Commitment

First, I am posting this picture of our youngest grandson who visited here in July with his family. It was hard to choose a layout, since I have not been posting  to this blog for a long time. I'm hoping to get back to a regular routine. I would like to make a commitment, but am a little afraid to do so just yet.  I have lots and lots of layouts to share. I am happy that I just happened to think of the song, I Want to Make the World Turn Around  by Steve Miller. It is a wonderful song and goes well with these pictures of Oliver and our globe.

The word commitment can be used in more than one way. To tell the truth, I don't want to be committed...to a mental hospital. ;) The word commitment is generally one that lacks meaning to many people in today's world. It is one that we need to step back and  study  more deeply.

I received this newsletter several days ago from Rick Warren. I kept it because I wanted to know what it said., but I didn't have the time to commit to it that day. I just now read it and it is very meaningful to me. Ron and I may be celebrating our 48th anniversary this next week and I can relate. It has not always been perfect, but we have been committed. all along. Thank God.

I am copying  the whole letter here. Hopefully it will mean a lot to you and you will be able to relate in some way.

To Make a Connection, make a Commitment

By Rick Warren — Aug 18, 2015

“A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24 ESV) Good relationships don’t happen by accident. They take cultivation, work, and a lot of time. That requires commitment! I cannot count the number of times that my wife Kay and I have felt like walking out of our marriage, particularly in the early years. There were so many times we thought, “This is not worth it. We’re so different. This marriage could never work.”  But we didn’t walk out. Why? Because we’d made a commitment. We took a vow — “Till death do us part” — not just to each other but also to God. So we said, “We’re going to keep this commitment even if it kills us.” And it nearly did! There have been times in our marriage that the only thing that kept us together was that commitment — not love or interest but simply the commitment we made to God. I am so glad that we did not give up. Today, my wife is my best friend, and I cannot imagine my life without her.  The Bible says in Proverbs 18:24, “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (ESV). Did you know that your socializing can keep you from having deep relationships? You can be so busy networking, contacting, socializing, and making acquaintances that you never give the time and energy and effort it takes to cultivate the deep, satisfying intimacy of a good friend or a good wife or a good husband.  It’s not wrong to have a lot of acquaintances, but they can keep you so busy that you don’t develop any vital, close relationships. You don’t need a lot of friends to make it in this world, but you do need a few good ones. You need to focus on quality, not quantity. Your acquaintances — your hundreds of Facebook “friends” and Instagram followers — aren’t necessarily going to be there when you need them. But the friends you are truly connected and committed to will. Every important, close connection begins with a commitment. If you want to get beyond shallow, superficial relationships, you’ve got to be willing to stick with it.