mybabyr0c: Into the Great Wide Open

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Into the Great Wide Open

Wonderful: excellent; great; marvelous: We all had a wonderful weekend. Of a sort that causes or arouses wonder; amazing; astonishing: The storm was wonderful to behold.

The sky is the limit.

In Tom Petty's song "Into the Great Wide Open" he sings:

They moved into a place they both could afford
He found a night club he could work at the door
She had a guitar and she taught him some chords
The sky was the limit

Pretty simple...

My wife and me do have a place we can afford, and while I don't work in a night club and she doesn't own a guitar, I do work hard every day to get home so I can walk through our front door and she has taught me the sweet chords of generosity, companionship and love. It's wonderful. She's wonderful.

Pretty Simple...

My wife... she is truly wonderful.

The sky is the limit for us.

Below is a wonderful piece my wife wrote last week for the "Daily Devotions" at Cypress Wesleyan on the topic of relationships.

Her words on the issue of relationships were sent to the entire email list at our church.

The topic is part and parcel to the sermon series Pastor Ken is preaching on entitled "The Island."

We cannot afford to be an Island. We have to be a part of the main land. A part of the continent. A part of the body.

Ken continued the series "The Island" this past Sunday by bringing us a message on the awkward situations in which we often find ourselves in the relationships that we have.

We all have those awkward moments, but what do we do with them?

CWC Video Link

"No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main."

-John Donne

Below are my Wife's thoughtful words...

The Great Wide Open

Central Thought: When it comes to relationships, step up, step in and don't step back.

Key Verse: Matthew 7:7 (read the chapter)

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

"Into the great wide open under them skies of blue out in the great wide open a rebel without a clue." Those lyrics by the great Tom Petty describe my thoughts on becoming a step-mother. When my future husband "popped" the question. I already knew he was a package deal. So becoming a step-mother to four boys became my new reality. I myself am a product of a blended family and I'm very aware of how difficult it can be to feel accepted into a "new" family. That experience, along with thoughtful prayer, helped me learn to incorporate myself into their lives in a non-threatening way. In Matthew 7:7 it says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." My prayer was, and still is, for the Lord to give me realistic expectations on developing relationships with my stepsons; that they would see me as someone who loves their father very much and is committed to him and them as well. I have to say God answered my prayer. I have a great relationship with each one of them. They are all such amazing young men and I'm so blessed to have them in my life.

Discussion Questions:

1. Do you have any expectations, for yourself and the other person, when forming a new relationship? If so, are they realistic?

2. When it comes to relationships do you take the lead or let things just happen? Why?

3. Are you a giver or a taker in relationships? Why?

4. How do you want to treat others? What do your actions say on how you treat others?

Rhonda Bailey

My name is Rhonda Bailey and I'm married to Shawn Bailey. We have been married for five years and have attended Cypress as a couple for 5 ½ years. We have two children together, Ryan and Reese. I also have four stepsons; Logan, Austin, Bryce and Addison. I work for ExamOne as a paramedical examiner and have been there for almost 10 years. Thanks to the "Bases Loaded" sermon series I will begin volunteering in the Children's Ministry this fall and I am very excited to help out any way I can.