Newsletter December 2012

December 2012 - Thanks

As we face this holiday season and focus on what we are thankful for, you, and the part you play in our ministry, immediately come to mind!  That is why we are forwarding you the enclosed letter (see below) from a couple who also want to thank you.

Helping couples like Johnny and Amy is so rewarding but with the rejoicing comes the weight of responsibility.  Marriage is key to God’s plan for us.  The first thing God did in the garden with Adam and Eve was to have a wedding ceremony.  John’s Revelation tells us that at the end of this age there will be a marriage supper of the Lamb.  God started His plan for us with marriage and will end time as we know it with a marriage.  See how significant marriage is to God’s agenda?

In over 25 years of marriage ministry God has allowed us to gain experience and gather quality biblical tools for helping couples.  You allow us to use this expertise to not just keep marriages together but to make couples happy and fulfilled in their relationship.

Simply put, we could not do this strategic and powerful ministry without you praying and sacrificially giving to help this ministry succeed. 

You can give right now by clicking here then click the "Give" tab

As we look toward the end of our fiscal year, your year-end giving is essential.  Our budget is made up of monthly giving and special gifts; extra giving at this time of year is a significant portion of our annual operational plan.  Will you help us close out the year in a positive position?

Please pray for us and ask God what He would have you do?

We also ask that you please let us pray for you by sending us an email with your request to (kevin@marriageintheraw.com) 

We rejoice, knowing that God will bless you because of your generous heart to continue helping couples like Johnny and Amy.

Rejoicing in new beginnings!

Kevin and Paula

Thank-you from Johnny and Amy

November 18, 2012

To whom it may concern,

     My husband and I have been married for 15 years this past September. I honestly did not believe that we would make it to this last anniversary. We have been having problems in our marriage for the last 6 years and at the beginning of this year things began to look a little vague for us both. We had both lost all hope in each other and our marriage. On the day I had decided to contact a lawyer for a divorce, my husband contacted Kevin and Paula Hartman thru our pastor’s advice. He called me up and asked me to give us another chance and that’s where (as we like to say) a new beginning started for us.

     WOW! Is all that really comes to mind when we think of Kevin and Paula! They have been heavenly, God sent angels for the Shadell family. We have not only enjoyed our meetings with them but we’ve learned so much about ourselves, our children, marriage, forgiveness and communication thru the teaching and guidance of these two wonderful people! Words cannot truly express how thankful we are for meeting this wonderful couple. The thing that has stood out to us the most is how transparent they are with us. They have shared some of their personal testimonies of their past with us and this has given us hope that we too can make it thru this difficult time of our lives.

     This has been an eventful journey for us both. I feel like we are truly getting a second chance at this thing called marriage. First and foremost we give thanks and honor to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Second to Kevin and Paula Hartman and Marriage in the Raw for our second chance and New Beginning!

May God Bless You All,

Johnny and Amy Shadell

What a year!

It is one year to the day since our last blog!  Wow!  Like the old adage:  Time sure flies when you’re having fun!   Actually like what the frog said better:  “ime sure  is fun when you’re having flies!”

A lot has happened in our lives since that day.  Our house sold in Virginia, moved to Arkansas into a smaller house (much downsizing!), became grandparents (smiles!!), and started a new ministry!  Phew!

The ministry we began is called “Marriage in the Raw.”  Our website is currently under construction, but if you go to marriageintheraw.org you can get a glimpse of our goals and our heart for this ministry.

And being grandparents, wow, what a joy!  Everyone told us how great it was and they were right!  Because our office is in our home, we get to watch Coen a lot and are enjoying it tremendously.  We love being Gramps and Grammy!

And not to forget our kids!  Since all three live in Little Rock, too, we are so thrilled to be near them again.  At times we just smile and thank God when Christa “stops by” after work or we go out to eat with Josh and Jenn or Shaun, Kristin and Coen come over to watch the game.

That’s our update for now and hope to be sharing thoughts more frequently in the future!  ‘Til next time…

 

Lower Than A Snake's Belly

Ever feel discouraged?  I (Paula) have dealt with bouts of depression my entire life.  I often confess that if it had not been for God I would have called it quits a long time ago.   So, if you, along with me, sometimes feel “lower than a snake’s belly” (as my daddy used to say), listen to someone else who felt the same way:

My life seems in shambles.  I am a laughingstock to my people.  Even when I call out or cry for help, God shuts out my prayer.  I have been deprived of peace; I have forgotten what prosperity is…

I will remember all my afflictions and my soul is downcast within me.

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope.  Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, The Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for him.  The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him…  Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.”  (written by Jeremiah and found in Lamentations 3)

Thank you, Lord, that you have preserved accounts of your children who bared their souls, who faced the questions, the inequities, and the ups and downs of life that I do.   And thank you, that through their encounters with you, I can find hope and peace and compassion as they also admit their deep trust and dependence on you.

Is there hope for my marriage?

We often get this question when trying to help couples struggling in their marriage.  Our answer?  Yes!  That's why we believe in "happily ever after."  Listen to the words of Philip Yancey:  "...most fairy tales have a happy ending.  That old instinct, hope, billows up.  Like life, fairy tales include much struggle and pain, yet even so they manage to resolve in a way that replaces tears with smiles."  Are there struggles in marriage?  Struggles in life?  Of course!  But given the right tools, giving a little time and effort, and allowing God entrance into a marriage, it  goes from the hard work of staying together to the fine art of "happily ever after" turning your tears into smiles.

So begins the Hartman blog to blast us into the technological age!  Thanks to our daughter, Christa, this is happening.  She set it up and encouraged us to proceed through our fears of causing a computer meltdown in order to connect our lives and our ministry with others.  Here we go...