Living In Praise: September 2011

Sunday, September 25, 2011

The Power of Patience

Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one towards another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ( Romans 15:5:6)

When we enter into marriage, we seldom come together with patience. This is a trait that not everyone has, sometimes we find our self's working hard at it. God reminds us that we must be likeminded one towards another; patience comes with love and self discipline, a true connection of God's promises.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Tune Of Love

The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

Life is a challenging journey we face everyday. We are so wrapped up in our busy days, that we sometimes forget to enjoy the now with our husbands, wives, children, friends and family. God tells us that we must take each day to rejoice, live happy, share the love, sing aloud. When we live in harmony, it is God that brings us together. Rejoice and sing to the tune of love.

Finding the True Meaning of Love

By Ashley Testa-Burk

community@reedleyexponent.comPublished: Wednesday, December 1, 2010 5:49 PM PST

Growing up in Reedley, Raymond Muro never expected he’d be married to a published author.

When he married his wife, Lupe, 37 years ago, neither of them expected their marriage would serve as inspiration for her book. But last week, Lupe Muro’s first book “What is True Love in a Marriage?” was released nationwide.

Muro contacted Christian publishing company Cross Books last year, curious about the process. The Los Angeles native had never planned to write a book, but the more she read the Bible, the more she became inspired by God’s word.

When her granddaughter bought her two little notebooks several years ago, she began writing down her thoughts.

“The more I read into the word of God, I was receiving messages for me to do something with those thoughts,” Muro said.

Listening to Christian radio station K-LOVE, Muro heard messages assuring listeners that they had a purpose in life, and they should utilize their talents. She never really took it personally, until one message stood out.

“One day I was listening to the radio, and she said something about using your thoughts to get God's word out,” Muro said. “I looked at the little book and thought, 'Am I supposed to do something with this?'”

She took it as a sign, and searched for the phone number of the Cross Books representative she had previously spoken with. Just as she hung up after misdialing – another “sign” solidified her decision to go forth with a book. Muro said the phone rang – and it happened to be Cross Books on the other end. She took six months to write a rough draft, and submitted her first manuscript in April. Within a week, the publishing company called with the good news that they accepted it.

“Everything just came together,” Muro said. “I knew that I had to put God's word out there. I believe that as long as you have God with you, he's going to give you the strength to work through things.”

Muro’s book will be available on Amazon.com, Borders, Barnes & Noble and other national retailers. The book examines the true meaning of love as examined by God, containing biblical references correlating with Muro’s personal reflections.

“Every thought that I put in my book, I was able to find a scripture to go with it,” she said. “It was really amazing how I came across every single scripture.”

The Muros agree that compromise is a huge secret to marital bliss, as well as accepting the fact that there is no perfect marriage. The key is knowing that God is the answer, Muro said, and couples don’t have to go it alone.

“There are a lot of marriages that are failing,” she said. “But we need to learn to open our hearts and take what God has created for us."

The Muros live in Fresno, and Raymond’s three siblings still live in Reedley.