Tag: going to the chapel

Four Powerful Words

Mihaela Echols27 Comments

looking at peter

Companionship

Partnership

Children

Tending (the earth)

    These four words are the words that are going to make our marriage work. They are our reasons for our mission: marriage. There is a  power behind each word reminding us to die to ourselves and glorify God every day for the rest of our lives.

Let us define them….

Companionship:
The romantic part of our relationship that can not die out. If within our marriage we let romance die….we become slaves to a piece of paper and a ring. We glorify God when romance blossoms and grows.

Partnership:
Teamwork that is vital. We are partners with God to accomplish the things He has set out before us. Without God effective partnership between us could not exist.

Children:
As future parents we have an opportunity to pour Biblical wisdom, show Christ’s love, and be Godly examples for our children. By doing this they too will learn to love Him. 

Tending (the earth):
This really is another phrase for nurturing our mission of marriage. 

    Marriage is the front line of the spiritual battled field. There is nothing like two people coming together and loving each other like Christ. Satan hates it.
As soon as we were engaged the battles were all around for Peter and me. Our patience and self control were being tested more so than when we started dating. I honestly thought that it wouldn’t be harder but when we say we are committed to each other and Christ it is harder.
My engagement ring broke the week he was leaving for Malawi. The week before that, my car was hit in the parking lot while his car was having problems too. Two weeks before the wedding both of our cars died and I didn’t have a phone.
All the little things kept getting under my skin. Old insecurities from my past were arising. We were in spiritual warfare.  Although our eyes were up and our prayers were constant there were many times we wanted to take the “easy route”. But what seemed easy in the moment would only hurt us in the long run.
We have the choice to fight for our mission. Fighting for God’s glory is love. This is what we have been learning, applying, and treasuring for our marriage. 

Written by: Peter & Mihaela

https://hylachamberlain.wordpress.com/2015/06/24/my-retreat/

My Retreat

Mihaela Echols21 Comments

 

2 Corinthians 4:16-18
“Therefore we do not lose heart.
Though outwardly we are wasting away,
yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us
an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen,
but on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
but what is unseen is eternal.”

“Malawi…Peter is in Malawi” I answer when everyone asks where he is.

    He is gone for a month.

    The first night away from him I was in a daze. I looked around. No one was there. Amen. No honestly Amen. It doesn’t sound like I miss him, but I do. There are countless times in a day I want to hear his voice or even watch my phone buzz knowing it’s him on the other line. 

    But he is not my everything. God is. 

    This is where God has us right now in our engagement and we are both happy because this month away is only going to make us stronger as a couple. Readers do not miss this part. I am not talking about our distance and lack of communication. I am talking about what we are doing in our month away. He is in Malawi serving missionaries, welding, and serving  the people living there. I am on a retreat! This is our separate season and we are taking advantage of it by serving Christ. I am overwhelmed by how far God is bringing us as a couple and as individuals.  I don’t know the girl I was a year ago. She is a stranger. 

    This retreat has been awakening to what God is doing in my heart. I have been able to catch up with old friends and get started on more ministry projects, and dive into the word. He is preparing me to become a partner, a companion,  a mother, and missionary with Peter. Some areas need more work than others but pardon my progress. When Peter comes back he will be different as well. Both of us stronger in Christ than we were when we said good by for a month. 

https://hylachamberlain.wordpress.com/2014/12/12/the-gentlemen/

https://hylachamberlain.wordpress.com/2015/05/10/going-to-the-chapel/

 

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https://www.bloglovin.com/people/hylaechols-17002353

The Gentlemen

Mihaela Echols20 Comments

imagejpeg_2 (20)

He initiates, I run. 

He waits, I waver. 

He waits, I play.

He waits, I take a step back. 

He waits, I play.

He waits. 

Will this too much playing make him leave me for sure?

He steps back. Sparks fly.

He waits. Has he given up or is he a gentlemen who knows he’s in love?

    I’m starting a new ministry! I just cant seem to get enough of it. It’s called in a relationship with Peter Echols. So sorry, but it will be only the three of us. Did I say three? Yes, I was not mistaken. Three of us: God and then us. What I’m looking forward to most about this new ministry is learning how to treat him with respect and all the other ministry projects we will be helping with. If you have read The Scariest Road and Goodwill boys you will see why I emphasize treating him with respect. God has brought both of us so far already in singleness and we both have agreed to respect each other and encourage each other in our walks with Christ. 

    The writing above in red is about us these past months. I was unsure, and afraid, but now that we have entered this next step I am thrilled to see where we will be in these next few months. 

https://hylachamberlain.wordpress.com/2015/06/29/four-powerful-words/

https://hylachamberlain.wordpress.com/2015/05/10/going-to-the-chapel/

https://hylachamberlain.wordpress.com/2015/09/01/our-dream-wedding/