Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Short Story: Making Tough Choices

Christ's Church of the Valley (CCV) likes to run short, 250-word stories in each weekend's bulletin to tie in with the sermon or events happening within the church. The approximate bulletin count is 9,500 every weekend.

Making Tough Choices

“My life was a mess; it was a total disaster. I was trying to get through each day on my own, fighting it tooth and nail. I never once stopped to think about turning it all over and surrendering it to God…. I struggled for over 20 years in work, in relationships, with finances, and every other aspect of my life,” explains new CCV member Kevin Wells.

Kevin and his fiancé Jan have both gone through rocky marriages and rough divorces in the past resulting in a search for more. The search for something greater led them both to Jesus. As new followers of Christ, Kevin and Jan gained a new sense of peace and purpose.

“A sense of peace has come over me and my life since giving my life over to Jesus. I am able to think, process and make decisions with a sound mind which gives me direction and purpose in life knowing that everything will be okay. As a result, everything has been going good—one day at a time, one step at a time—things are falling into place and that didn’t happen before,” explains Jan Pinet.

In their new relationship together, Kevin and Jan have had to make some tough choices. Choices that the world doesn’t encourage, but choices that glorify Christ…. Kevin and Jan, who had been living together, made a commitment to move out and abstain from sex until their wedding date. They have also committed to keeping Christ the center of their relationship—a link that was missing in their past relationships.

Kevin and Jan’s story reminds us that tough choices are never easy, but always worth it in the end. “We are both starting our lives over, except this time with God’s guidance. We were very fortunate to have taken different paths in life that have led us to the same place. We believe that Jesus brought us together so we could take this spiritual journey together, and it has been a very rewarding journey. We’re very committed and motivated to growing in our lives with Jesus. We know that life will continue to be filled with challenges, but we have faith that Jesus will lead us through them,” Kevin and Jan explain.

Short Story: Making Marriage Work

Christ's Church of the Valley (CCV) likes to run short, 250-word stories in each weekend's bulletin to tie in with the sermon or events happening within the church. The approximate bulletin count is 9,500 every weekend.

Making Marriage Work

Tony and Nancy Smith had to travel the road marked full of pain and brokenness before their marriage was restored. The breakdown in their marriage was partially caused by ignoring each other’s needs instead of nurturing them.

“Throughout our marriage, I did not understand my needs and Nancy’s needs were so different. I just assumed that we both needed the same things. This lack of understanding resulted in us growing apart from each other,” Tony explained. Their story sounds familiar and reminds us to not take the commitment of marriage lightly…doing so could have major consequences.

After four years of being married, Tony began having an affair. Nancy had every right to seek out a divorce, but an inner voice continued to speak to her every time she moved forward with it. In fact, the very day she was to pay the lawyer to set things into motion, she ended up walking out of the lawyer’s office with her check in hand. She just couldn’t do it because she knew God had other plans for her marriage.

During this time of brokenness, Nancy had visited CCV and felt God holding her for the very first time. “I knew that God wanted me to follow Him from that day forward, and I told Him that I would,” Nancy recalls.

Shortly after, Tony started attending church with Nancy. With the support of a Christian marriage counselor and their church, Tony and Nancy committed their marriage to Christ and have followed Him closely since then. “We are truly in love and make sure that we meet each other’s needs every day. We put God first in everything we do!”