How To Make Marriage A Dream...

Sent by a Friend as quoted from Kerygma...

HOW TO MAKE MARRIAGE A DREAM
(not a nightmare)

Next to your salvation, your choice of a wife or husband is the most important decision you will ever make in your life. Marriage can be one of life's most wonderful blessings, but it can be an endless nightmare to those who have chosen carelessly.
As in all other areas of our life, God will guide us to the right mate as we trust Him and submit to His will (Proverbs 3:5). A believer should seek to marry another believer, not merely one who professes to be a Christian, but whose life also demonstrates long-term stable Christian behavior.
Do not be led by your emotions. Infatuation is often mistaken for love. Real love is not something you "fall" into. It's something you commit yourself to, and sacrifice yourself for.
Never marry anyone on the basis of his/her appearance, sexual appeal or material things. Only shallow, foolish people do that. Choose a marriage companion on the basis of what's inside his/her heart, not what's on the outside.
The Bible teaches us to count the cost of all our decisions before we make them. "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it?" (Luke 14:28). Since marriage is supposed to last a lifetime (1 Corinthians 7:39), we should carefully weigh the cost. Marriage is a sacred covenant between you and your spouse, and with God. It will be a lifetime of give-and-take, sharing and compromising. Are you willing to make these sacrifices for your mate? Remember, marriage is intended to endure, whether better or worse, "till death do you part."
A good marriage requires that God be the center. If He is not the center of your relationship with your companion prior to marriage, He'll not likely be the center of your marriage later.
Never marry anyone on the basis that he/she will change after marriage. Bad habits often become worse, not better. People are usually "already" on their "best" behavior before marriage.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

"One of the reasons so many singles are dissatisfied is that they're looking for a change in status to define their significance, rather than finding a purpose in life, granted by God, that gives them significance regardless of the status they're in."

Anonymous