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

– Teddy Roosevelt

Lincoln is my favorite presdient. Teddy Roosevelt is my second. Both could write well.

Reminds me of 2 Tim 4:7.