PICK

I once heard a Pastor say that the trick to keeping a strong marriage was only 2 things – 1. Love God  2. Sleep naked.  Writing that makes me want to have t-shirts made with that slogan.  Love God & Sleep Naked.  But I digress.

What happens when you get married?  If you aren’t careful you can fall into a rut.  Before you know it you have a roommate, not a spouse.  Why?  Because you fail to set priorities to connect.  I always counsel in my pre-marital appointments to PRIORITIZE time together.  Set a date night.  Find time to just be together – without the kids, dog, iPhone, iPad, or iAnything.

One way you can accomplish this is simply by going to bed together.  I didn’t realize how unique it was to do this in a marriage.  We didn’t know any better!  Jennifer and I have always gone to bed at the same time.  But undoubtably, the night owl marries the ‘early to bed and early to rise.’  You are polar opposites trying to do life together.  But this simple act of going to bed together does a few things:

• Promotes conversation.  I know I’m always trying to fall asleep and Jennifer decides to tell me her whole day.  But wives NEED this time to share.  Now you’re a captive audience.
• Prevents separation.  I think it keeps you from becoming roommates.  Separation is not really great for a marriage, despite us saying that ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder.’  Continual absence does not, however.
• Protects purity.  There’s too much crap on TV now.  And if you are like most people you don’t have the computer in the bedroom.  Going to bed together keeps each of you from looking at smut while the other is asleep.
• Prompts intimacy.  Its kinda hard to be ‘together’ when you’re not together!  I’m going to refrain from being too descriptive here.

I think this is one simple revolutionary idea that could really transform your marriage.  I know it requires a change in schedule.  But just commit to it and create a regular routine.  And start doing life together – including sleeping.  That whole naked thing is up to you.

You can’t out-give God.  Sorry for the cliche, but it’s true.

Before Jennifer and I got married we had ‘the talk’.  Not the sex talk the money talk.  And things didn’t add up.  Too much month at the end of the money.  But after much weeping and nashing of teeth we proceeded with the wedding – and with tithing.  10% right off the top.  No questions asked.

Now my wife and I made a whopping 45K a year, maybe that.  And while in TX we paid off her student loans, a car, bought an old beat up pickup with cash (which I’m still bitter we sold before moving), all of our credit cards, and a partridge in a pear tree.  Trust me it was a lot.  But we were paying off stuff like mad.

Fast-forward to 2007-2008.  Each year we would try to increase our giving by some amount, 1/2%, 1%, something.  Then we started having babies. :0)  And babies cost money.  We thought, ‘well God would want us out of debt first, right?’  So we decreased our giving so we could sock it towards debt.  It wasn’t a lot.  It just took us back to 10%.  Funny thing happened.  Money felt tighter.  So we re-evaluated.  And decided to go back to God’s math.  Guess what.  Money doesn’t feel as tight as before.  Oh trust me.  We still budget, and shift, and shuffle, and pinch pennies.  But in the end we realized that when God is first in the finances everything else falls into place.

If you’re not giving 10% off the top I challenge you to START there.  Sure its a jolt to the system.  But when you do it as long as I have it seems normal (and you’ll swear by it to all of the doubters).  I promise the math doesn’t make sense.  But is it supposed to?  Instead, maybe God’s math is supposed to do just that – make you look at God.

Born April 8, 09
11:04 PM
5 lbs 12 oz

We evidently love excitement in our life. Tubal pregnancies, IVF, failed pregnancies that actually ended up being a successful pregnancy. Let’s see…. What else? Oh forgot about the ruptured cyst. Through it all God has protected, provided, and giv en us peace.

Now we get to add one more to the mix – previa. Looks like at 33 weeks Jennifer has booked herself a 3 week stay in the hospital. Just too far along to risk her going into labor and bleeding. We’ll have a c-section in the next few weeks, so she’ll just stay put till then. 1. Pray for Weston’s lungs. 2. Pray that the surgery is uneventful and that they don’t have to remove anything but a baby. 3. And pray for sanity!

I currently am tapping my thumbs against a lit-up piece of glass and watching letters pop up. I’ve been wanting an iphone as long as they’ve been out, but the budget rules and over-budget bathrooms pinch the wallet. But Tuesday night the volunteer leaders surprised me with enough cash to get one for my birthday. Thank you all!

Oh. Please pray for Jennifer. If she hears the word ‘app’ one more time I think she’ll scream!

When the iPhone came out, I must admit – I coveted.  Lord please forgive me.  Come on!  That thing is amazing!  The lines.  The vivid colors.  The usability.  The….well you get the picture.

But I waited.  For a few reasons.  First, I ain’t got da cash.  But selling stuff was a consideration.

Second, porn.  You heard me.  Porn.  Don’t like that word huh?  Makes you uncomfortable?  Well consider this, 47% of families say that pornography is an issue in their home.  The average age a kid sees pornography? 11.  Over 50% of men say that pornography is an issue.  And even more than that say that pornography is a temptation.  See where I’m going.  So I use filters and accountability.  In the office we use filters.  “You don’t trust each other?”  “You’re too weak?”  Think what you may, but boundaries are necessary in every area of life.  And by choosing to use filters we are saying that this thing of integrity is too important to let get messed up.

I think that cellular porn is the next thing to bring men down.  First it was the internet, which allowed men to see ‘easy’ porn without having to hide there face at the local Fast Mart.  Now, streaming videos on your phone.

I’m not superman.  And I’m not going to open myself up to a whole mess of things.  So I refused the iPhone.  Argh.  Until now!  If you have an iPhone, you can now surf without wondering what will pop up next.  Safe Eyes has come out with a new iPhone app!

Now all I have to do is sell something.

My kid’s the cutest.

Gavin – Me Don’t Like, wife likes.

Asa – Wife Don’t Like….me love.

Liam – Both are leaning this way.

Did I mention I LOVE Asa.

Weston – Both really liked this.

Weston Liam Pickwell would go well with the Wyatt Lee Pickwell.

Now we are thinking William Asa Pickwell but call him Liam.

HELP!

Weston Liam Pickwell?

William Asa Pickwell?

It’s a boy!  In May we’ll have another boy.  Jennifer is happy because now we can resuse all of Wyatt’s old clothes.  Easier on the pocketbook.  Another thing that is easy on the pocketbook is the fact that we don’t have to pay for 2 weddings in the future!

One of my Christmas presents…  Beware squirrels.