What Happy Couples Know - Week 3 Recap

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:6-7

Thanks for hanging in for the first three weeks of our, "What Happy Couples Know," watch party! We will convene once more at the Srirams' home for the last week of Andy Stanley's sermon series. 

Here is the link to the week three video to catch up or re-watch. There is easy access to the other videos from this page. 

General Notes from Week Three
  • We know that happy couples put each other first in an effort to be last, but what are we supposed to do with our own boxes of hopes, dreams, and desires in the meantime? Whether tangible things like children or houses, or intangible things like the desire to be loved and respected, those items still exist and we are always carrying them around with us. 
  • Some bad options for dealing with your box are to ignore it and just pour/give everything to your spouse until you burn out, stay busy and devote yourself to your work or kids, or just leave the relationship altogether and find someone else. Know, though, that when you leave you're just taking yourself and your box with you in an effort to find someone else to hand it off to.
  • So what's the healthy thing to do? Go small, go humble. (1 Peter 5:5) We are not humble by nature, so humility is something that has to be assumed, put on. The best thing to do when faced with conflict in a relationship, ask yourself, "what would a humble person do," what would it look like to go small here? When you do what a humble person does, you become humble. Your actions speak louder than your thoughts. 
  • Why should we assume humility? "God opposes the proud, but shows [grace] to the humble." (1 Peter 5:5) Humbling ourselves backs us into protection under God's mighty hand and puts us in position to be lifted up in His favor in time. Humility is an invitation to God to do something extraordinary in our lives and relationships.
  • Practically speaking, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." (1 Peter 5:6) Humble yourself before your God - hurl, fling, throw all of your cares, worries, anxieties, and concerns on Your Heavenly Father. God wants us to bring our big box of dreams, hopes, and desires to Him first. He wants us before Him, on our knees with our hands raised (aka humility), and to be loud and honest with Him about ourselves.
  • So no more polite prayers. Be open with the God who made you, who loves you, and wants to know every desire of your heart. Get loud, be mad - cast, hurl, and fling it on your Father. (see Psalm 55:12-23) He wants to take it all from you, but you have to give it Him. Why? Because He cares for you. You're going to take all of this energy somewhere. Why not take it to your Heavenly Father? 
  • Bring it all to him. Take your hopes, dreams, and desires, your fears, your failures, and your heartbreak to Him every day. If you humble yourself before Him with your heart, you open the door for Him to do something remarkable in you and your life and your relationships.
  • From there you may even begin to view your box differently; and the things you hold in there may begin to change. You may also see that you and your spouse actually have the some of the same hopes, dreams, and desires. 
  • Happy couples know that sometimes you have to throw things. 

Praise & Worship
"Oceans"
"Lord, I need You"
"The Greatest Command" 

With love,
Taylor