What Hallmark Movies Taught Me About Marriage

Eyes glued to the screen, another Hallmark movie captured my heart’s undivided attention. 

It’s what my heart was tempted to stay hooked on: A storyline of love beating the odds, while fulfilling many of my own desires and dreams about love.

These Hallmark movies are a kind of escape from reality, even if just for a few moments.

But here’s the big difference between the movies and our own reality: There’s always a happy ending on Hallmark movies.

Always.

Soon, if we aren’t careful, we compare the happy endings with our own reality and the result is disappointment. 

Since I wanted an even closer look at what happened in my heart and mind as I watched these near fairy-tale films, I decided to view a Hallmark movie and made some mental notes of how it affected me.

And this is what I found.

All’s Well in the Hallmark Universe

In this particular film, a young couple planned their upcoming wedding at a beautiful venue. While there were glitches in the wedding plans, extended family issues, and miscommunication between the bride and groom, all was finally good in the universe as they worked out each issue. 

I couldn’t help but think about the message this sends to the many couples experiencing or who will experience glitches in marriage or family. Such as a miscommunication between our spouse and us. And if it doesn’t end well? What then?

Also, I discovered my heart getting caught up in the beginning stages of romance, first love. Ah, sweet love. Then I remembered when my husband and I were young, in love, and in the initial stages of our blossoming relationship.

So are we different today? A resounding Yes! We’ve been married over three decades, of course our relationship is different than in the beginning. Because different is often better and sweeter.

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How to Take Ownership of My Response

While I can’t control the response of others, there are some ways to take ownership of how I respond.

Whether it’s our spouse, our children, extended family or friends, we often respond in either inappropriate ways or at the inopportune time.

You know that saying, “Open mouth and insert foot.”? 

Because we all have times we let our mouths run ahead of us. Or, we think we must say the first thing that pops in to our head. Or, we assume we are right and the other person is clearly wrong. 

But we can’t physically see or determine what is going on behind the scenes—what underlying issues may contribute to the other person’s words and responses.

So let’s unpack three ways we take ownership of how we respond.

(1.) Realize I can never control the responses of others; I only control my response through help from the Holy Spirit.

I’ll never control the words or responses of others. I only control how I respond. And I possess the power to control my good and godly response when I’m walking in the Spirit. 

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Hang-ups About Love and Recapturing the Truth

Hang-ups about love leaked from emotionally expensive experiences. ~Jo Ann Fore

Often, we hold misconceptions about love from personal experiences.

Maybe we formed wrong ideas about love from our childhood. 

Or, somewhere along the way, we experienced a lack of love, abandonment, abuse, neglect or broken promises and a broken heart. 

But if we uncover the misconceptions, hang-ups, emotionally expensive experiences caused in our hearts regarding love, we discover the truth.

Hang-ups: Overuse and misuse of the term love. 

We use the term love to describe affections for everything from possessions and food to our favorite sports teams and music. 

You might hear me say, “I love cinnamon rolls, chai tea lattes, sunsets, boots or pasta.” Likewise, we may use “hate” for things we don’t like.

Even if the good Lord never intended our overuse and misuse of the word love in this way, it’s a part of our culture. 

And when I love and I hate are so carelessly thrown around, our hearts may not distinguish between when love’s attached to emotions and people and when it’s not.

Uncovering hang-ups about love, formed from emotionally expensive experiences, helps us discover the truth. Share on X

Hang-ups: When love is missing.

How many kids have made statements like: 

“My dad worked a lot to give me the world, but all I wanted was for him to love me.” 

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Confident God’s Able of Immeasurably More

Praying for you to the God who does immeasurably more than we ask or imagine.

I sent this message to a friend with the assurance we serve and pray to the God of immeasurably more. 

Immeasurably More

Because this particular Scripture is one of my favorites: 

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)

Google tells us immeasurably means, “to an extreme or extensive degree; immensely.”

And defines more as “a greater or additional amount or degree.”

Therefore, it’s doubled in degree and greatness and amount.

Far More Abundantly

I also like how the ESV states it.

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

Again, according to Google, abundantly means “in large quantities; plentifully.”

And so we conclude these things about God’s ability. It’s extreme or extensive, greater and additional amount, and in large, plentiful quantities.

Kneeling and Praying

But what does it mean for us and praying? Also, what comes before verse 20 in chapter 3 of Ephesians causing the Apostle Paul to began with Now?

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10 Ways God Desires to Set Apart His People

Sometimes we misunderstand what set apart means for God’s people.

Because the purpose in being set apart is to be set to something else. 

Biblically speaking, something else is desiring what God desires for us.

It means desiring someone else—God. And not desiring the things of this world more.

So here are 10 things God desires to set us apart from that help us to desire Him.

(1.) God desires to set us apart from other gods.

Even after we realize God is the one true God, we still struggle with letting Him reign supreme in our lives. And other gods are anything or anyone that take the Lord’s place in our heart—even “me.”

(2.) God desires to set us apart from religion. 

When the Lord sets us apart from the rules and regulations of doing to obtain salvation, we are free to just being in Him, His free gift of grace. This sets us to a deep and intimate relationship with the God of the universe.

When the Lord sets us apart from the rules and regulations of 'doing' to try to obtain salvation, we are free to just 'being' in Him, His free gift of grace. This 'sets us to' a deep and intimate relationship with God. Share on X Read More…