The Value of Time

This coming year, our family would like to encourage the church to realize the value of time, hence the theme of the year "Az idő értéke" in Hungarian. In Hungarian, only the past tense and present tense are used, so to get others to have a mindset of looking ahead to the future is a challenge. But nonetheless, the goal of the year is to get the people to realize that time is valuable and time is limited. As the poem says, "Only one life will soon be passed. Only what is done for Christ will last."

Christmas in the Nursing Home

The members of Biblia Baptisa Gyülekezet in Szolnok went out to visit the hospital residents and bring them some Christmas cheer. This is the hospital where Éva Ferenczi, the pastor's wife, works. We put together a gift for the hospital residents: a candy cane with this poem attached:

Look at the candy cane. What do you see? 

Stripes that are red like the blood shed for me! 

White for my Saviour who is sinless and pure. 

"J" is for Jesus, my Lord, that's for sure! 

Turn it around and a staff you will see. 

Jesus, my Shepherd, is coming for me! 

While distributing the gifts, the church members sang Christmas songs about the birth of our Saviour. The greatly enjoyed sharing this truth with the hospital residents, especially during the time of year when it is most difficult to be confined to a hospital.

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." 

Luke 2:11 

The Faithfulness of Hannah

Today I wanted to specifically talk about a quality we need to have to reach our loved ones with the gospel and that is faithfulness. As I was thinking about what it means to be faithful, I thought about a movie I'd seen a few years ago. It was a movie based on a true story about a man and his dog.  Every morning, the man and his dog would walk to the train station where the man would get on the train to go to work. The dog would go home, but at exactly the same time every afternoon, he would return to the train station to meet his master coming home from work. One afternoon, the man did not come home on the afternoon train as he died of a heart attack. The dog faithfully waited at the station for his master to arrive home until the day of his own death. Wow, that’s one faithful dog!

One of God’s characteristics is that He is faithful: Deuteronomy 7:9 “Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;” (hívséges in the Hungarian describes God as faithful). Even when man fails to be faithful, God is always faithful.

Let’s take a look at one woman in the Bible and see how she showed faithfulness?

Turn to 1 Samuel 1.

This is the account of Hannah. We’re going to look at this passage in a bit, but I would like to first give you a summary of the account here. Hannah was one of two wives of Elkanah; the other was Peninnah who had children, but Hannah had none. She was so sad that she could not have children and Peninnah did not treat her kindly because of it. But even though she had no children, the Bible says Elkanah’s loved her. He loved her to the point that it bothered him that she would cry because she did not have children.

Every year, the family would make a trip to worship God in Shiloh (about a 25 mile/40 km walk). While there, Hannah went to pray at the temple for a son. She vowed to the Lord if He would give her a son (a son that would be fit to serve in the tabernacle), she would give him back to the Lord. She prayed so hard that the priest, Eli, thought she was drunk. She did not tell the priest what was troubling her, only that she was pouring out her heart to the Lord. 1 Samuel 1:17 “Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace: and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him” She went away not sad anymore, went home with her husband, and sometime after, Samuel was born. His name meant “I have asked him of the Lord.” Samuel grew up to be a prophet of the Lord (1 Samuel 3:19-20) as well as the last judge of Israel, anointing the first two of Israel's kings.

So now let’s take a closer look at how Hannah was faithful.

I have here 4 things that Hannah was faithful in:

1. Faithful in Prayer 1 Samuel 1:10-12

There is a word I want you to notice in verse 12, and that is the word “continued”. She continued praying before the Lord.

To continue can also be defined as to not quit, or to remain. Hannah took all her sorrow and heartache over not having a child to the Lord.

We should also be faithful in prayer. Colossians 4:2 ”Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;”

One of my friends got saved when she was 7 years old. From the time she was 7 until aged 16, she prayed that her father would get saved. She would have long debates with him over why he needed to accept Christ as Saviour, but he refused to accept. She prayed faithfully for his salvation for those nine years. If she had not been willing to pray for him faithfully, he may have never accepted Christ. But he did. He died eleven years ago. My friend says she looking forward to speaking to her daddy again when she gets to heaven. We need to be willing to faithfully pray for those we know who are lost. Think of our lost loved ones as in a vast ocean and we are in a boat beside them. They are frantically trying to stay afloat. We are in the boat with a life preserver. If we do not throw them the life preserver, they will most likely drown. Think of praying for our lost loved ones as throwing out that life preserver. It is such a simple thing to do. Prayer grants us access to the very One who created the world!

2)  Faithful in Worship 1 Samuel 1:3, 19

In verse three, it says Elkanah went out of his city yearly to worship in Shiloh which was the custom of the day.

In verse nine, Hannah has gone with Elkanah to Shiloh

In verse 19, it says speaking of Hannah and Elkanah, that they rose up in the morning early and worshipped before the Lord before they returned home.

In verse 21, after Samuel is born, when it was time to return to Shiloh for worship, Elkanah is faithful to go to Shiloh while Hannah nurses and cares for Samuel. When he is weaned, she makes the trip with Elkanah again, this time to bring Samuel to dedicate him to the Lord as she had vowed.

So Hannah and her husband were faithful to worship the Lord in the way that was the custom in their time. But what is worship for us today?

A good definition of worship can be found in Psalms 29:2 “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” Worship is giving Him the honour He deserves for who He is and what He has done. It is done on an individual basis, within each heart.

Perhaps I invited you to my home as an honoured guest. I want to honour you, so I cook up a grand feast. I bake up a loaf of fresh, warm bread. Then I cook a delicious roast. I make a nice garden salad. For dessert, I have some warm, apple pie. When it is all cooked, I put all the food on a plate and wait for you to arrive. Soon, my tummy starts to rumble. I say, “well, maybe my guest will not notice if I eat some of the food.” I take a few bites of the bread, the roast, the salad, and even the apple pie. Now, the plate is only half full. Soon you come to my house and I say, “Look! I wanted to honour you so I made you a delicious meal.” Then I hand you the plate of half-eaten food. You do not want my leftovers, and neither does God. He wants all of us. Mark 12:30 says, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” We should not give God our leftovers, but always give Him our best. Psalms 111:1 “Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.” God may not want our whole apple pie, but He does want our whole heart.

3) Faithful in the Word 1 Samuel 2:1-10

In Hannah's prayer of praise and thanksgiving, she quotes scripture.

• 2:2 “There is none beside thee” - Deuteronomy 4:35 “Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord he is God; there is none else beside him.”
• 2:2 “Neither is there any rock like our God” - Deuteronomy 32:4, 30, 31 “He is the Rock”
• 2:6 “The Lord killeth and maketh alive,” Deuteronomy 32:39
• 2:7 “The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich” Deuteronomy 8:17
• 2:8 “for the pillar’s of the earth are the Lord’s and he hath set the world upon them.” - Job 38:4 Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?

Hannah hid God’s word in her heart. When she was praying to God in praise and thanksgiving, God’s word just poured out from what she had already known about Him through the Word.

We need to be faithful to read the Bible too. Psalms 119:105 says “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Just as a lamp will light the path ahead of us, reading the Bible will help us know where to take the next step.

What if do we do if we read the Bible and have difficulty understanding something? Do we just give up and say “oh well, I tried.”

An old farmer lived on a farm in the mountains with his young grandson. Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading his Bible. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could.

One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa! I try to read the Bible just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?"
The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal into the stove and replied, "Please take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water."
The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house.

The grandfather laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again.

This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead.
The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house. The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said,
"See Grandpa, it's useless!"
"So you think it is useless?"
The old man said, "Look at the basket."
The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out.
"Son, that's what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of Jesus in our lives."
Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.]

Even when we have difficulty understanding something, we need to be faithful to read God’s Word and pray that He would reveal what He wants us to learn from it. Being faithful to attend church will help us understand the Bible better. As the preacher preaches the word, God will reveal himself more and more to us. Before we became missionaries to Hungary, we were in our home church every time the doors were open. There was never a question of where we would be when Sunday came around. We'd be in church. When Wednesday mid week service came, we'd be there. Special services, workdays, missions conference, etc. so Being faithful to church will help us be faithful in the Word.

4) Faithful in Giving 1 Samuel 1:26-28, 2:19
We see Hannah was faithful in giving. Just as Hannah did, we can give to the Lord. Hannah gave to the Lord what she had promised Him- The very son she had prayed for. And you know what? God blessed her with five more children after Samuel- three sons and two daughters! We can not out give God.

She also gave praise to the Lord. In verse 2:1, she rejoices in the Lord. We need to remember to praise and give thanks to the Lord.

What else can we give to the Lord? We can give Him, our tithes and offerings. Remember the widow in Mark 12:41-44? Two mites was an amount smaller than any coin we have today, but Jesus said she gave more than the others because she gave all she had. The Lord has blessed us with much. We should be faithful to give back to Him.

We can give Him our time. “Only one life, but it soon will be passed. Only what we do for Christ will last.” So much of what we spend our time and energy on will have no eternal value (Matthew 6:19-20).

We can also give to others. In verse 2:19, we see that Hannah gave Samuel a coat every year. In Acts 20:35, it says it is more blessed to give than to receive. When we give our time to others, they can see how much we care about them and perhaps open doors to reach them with the gospel.

So there you have it: four ways that we can be faithful in!

Prayer, Worship, Word, and Giving

Schools in Hungary

 

     Today I was on a walk with my neighbor who described what school is like in Hungary, so I thought I'd share with you here. She has a 14-year-old daughter and ten-year-old twin girls. Children are in Primary school from ages 6-14, Secondary school from ages 14-18, and then University, typically for 4-5 years. Rather than letter grades, reports cards are in numbers: 1 being the lowest (like an F) and 5 being the highest (like an A). When a student is getting ready to enter secondary school, the higher the grades, the more options there are for the choice of which school to continue studies. My neighbors' 14-year-old has excellent grades, so she will need to decide which of many schools she would like to go to next. She said schools in Hungary are rather difficult. Students are tested often and have much homework, leaving little time for kids to be kids and have time to play.

Have Thine Own Way, Lord

Friday Bible study has been an enjoyable time here in Hungary. One of the weekly items has been to share a story on a favorite hymn we sing. This evening, we will be looking at the hymn "Have Thune Own Way, Lord" and I wanted to share it here on the blog.

The author of the well-known hymn was Adelaide Pollard (born in Iowa and lived from 1862-1934). She was depressed and thought that God had deserted her. She had a great burden for the country of Africa and she believed that she should go there as a missionary, but now as she was preparing to sail, it was evident that the funds she needed could not be raised.

In her state of discouragement, she attended a little prayer meeting one night. There an elderly woman began to pray. The elderly woman did not ask for blessings or material things. She simply prayed, "It really doesn't matter what you do with us, Lord, just have your own way with our lives."

Upon returning home that evening, Miss Pollard mediated on the story of the potter, found in Jeremiah 18:3-4. It says, “Then I went to the potter’s house, and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.”

As she read, she believed the story was her own. "Perhaps", she said, "my questioning of God's will shows a flaw in life, so God has decided to break me, as the potter broke the defective vessel, and then to mold my life again in His own pattern."

That very evening in 1902, she wrote all four stanzas of this hymn as it is sung today.

Adelaide Pollard finally did minister for God in Africa for a brief period before World War I.

There are many times in life we don't understand what is going on, but what a great reminder it is to trust the One who does and to pray, "Lord, have thine own way."

Language School Tour of Budapest

Language school has been the main event of August at the Mann household. We still gave one week remaining of this intensive summer class. Last week, our class went out to tour the streets surrounding the classroom in the sixth district of Budapest. Emese, who has been teaching our children in language school, first took us to Andrássy utca. She pointed out faces on the buildings which are crafted similarly to how statues are formed. I've noticed them all over the city but didn't think they had much more significance than a decorative one. Emese said they are thought to protect those inside from the evil outside, like a rabbits foot or other good luck charm!

The next sight was that of IL Bacio Di Stile (19 Andrássy út) owned by a billionaire in his young age. He still pays the rent but the beautiful building is closed now. 

Next sight was an important five star hotel directly across from opera house. It is also closed but protected as a historic landmark. The Opera building itself was opened in 1818. When it first opened, only the rich could afford to go. Since another bigger and cheaper opera house opened in the eighth district, the opera entertainment is more accessible niw to the working class people. 

Our next stop was an intersection on two streets: Terézváros, a tribute to the people of Vienna, and Nagymező meaning "big field".

The Liszt Ferenc statue is well known in Hungary, but be sure not to call it by its other name, Franz Liszt, which won't be well appreciated. He was a pianist with big hands. Apparently there is some debate to whether or not he really was Hungarian. The airport shares his name, but they are not in any way connected. Anything art and music related are, however, named after him.  

Our next stop was Király utca. Király means "king". We have a slang term to say something rules (ex. This pizza rules!) Well, to say something rules in Hungarian, simply say "Nagyon király!" Király utca was always a Jewish street our leader said whom lives on the opposite end of the street. Many of the neighborhood shops are closed or have been closing since the events of 2008. 

We took notice of some weird signs the British people hung and observed the works of graffiti artists. 

Murals are used as fire walls (tűzfal), protecting buildings against fires. Some of the murals can change like this bull one but some won't like the map one. It portrays the heart of the city promoting locals to one day leave the city to get out and see more of the world. 

The tour ended at the Dohány utcai Zsinagóga, or Jewish synagogue. In the courtyard is a graveyard because of a massacre in 1945 where unidentified bodies were left. Otherwise, there would not normally be graveyards in Jewish communities. The building itself is very oriental looking and quite a sight to behold. I hope to return and see the inside someday soon. 

It's so fun to learn about the county God has called us to!

Fourth of July

Celebrating an American holiday in another country is different but there are many ways to replicate the foods and traditions you are accustomed to. This past 4th of July, we did just that. Our family spent the day with fellow American missionaries, the Peters, and one other family, the Brown's. Keith Brown is American and moved to with his Hungarian wife, Rita, to Hungary and they have one son, Cameron. 

Our afternoon was spent firing up the grill for some chicken, hot dogs, and cheesy sausage. Rita brought potato salad over and we are able to get Heinz baked beans here. Watermelons are plenteous here, so we got a large juicy one. Other doods that we can get that would be great for our meal that we did not get are hamburgers, corn (on the cob, of course!), cantaloupe, vegetables for a garden salad and a small selection of salad dressings. 

Marshmallows are difficult to find, but occasionally we see them in the international food section of the grocery stores. We can't find graham crackers here, but there are alternatives for s'mores, such as using Oreos, chocolate chip cookies or a cracker that tastes more like animal crackers. Homemade cookies and crackers ate also an option for s'mores. 

Fireworks on the 4th were not a possibility but there are substitutes we could use. The internet has made staying connected with events going on across the Atlantic convenient, so pulling up a video of fireworks is easy as apple pie and watching a patriotic themed church service is the next best thing to actually being in the service. Know a parade going on in your home town that you don't want to miss? Ask a friend or relative who is there anyway to put it on Facebook live for you to see. So many possibilities! 

Below are some pictures of ourselves celebrating an American holiday in Hungary. 

Watch Your Words

Talking has never been much of a passion of mine. I don't waste words. I say what needs to be said and no more. Silence doesn't make me uncomfortable and I won't ramble to fill it up. The words I do say, though, I don't want to take lightly. We are accountable for our words and should choose them wisely. Most of us had parents that would remind us as children, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Great advice we as adults should remember and heed. 

I've seen the same people who post Bible verses on Facebook turn around calling others names and gossip about them. James 1:26  says, "If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain." Those who make themselves look good on social media but spew less than edifying words in person aren't very believable. Hard to believe that something so little can inflict such harm. James 3:5 tells us "Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!" But the words we speak originated from somewhere. The heart. Matthew 15:18 "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man." Let us draw our hearts to the things of the Lord and our words will reflect so.

Wilderness Wanderings

"Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;" Deuteronomy 8:11-14

For most of our days of deputation, my family has been homeless. Though I haven't wandered around in the wilderness for forty years as the Israelite did, I can understand their desire for a place of their own to settle in. Yet their wilderness experience was supposed to bring them closer to God so they might understand their total dependence on Him. He warned them in Deuteronomy not to forget who He was when they prospered in the new land. When all was going well, when they had land, houses, animals, silver and gold is when they were at the greatest risk of forgetting all God had done for them. 

When we arrived in Hungary, my family had the opportunity to stay in a large beautifully decorated home with plenty of space for us and our three children. We even had enough space to add two puppies to the home! Though the house belonged to someone else (another missionary who was in the states while his wife was facing cancer), I grew quite comfortable and started to grow accustomed to life there. Perhaps this is why we find ourselves homeless once again. We have been traveling the states since March and have no home of our own to return to in Hungary. God wants to bring me the place where I rely on Him to take care of my family. Sometimes we need to go through wilderness experiences to bring us back to the point of total dependence on Him lest in our prosperity, we forget. 

Precious Memories

My family has a storage unit in Middletown. Our goal is to take our belongings with us to Hungary as space in the luggage allows. On one of our visits to the unit, I came upon some baby articles from my children's baby days. The first article I came across was the little pink Easter dress Heidi wore on her first Easter. She was born on Good Friday in 2007. I had her hold it up to herself in a comparison picture. She sure has grown a lot in ten years!

The next item was a yellow dress Jason's sister had made for Laura. The matching hat and scarf were not amongst the items in storage, but I was pleased to find the dress and had Laura hold it up to her as well.

The final item was a quilt Jason's mom had made for Micah. It had six handprint outlines: Micah's four grandparents, Jason's and mine. It was a neat gift and had been displayed in Micah's room when he was a baby. 

It's neat to take a walk down memory lane and remember all the Lord has blessed us with: three of those blessings being our children. I was leafing through photo albums of their baby days and not getting a whole lot of packing done because of it. I'm happy to have these precious memories and look forward to making more.

Let us Exalt His Name Together

“O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.”

Psalms 34:3

About a month after Jason and I were married, his oldest sister, Erin, presented us with a wedding scrapbook she had made. On the first page, she wrote Psalm 34:3: "O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together."

Together is such a neat word. It is defined as- with or in proximity to another person or people; at the same time. God created us to need each other. We are not meant to be completely independent of one another.

A year after we met, in August 2003, Jason and I took a trip to Niagara Falls for an overdue honeymoon getaway. While there, we purchased a wooden sign that read: "Grow old with me. The best is yet to be." It has hung in every place we've lived, including the dashboard of our car during some of our time on deputation. While Jason was purchasing this wall decoration, the cashier made a remark that came across as though she didn't believe this simple statement. She wore no wedding ring which and her cynical attitude may have been a result of a divorce. How sad to prefer "solitude" over "together".

I'll admit, I enjoy being alone for brief periods of time. It's nice to go off on a peaceful walk or sit quietly working without having to talk to anyone. But I don't believe I'd be happy with it for too long. Eventually I'd desire to be together with my family again.

And how about an even better together? Once we were dead in sin, eternally separated from God. But Christ made a way for us to be together. Ephesians 2:4-10 "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Amen to that!

Together with Christ. How awesome is that!

A Most Romantic Gesture

Perhaps as a little girl, you dreamed of the day Prince Charming would come on his noble steed and carry you away to his palace. You twirled around in your princess costume dress, imagining it to be your wedding attire.

Perhaps as a young man, you pondered over bringing a girl flowers, chocolate, and a ring, asking her to be your bride. You dressed in your best suit and neatly polished shoes, reflecting over her eager acceptance of your proposal on bent knee.

We get our ideas of what love and romance is at a young age from books and movies that, while are entertaining for the moment, do not show a realistic view of what a lasting relationship between man and wife really is.

There is one most romantic gesture I can encourage you to show your spouse now, even if you have not yet met.

Pray for him. Pray for her.

I didn't catch on to this while we were dating, but some time after we were married, Jason revealed to me that as a young boy, he began to pray for the girl he would one day marry. He prayed generally for the most part, yet there were a few specifics. He prayed his wife would be saved, attend a Baptist Church and have attended a Christian school. Through the prayers of my husband, God prepared me to be his helpmeet by bringing me through all of the items on the checklist.

Whether you are single and have not yet met that special someone or have been married for years, praying for your spouse may be the most romantic gesture you can do for him or her. And parents, praying for your childrens spouses while they are as young as infancy is a most loving gesture you can do for them to safeguard against unequally yoked marriages.

Today, Jason and I celebrate fourteen years of marriage. I need to be reminded to lift him up in prayer throughout the day instead of being wrapped up in my own activities.

So what should you pray for when praying for your spouse or the spouse of your offspring?

1 Pray for their Salvation

This is the most important thing you can pray for. If you are unmarried, pray that your future spouse would accept Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour. Jason started to pray for my salvation as his future wife at a young age. The way the Lord made a way for me to come to know Him still amazes me. I grew up in a Lutheran church, but through different circumstances, my family started to attend a Baptist Church. It was there I heard a clear presentation on the gospel and got saved. Had my husband not been praying for my salvation, who knows if I would have ever heard the gospel or not.

If you are married and your spouse is not saved, let me encourage you to not give up. I have a friend that had been praying for years for her husband. Though he still has not accepted, she keeps praying. Galatians 6:9 says, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." I know it may seem like your prayers will never be answered, but don't give up.

2 Pray for their Spiritual growth

I've known a few baby Christians who have done things that devastated their marriage just because of lack of maturity and Bible knowledge. After salvation, we are to grow in our walk with the Lord. 2 Peter 3:17-18 says, "Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." Just as babies need adequate nourishment to grow, so does the baby Christian need to be fed the Word of God daily and needs more mature Christians who are willing to help guide him or her as they walk the path of their new faith.

3 Pray for their Safety

Praying for safety is not just for physical safety, but also spiritual. After all, 1 Peter 5:8 says of our adversary, the devil “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” Satan is looking to devour your spouse. He is seeking to destroy your marriage. He would like nothing better. And the more you serve Him, the more fierce the attacks get. Be your husband's cheerleader or your wife's hero and pray for his or her safety, that the Lord would put a hedge of protection around them.

...A more romantic gesture you will never find.