Bob & Charlyne's Blog - from the heart of a restored marriage

Following my fall in our shower last November, Charlyne insisted that I get a medic alert type device. It has not been used in almost six months, except for tests, but it is still reassuring to know that if I ever needed EMS again, they could be summonsed by a push on the watch-style waterproof device that I wear on my wrist 24 hours a day. The monitoring company can talk to me anywhere in our home. They know who to call in an emergency and even know how paramedics can gain access to our home if I am alone, without chopping down the front door.

Now that God has healed me so much, I have attempted to convince Charlyne that we can do without the small expense of the system. My wife refuses to budge. In an attempt to convince her how well I am doing, I have been leaving the alert device off as much as it is on my wrist. Sunday afternoon I took it off and placed it conspicuously on my dresser, hoping Charlyne would see it and agree it could be returned. If my wife noticed the alert wristband, she never commented.

Monday morning we were up before dawn. Charlyne was going to the hospital with Lori, our daughter, while Ashley was anesthetized for another of her many tests. We prayed together and Lori came by to pick up her Mother. I headed for the shower to get ready to start my day.

Charlyne might not have noticed the missing device, but I sure did--the first time I reached for the soap. In a flash, I had visions of last November, with me lying on the shower floor in excruciating pain. This time there was no wife in the house to scream for. If I had fallen today, there was no neighbor within shouting distance. If I went south, I might spend hours on the shower floor, possible with the water still running.

A dozen scenarios crossed my mind in the next few minutes. What if I hit the hot water control on the way down? I could fall and hit my head. What is I fell over the drain and flooded our home? I had possibly the safest shower, yet one of the quickest of my life this morning. One hand was always tightly gripping the safety bar. As soon as I stepped out, I recover the medical alert button and put it on my wrist, where it will remain.

How securely protected I felt wearing the wristband once again. I also thought about how secure and protected a Christian can be each day when they start the day by praying on the Armor of God. This is what my wife has done since before we remarried, and continues to do today. Not only does Charlyne pray God's protection on herself, she also prays that same way for me and for all of our family. Even if I showered this morning without a device to call people for help, I know that God's help was available for me.

Do you put on the Armor of God every day? Sadly, we know from past polls that most people who are seeking marriage restoration fail to do so. Charlyne writes about this vital step in living a successful Christian life often. You can read one of her Bible Studies explaining the Armor of God when you visit -

http://rejoiceministries.org/r.php?num=o9qbk 

I was typing an email this Saturday morning and the Lord gave me an illustration -

We might not remind standers often enough that the enemy does not go away when a prodigal is home or on the way home. We could compare it to teasing a rabid dog that is on the attack. When the "dog" turns on you, remember he is being restrained by a rope called prayer. Best of all, the other end of that rope is in the Mighty Hand of Jesus. That enemy "dog" might bark and howl, foam at the mouth, and even lunge right at you, but Jesus is holding His end of the rope securely. Charlyne and I pray you have woven your prayers tightly, so that rope will always hold, regardless of the fierce attacks that threaten each of us.

Once in a while something happens that has no application to marriage restoration, but is just too funny not to share.

A few weeks ago Charlyne discovered what she thought was a baby snake inside our screened porch. A couple of days later she found several of the alleged snakes that had somehow made their way inside the screen. Finding one inside the house was the last straw, so my wife called the pest control company. During this process, our children and grandchildren all heard about our baby snake infestation.

Both the pest control man and the yard guy confirmed we did not have an infestation of baby snakes. We had harmless earthworms in the back yard.

If there were ever a proponent of year-round school, it would be Charlyne. Last week, when the kids were out for Easter, one of our granddaughters discovered a bag of black licorice that looked much like the baby snakes, better known as worms, and came up with a scheme.

The Saturday before Easter the nameless granddaughter recruited two of her cousins to help her plant the licorice to scare Grandma. Their trick was very effective.

At first it was funny hearing Charlyne shriek every time she came across what she thought was another slithering creature from outdoors. She found "snakes" everywhere she turned. There was one in her cosmetics and another in the sink. Saturday night, while getting ready for bed, Charlyne reached inside her tissue box and pulled out one of the long, black objects.

I wish I had a video of Charlyne at Church on Easter morning. She unzipped her Bible case and one of the synthetic worms fell out. I cannot imagine how people sitting nearby think we must live, with creatures falling from my wife's Bible.

By Sunday afternoon the attention had turned to hiding Easter egg instead of black licorice. Charlyne now opens drawers more slowly, remembering the granddaughters' warning, "You haven't found all of them Grandma."

The joys I would have missed out on if I had not come home. Some are serious moments, and some, like this, are just fun family memory builders. I can imagine one of those girls, in about 20 or 30 years, remembering the Easter Grandma Charlyne was scared by licorice. I thank God I was here to be a witness.

I found a way to work marriage restoration into the story after all. In fact, after a marriage is restored by God, and the couple have healed, much of what they experience will center around marriage restoration. You need, with God's help, to hang on until that day.

The "Steinkamp Stimulus" contest has just ended. We asked Charlyne Cares readers to share money-saving ideas with other standers. The replies were amazing. Charlyne and I were touched by how frugal the Rejoice family can be. They are pinching pennies because there are not enough pennies to meet the obligations.

We were especially moved by standers describing their food situation. One volunteers at a nursing home because they provide a free lunch. Another purchases cheaper cuts of meat with the bone in so she can use the bone to make soup. Between the lines of these ideas, you can see meals not eaten because there is no food.

I think of the man in the Bible we know as The Good Samaritan who came to the aid of the wounded stranger. He had to choose his attitude. It could have been, "What's mine is mine and I'll keep it." Instead, his actions said, "What's mine is yours and we'll share it."

Please do not read that as, "Send us money so we can feed the world," but if God has been generous in providing for you, be alert to people the Lord puts in your path who you might be able to help. In this economy I would suspect there are people within a few blocks of you who do not have sufficient food for this day.

When we remarried, the sin-riddled third hand furniture from my apartment went into a warehouse. Before long, God sent a family of four to our church who had no furniture. What was my junk was priceless to them.

Charlyne has been at the pharmacy picking up prescriptions when the man in front of her did not have money for his medicine. She discreetly signaled to the clerk that she would pay. I was at the gas station and observed a man putting one dollar of gas in his old clunker. Somehow the gas pump continued on for a few dollars beyond what he had purchased.

I share our examples not to brag on us, because we live on a budget, just like you. But if God puts a need before you, and you feel led to respond and help someone else, remember to always tell them God provided. Two of you will walk away feeling ten feet tall, and our Lord will receive the glory.

Charlyne is out this Saturday morning before Easter with all seven grandkids. Without a doubt, each will go home with an Easter treat. Charlyne is helping to build memories that will last their lifetime.

Christmas is the season associated with memories, but I can recall many a memory from Easter. I can still remember the delicious smell of my great grandmother's Easter ham cooking. I can remember overloading on Easter candy at my grandmothers. Jumping ahead a generation, I remember how good my mother's Easter potato salad tasted. I remember the thrill of dying eggs with my sister. I recall how my mother always took our daughter, Lori out to buy her a new Easter outfit. (I can even remember when ladies wore corsages to church on Easter.) Now it is Lori's own daughter, Kayla, who makes grandpa's cross-shaped cake each Easter. How carefully she dyes the coconut green to represent grass, and conceals jelly beans in it as Easter eggs.

Things are tough right now for many of the families God allows us to work with, but He always provides ways for each of us to build Easter memories for the people around us. Will you do that this weekend?

Sadly, I also recall a couple of Easters when I was a prodigal. How out of place I felt attempting to celebrate Easter with another man's family. How foolish I felt wearing the Easter shirt that the other woman had purchased for me. I might have gone through the motions, but deep inside I knew this was all wrong. My praying wife and our kids needed me on Easter, not a replacement family.

Please pray with us that prodigals will find their way to church tomorrow. May pastors be prepared with messages that lead people to receive Christ, and that start prodigals on the way home. May lives be changed for all eternity as men and women, boys and girls, come to Christ. Now that would be a beautiful Easter memory.