Hello Sisters in Christ, I am new to this MB site and have been reading for about a week now. I am led to join this group as I am standing for my marriage and believe if God is for us, who could be against us?!! Since I am new, I'd like to introduce myself and would very much like to get to know you all!! I am getting bits and pieces through the various postings but it will take forever! First let me tell you about me:<BR>I am 42, separated for 20 months. Have three great kids, hit rock bottom in Feb. of 1999 and finally found the strength in the Lord. Am a baby Christian and have much to learn. I have been working on myself in the last year and a half and others have noticed. My h is not yet saved and doesn't believe we can reconcile and recreate a loving family. But.... yesterday he did go for his FIRST counseling session with a Christian Clinic. Praise God!!! I HAD to make the appointment, cause I am really more of a planner than he is. He is sort of passive (although he really is a wonderful man and a gift from God). I did wait a long time before initiating this step for him. I pray that it was the right move. I also pray that God puts right minded men into my h's life to share the gift of eternal life and the joy of a Christian marriage. I recently lost my job after 21 years and have a few other obstacles to work on... but with God on my side, I won't fail. I DO have a peace about this situation and continue to wait for God's will to be done.<P>Please write back, introduce yourselves, and I'd love to hear some success stories, either in your marriage or your personal growth. Peace be with you all.... LAP

waiting4ever,<BR>Welcome, I have been married for 23 years and my h moved out 12 months ago. There has been an ow for about 5+ years, but it is and still is a long distance relationship (she visits a week a month roughly).<P>The Lord has been leading me to more and more look away from the circumstances and seek Him with all my heart. This has been a painful but rewarding process. In Jan of this year He began working on my need to control this whole situation (I'm not normally a controler, but I sure wanted to control these circumstances, but the control I had was an illusion).<P>Then I prayed that He break any strongholds I have. He has been working on this all summer with me. I found the marriage, my h, even prayer was sometimes an idol for me. Then one day after church I felt so lonely. He said look up, here I am. I realized that He wanted me to seek Him with the same vigor I was seeking to restore my marriage. So, I got a journal and began to search for the answer of what it means to seek God. Of course this will be a life long process. <P>I started the thread called seeking God. There is a lot of wisdom from the ladies on this board in this area, and it seems that is where God has you too. This forum started with the Bible study Power of a Praying Wife. Thwn we have been discussing Boundaries in marriage spearheaded by Sue B, in the boundaries thread. <P>On Tuesday nights we get together (as many as can) in cyber space and pray for each other. Someone will post a thread on Monday or so asking for requests and then we pray. Some at the same time Tues 10:00 EST, but others when they can.<P>This is a great support group. Everyone is encouraging and supportive, building each other up. I feel so fortunate to have found this forum.<P>So, jump in and join us. I pulled up the POPW thread Chapter 1 earlier, for another new member. Glad to have you!!

Hello waiting4ever, <P>I am 27 my H is 36 and we have 2 beutiful boys ages 4 and 8. We have been married for almost 10 years. D-day was only the last week of August. My H is confused and does'nt know what he wants, (Just today I discovered at least a third woman) this is a good sign, because it means he hasn't made a commitment to anyone else yet. In august he made a trip to meet OW #1 and when he came back all communications with her ceased (praise God, He did something that weekend,I may never know what but it severed their relationship).<BR>I pray daily for him. I Love him and am commited to him not just our marriage but to him. (I've decided I'm going to tell him that tonight when he comes home)<BR>Get TPOPW as soon as you can it's a great book, I have been learning so much about praying for my H. The most important is to pray with a pure heart, make sure I give all my resentments, anger, insecurities, ect... to God before I pray for H. I do this nightly and ask God to cleanse my heart of any thing that is not of him. Then I can pray for H as God would have my pray.<P>got another praise:<BR>for the longest time I have been leaving my husband alone (sexually) and ask him if he's interested before I make a move, he always has an excuse for not wanting to make love. Well...God has shown me how wrong this is and that we need that sexual contact, my H even more than me if were going to make it. because in our sexual relationship we still have a common link and it will help keep him from phisical temptation. So...Last night I curled my hair put on fresh makeup painted my nails (toes too) and put on a very short nighty with speghetti straps (note, I've lost almost 40 pounds in the last month, so I was a bit more provacative in this nighty than previously.) when he got home he went straight to the computer didn't even notice me at first, so I started to seduce him, the poor guy didn't have a chance, and I know by his reactions that he had a verry enjoyable evening. So tonight I'm lifting the curtain on act 2. Wish me luck!<P>------------------<BR>Scared and lonely<p>[This message has been edited by Scared and lonely (edited September 22, 2000).]

Waiting4Forever - Hi and welcome. I've been hanging around this board for almost a year and a half. My husband is an alcoholic, committed adultery, and was abusive. We separated last year in the summer and reconciled 10/1/99. Things have been pretty much a rollercoaster, but through the grace of God and the love and compassion of the ladies on this board, I have not fallen apart! <P>My story (it's pretty long) is posted on the thread Why We Pray in Jesus' Name if you'd like to read it. Its been a long trial, but God will be victorious!<P>God bless, and I will be praying for you.<P>AW

Hi Waiting4ever,<BR> Be encouraged, God does not put more on us than we can bear. Pray about your situation and give your troubles over to God for he knows your heart already. The most important thing is to leave the problem at the Lord's feet and not try to help him fix it. He does not need our help. He will fix it in His time and in His own way. Wait on the Lord!<BR> Now having said that let me introduce myself. I call myself Queen B because I am the only female in my household other than my dog Carmen. My H is 31 years old and I will turn 31 this month. I have 4 sons, nearly 12, 7, 3, and 10 weeks. I have been married for 6 years. My husband and I are victorious in Christ because I suffered physical abuse at the hand of my husband late in our first year or early in our second year of marriage. We went to counseling for a short while before my H quite saying that the counselor was taking my side. Four years later this problem was still affecting our marrige because we never dealt with it. We finally had some counseling from our Pastor and that has seemed to help. Of course I will never forget what happened, but I no longer feel the anxiety and fear I used to. God is healing me, but I know I still have a long way to go. If you read my entry, "I have no prayer life" you would know that I said "sometimes I feel so broken that I feel even God can't fix me, though I know this is not true because I know the word of God, I still have trouble praying, especially for myself." This is my strong hold and I ask for your prayers that God would give me victory over that feeling and give me that praying spirit that I desire.<BR> I will remember you and your H when I pray. God will save you and your household. <BR>BE ENCOURAGED!<BR><P>------------------<BR>QueenB