Scott and Angie Bentley

We just finished rip-roaring card games of Pitch and Presbyterian Poker and are laying on our turkey-stuffed tummies.

We are thankful.

• For a country where we experience freedom in ways that allude much of the world, like India.
• For a wonderful start to our marriage and for the encouragement we’ve received these 7 months.
• To be within an hour’s drive of both sides of our family.
• For God’s provision in our season of raising financial support.
• For lives that have purpose because of God’s grace.

If I could pick a word to capture my last month, it’d be weary.

Now, mind you, I was the girl who was born 3 weeks late but always cheerful. I don’t like grey skies or party poopers.

So when this weariness came to settle in like unwanted chill sets into the bones, I…well, I didn’t know what to do. (Because that’s what type As like me like to do–fix it, work it, tug at it, make it go away.)

But it didn’t go away.

What brought it? A bit of everything. Mostly, it came from a heart that missed its amigas back in Orlando–women who know me and love me, laugh with me and challenge me. Also at fault is the fact that my feeler is stuck on overdrive these days. A third is wondering if I knew the duration of time I was in for when Scott and I said, we’ll trust You, God, and trekked to frozen tundra (or at least frozen canal I stare at outside my window) in Omaha.

So came the weariness to the heart of a woman who feels like pioneer 13 out of 24 hours a day. (There, see? Feelerometer’s a bit off regarding reality.)

But God wasn’t taken back. In fact, He was right on time when He showed me these nuggets in Scripture just now.

“He gives strength to the weary,
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eages,
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.” –Isaiah 40:29-31

A-ha! How had I forgotten that the antidote for weariness is hope! Hope in the Lord. Oh, Angie heart! Put my hope in the Lord. It’s the only thing I see here that I am to do.

“The Soverign Lord has given me [Isaiah] an instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.” –Isaiah 50:4

“Sustains the weary”–now, that’s what I’m looking for. That word. A word from the Lord.

“I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” –God speaking in Jeremiah 31:25.

What a promise. God offers that He’ll refresh the weary.

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

There’s a choice.

• Will I go to Him with my weariness or somewhere–or someone–else?
• When my strength runs out, where will I go to try to get it renewed? Him or somewhere else?
• Will I take His yoke or trudge on, on my own?
• Will I learn from Him or be prideful and stubborn, thinking I know best?
• Where do I go to try to get rest for my soul?

Today I picture Jesus speaking to me, calling me what Gram does as He says, “Sweet Angie girl, come to Me. Take My yoke. Learn from Me. In Me will you find rest for your soul.”

We’re in a series about different ministries in Campus Crusade. Scott and I have an opportunity to serve these ministries through our roles at the World Headquarters in Orlando, Fla. This month is about FamilyLife.

Are You Thinking What I’m Thinking?

The only sound was the whir of our tires on 70th Street.

Scott and I had gone to see Fireproof for our date night on Halloween and now quiet blanketed us in the truck. The movie impressed us—even with a low budget and volunteer actors—with the real issues surrounding marriage. We’d discussed the movie for a bit, but now silence fell as we drove back to my parents’ home.

I’d love to talk more, I thought. We’ve only been married six months. In the movie they’ve been married seven years. I wonder what our marriage will look like at that stage?

I looked over at Scott. He looked deep in thought.

I wonder what’s he’s thinking about. Maybe about the 40-Day Love Dare? Or that scene where Caleb smashed the TV with his bat?

I wish he’d hold my hand, whatever he’s thinking.

“Do you think your dad has leftover Halloween candy?” he suddenly asked, with a staid expression.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Is that what you’ve been thinking about?!?”

Like a kid with his hand in the cookie jar he confessed. “Um. Yeah.”

We both rolled.

Let’s just say we’re still learning about this amazing thing called marriage—and differences between men and women. Six months of marriage has not made us experts, but rather made us very aware of our need for Jesus to be in the center of it all—bliss and conflict and everything in between.

FamilyLife is the marriage and family ministry of Campus Crusade. Recently, they teamed up with the makers of Fireproof to encourage couples to see the movie, then take the 40-day “Love Dare” challenge. (Listen to the FamilyLife radio program.)

Besides the radio ministry, FamilyLife is probably best known for their marriage conferences, called A Weekend to Remember. Scott and I are fans after attending a three-day conference while engaged and becoming friends with the speakers, Dave and Peggy Jones (left). Read these responses from an October conference in New York where the Joneses were on the speaker team.

· “My wife and I have been on the brink of divorce for more than nine years, and this weekend is kind of the life preserver thrown to us from the boat.”

· “It opened my eyes to the kind of marriage I truly desire and realize it is possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. I just loved how the whole conference was centered on God and biblical principles! I pray that God will strengthen our marriage as we apply these principles.”

Growth Ideas for You or Friends

• Attend a Weekend to Remember Conference (Friday evening through Sunday noon)

  Omaha: March 15-18 :: Lincoln: March 27-29. Find a conference location near you.

• Start a Home Builder’s Bible Study Near You

  These 4-to-8-week marriage Bible studies tackle relevant topics in marriage like finances, conflict, parenting and remarriage.

• Angie’s Top Picks

  Ok, I’m new at this, but I have to highly recommend these: Love and Respect, For Women Only and The Power of a Praying Wife. Consider buying a copy then passing it on!