The Peasant Princess: Top Ten

The past couple of months I have been blessed by Mars Hill Seattle's series entitled The Peasant Princess based of the book of Song of Solomon. I have watched every sermon and during the process have been taught and challenged on every level as a Christian husband and father. For some silly reason we think that pre-married counseling is an end all discussion when talking about our marriage - when really it should be the start of continually examining your marriage while always striving to learn more and more about your spouse and how you can serve he/she better. Here are my Top Ten quotes or ideas that I remember as I reflect on this great teaching series. Some are practical personally, others are just great observations of culture and can be used as I Pastor and do marital counseling.

1. My Wife = My Standard of Beauty. When my standard of beauty changes - that is when marriages start falling apart. Replacement of your wife being the standard of beauty - can lead to a trainwreck of a marriage. This is obviously an issue as the cultural standard of beauty is sold/advertised/marketed/placed in front of us at all times.
2. In my marriage I am after INTERDEPENDENCE, not INDEPENDENCE.
3. Date Night = PRIORITY. With two kids (22 months and 1 month) - my wife and I need 1 time a week to go out on a date. Why? To connect, to talk, to get to know each other better - so we don't get to be empty nesters w/ nothing to talk about. The past 5 weeks we have had date night each week no matter what - and it has been awesome!
4. Before I touch my wife physically - I need to touch her mind, her heart, and her soul.
5. Selfishness - In a marriage - research shows that it takes 9 years to remove oneself from all selfishness within. The worst part about this is people get divorced and then repeat the worst years.
6. Cohabitation Quote = "Cohabitation includes - Hook up, Shake up, Break up."
7. Dudes - In our culture guys typically want all the benefits, but want/take no responsibility.
8. Pornography Quote = "Just cause we are thirsty - doesn't mean we drink from the toilet."
9. Divorce Quote = "So many Christian couples are divorced in every way, but the paperwork - and they ridiculously pat themselves on the back for not getting a divorce."
10. Childhood = A lot of what happens in one's childhood - greatly affects how they define, think about, and behave when they are married.

You can watch all the sermons here. Driscoll has produced a free online book available to help those struggling with pornography. You can download that here.

I feel like in church we don't talk about marriage, sex, and parenting enough. We have at times failed to deal with real issues that the Bible addresses. I am glad that Driscoll steps out and talks on these issues, and that Mars Hill shares this content for free. Please check it out if you are married or preparing for marriage.