{"id":7869,"date":"2018-02-14T06:16:08","date_gmt":"2018-02-14T06:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/?p=7869"},"modified":"2018-01-31T14:17:03","modified_gmt":"2018-01-31T14:17:03","slug":"make-christian-marriage-possible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/make-christian-marriage-possible\/","title":{"rendered":"Make Christian Marriage Possible"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In considering writing something for Valentines day, I have to confess the commercial pomp and fizz around the day does little for me and my wife. However, readers beware, there is a hidden trap that many men have fallen into.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s that conversation the week before about Valentine\u2019s day, you know the one. \u2018What are we doing this year, shall we not worry about getting cards and gifts etc.\u2019 To which you agree enthusiastically and forget the date carries any real significance. (Maybe, that\u2019s how it is for me anyway.)<\/p>\n<p>Then you wake up on the 14th I think it is, and find yourself face to face with a card from your partner, with a \u2018you knew we would still give cards really\u2019 look on their face.<br \/>\nYour mind reels, you have nothing, the trap has consumed yet another Valentines day dreamer.<\/p>\n<p>Ok, maybe that load of waffle doesn\u2019t represent you at all on Valentines day, maybe you are way above the curve and have years of making a statement of love and devotion.<\/p>\n<p>One thing you might not have thought about on Valentines day however, is that for around 1.4 million Christian women in the UK this day is a painful reminder of the waiting game. These Christian women in the UK are unmarried looking for a decent Christian man in their lives but the fellas just are not there, numerically and spiritually. For many of these Christian women the option to stay single and probably childless, or marry a non-Christian fella, is not what they want to do.<\/p>\n<p>At CVM we have formed a fantastic ministry partnership with a steering group of thinkers called \u2018Engage.\u2019 Engage have a strap line that says \u2018making Christian marriage possible.\u2019 I like that. It doesn\u2019t say compulsory, as for many people singleness is a choice and we respect that of course, but that isn\u2019t the case for everyone.<\/p>\n<p>Engage are a voice to the UK church on issues of how we deal with singleness in our churches. This includes dating, how we reach more men with effective evangelism to reduce this deficit and how we can invest significantly in Christian marriage.<\/p>\n<p>I hadn\u2019t ever really thought about Valentines day being a complete nightmare for so many women in the UK before, these moments of coming together, where lives are intimately shared, albeit with commercial hype, are real pressure points.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe this year have a look in your church and see if you can connect with Engage and support them to make a positive impact in the lives of so many women.<\/p>\n<p>You can find out more here: <a href=\"\/\/www.engage-mcmp.org.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">engage-mcmp.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/\/www.engage-mcmp.org.uk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static.wixstatic.com\/media\/b7e400_0ca234d00d0a41c99f4ea0e5379cd2bd.jpg\/v1\/fill\/w_429,h_181,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01\/b7e400_0ca234d00d0a41c99f4ea0e5379cd2bd.jpg?resize=429%2C181&#038;ssl=1\" width=\"429\" height=\"181\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Image Credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/photos\/dRgf7doee-o\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Roman Kraft<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"linkwithin_hook\" id=\"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/make-christian-marriage-possible\/\"><\/div><script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png?w=750\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In considering writing something for Valentines day, I have to confess the commercial pomp and fizz around the day does little for me and my wife. However, readers beware, there is a hidden trap that many men have fallen into. It\u2019s that conversation the week before about Valentine\u2019s day, you know the one. \u2018What are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":7872,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[39,803,120,1487,1488,1486,203],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/valentines.jpg?fit=565%2C350&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PoLK-22V","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8343,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/valentines-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":7869,"position":0},"title":"Valentines Day","date":"14 February 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Are you caught up in the hunt for a bunch of roses and a 2kg bar of chocolate for your significant other half? Or are you standing your ground in defiance, voicing a silent protest against the marketing and commercialisation of a day of romance?\u00a0 Or maybe, you are in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jamie-street-512689-unsplash.jpg?fit=1000%2C743&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7425,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/happy-valentines-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":7869,"position":1},"title":"Happy Valentine&#8217;s Day","date":"14 February 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"So if I\u2019m honest, I\u2019m not the most romantic bloke in the world. It\u2019s not outside of my skillset but it just doesn\u2019t happen naturally at times, so Valentines\u2019 day can be a bit stressful. I had a look at the history of Valentines\u2019 day, and was surprised to see\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/lovelovelove.png?fit=565%2C350&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5839,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/reviews\/kingsman-the-secret-service-15\/","url_meta":{"origin":7869,"position":2},"title":"Kingsman: The Secret Service (15)","date":"2 February 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Director: Matthew Vaughn Cast\u00a0Starring: Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Caine, Mark Strong, Taron Egerton, Sofia Boutella \u201cManners.\u00a0Maketh.\u00a0Man...\u00a0Do you know what that means? Then let me teach you a lesson\u2026\u201d Full disclosure - I\u2019ve been a huge fan of Mark Millar\u2019s \u2018The Secret Service\u2019 since it came out in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Reviews&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7896,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/top-ten-memory-verses-pt-2-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":7869,"position":3},"title":"Top Ten Memory Verses (Pt 2\/10)","date":"6 March 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"We're back - and it is time for another bible memory verse to wrestle with. This one I am sure you have heard before but what's it all about? Let's see if we can take this verse into the week and commit it to memory. 09: Consider it pure joy,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/memory-verses.png?fit=565%2C350&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6156,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/the-workplace-sexual-purity-in-the-workplace\/","url_meta":{"origin":7869,"position":4},"title":"The Workplace \u2013 Sexual Purity In The Workplace","date":"14 July 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I was shocked to learn that over 65% of marital affairs begin in the workplace and I began to pray about why this might be. Suddenly the answers hit me like a brick. Firstly, we spend the majority of the week at work away from our partner and if your\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/work-stations-plus-espresso.jpg?fit=600%2C411&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4224,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/50plus\/flirting-with-lions\/","url_meta":{"origin":7869,"position":5},"title":"Flirting With Lions","date":"23 May 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201c\u2026so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands. But he told neither his father or his mother what he had done.\u201d (Judges 14:6) \u00a0 Carl Beech went Dutch in April and the men at Redeemer Church in The Hague were the beneficiaries of his challenging message on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;50 Plus&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/CVM-50plus-blog-640x360.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7869"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7869"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7869\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7871,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7869\/revisions\/7871"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7872"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}