Tag: love

What This Generation of Anabaptists Really Needs

By Asher Witmer Church Life, Spiritual Formation
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I’m speaking specifically to Anabaptist churches. Not because they are worse than others and not because they are better. I speak to Anabaptists because I am one. I understand this denomination the most. I feel the frustrations others feel as they work with their Anabaptist brothers and sisters. I value the upbringing and heritage I have been given, as many Anabaptists do.

This generation of Anabaptists wants to know we won’t be written off when we verbalize the frustrations we feel. We want people to care, to invest in us and help us chart an even better course—no matter how good or bad the current one is. But in our ambition for the change we want, I fear we may neglect what we really need.

We don’t need everyone to stay “Anabaptist,” neither do we need everyone to leave. I see at least seven things this generation of Anabaptist really needs.

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How to Know She’ll Say “Yes!”

By Asher Witmer Romance & Family
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“You just know when it’s right.” That’s what everyone says when asked how to know when you’ve met the right person to marry. Sometimes, it feels like a cheesy cop-out.

Dating relationships are risky. You get to know each other and see if it’s a fit. The time span of that differs. The depth of relationship may differ, but when the time is right for marriage, you have a mutual sense of agreement. You really do “just know,” and engagement is simply a formal declaration of what is already felt.

However, sometimes we can oversimplify complex questions we face in life. I believe the four questions posed in the following article can help any guy identify whether or not he’s ready to propose and whether or not she may be ready to say yes.

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“I’m sick and I’d like to feel better. Do I worship my health?”

By Asher Witmer Christian Spirituality
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Prayer meetings across our nation are deteriorating, while health campaigns are increasing. Something is out of order. There is no doubt that we value our health and wealth, and the emotions that surface when they are threatened expose the fact that we value it more than we should.

But what about those who do struggle with chronic illness? If you are living in constant pain, is it wrong to seek relief? What does it mean to seek first the Kingdom of God when you are faced with chronic pain?

It seems to me that those who have struggled at length with health issues understand something about God that the rest of us don’t. What is it? What do they know that we don’t? What do they have that we don’t have?

 

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Worn-Out Parents Like to Hear This Important Truth

By Asher Witmer Relationships, Spiritual Formation

I used to think that to develop holiness you need to develop good spiritual disciplines. But when I got married and started having children, I ran into trouble.

No matter how hard I tried and no matter how disciplined I had been before, my “good spiritual disciplines” kept getting interrupted by the responsibilities of marriage and parenting. It’s not uncommon for my wife and I to stay up late talking. Those times are good and needed. But then it’s harder to wake up in the morning.

Recently, this happened on a Friday evening and I thought we’d be able to sleep in the next day because it’s Saturday, right? Both our boys woke up at 6:30 the next morning. We had been up ‘till after midnight. It had been a busy week. All I wanted to do was sleep!

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Love, Hate, and the Sacred Marriage

By Asher Witmer Resources & Reviews, Romance & Family

Marriage is intense! The overpowering sensations of finally marrying the lady you love is enough to make the most pragmatic guy lose his balance. But why don’t those feelings last forever? What causes the thrill of it all fade within a few months?

Yesterday, my wife and I celebrated our second anniversary. That’s not a long time, but there are days it feels like a miracle that we made it this far.

I remember within a few weeks after our wedding—after I ambitiously committed to gently loving my wife forever—getting so frustrated with her. It surprised me. Sure, I knew we’d bump into differences at some point, but what shocked me most was how soon I had evil thoughts about her.

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