As a child in elementary school, Valentine’s Day wasn’t a big event for me. In third grade I liked a girl named Nancy. However, I didn’t like her very long because when I told her I liked her, she kicked me. End of liking Nancy.
The down-side of Valentine’s Day in elementary school was that the teachers wanted us to give Valentine Cards or notes to everyone in the class, and that was a bummer: I didn’t even know most the kids in class.
In fifth grade, I liked Mrs. Wells. She was the only person in school to whom I wanted to give a card. When mom took me to the 5ȼ – 10ȼ store (we called it the dime store), I bought the usual bag of cheepies for the class, but found a good one for Mrs. Wells. I waited until no one was looking, and quickly put the card on her desk. None of the other kids knew what I had done until Mrs. Wells called me up and gave me a hug.
Have you ever been embarrassed to tears and elated up into the clouds at the same time? That was me.
Fast forward eight years.
In college, I met a girl named Carol Ann Winton. Okay, you probably figured it out. Yes, she has been Carol Ann Linzey for over 57 years now. Back in 1964-1966 when I saw her across campus walking to class, I broke into a run to walk with her. Just being with her pumped joy into my life! It still does!
In 1965, Valentine’s Day was on Sunday, I was eighteen years old, and Carol and I were attending SCC (Southern California College: now Vanguard University of Southern California). I remember thinking: “If Carol accepts my invitation to the Valentine Banquet, I’ll know that she is the girl I will marry.” So, nervously, I asked her.
Guess what? She didn’t kick me and I was elated. Yes friends, she accepted. I was thrilled to tears but not embarrassed; and for the first time since I was in fifth grade, Valentines Day was a special event.
Our wedding was on August 22, 1966—my 20th birthday anniversary.
I would be lying if I said we never had a problem. We are human beings with minds of our own, wills of our own, and our own stubbornness. But through the years the stubbornness in both of us has worn down because we wanted to love each other.
Did you read that last sentence? We WANTED to love each other.
The meaning is this: we were young and loved each other with an immature love. But because we made a dynamic commitment to each other, and expressed that commitment to the church, to our friends, and to God, we worked through the problems.
And listen: because we wanted to love each other, we learned what it meant, what it took, and how to do it. Learning to truly love isn’t easy, and it is not a 50-50 emotional split. It requires that we put our pride aside, release our stubbornness, and go out of our way to help our mate, even if we don’t want to. And it works both ways. Therefore, our early love matured into true love – the love that surpasses emotion.
In 1969 while working at Boeing Aircraft Company in Everett, Washington, one of my workmates had just become divorced – for the 3rd time. As we were discussing marriage, he said, “I’m sorry for you: you’re trapped and can’t have any fun.”
“You’ve got it wrong.” I responded. “I can go out with anyone I want, go wherever I want, and go whenever I want.”
“You’re full of it! How do you get away with that while being married?”
“My wife is the person I always want to go out with. We go everywhere together, and we always have fun.” That embarrassed him, or angered him, and he walked away.
We’re working on our 58th year now, and I’ve never been sorry that I married her. That is a true statement. And in our upper 70s now, we still have fun being with each other and travelling together.
Please understand: we haven’t always been happy with each other, but we never forget that we love each other. We stay together, work through the issues, and the happiness always returns. Happiness and emotions are fluid, but our love is solid. That way there is never a breach in our marriage.
One more important factor in our marriage must be mentioned. Both of our lives are anchored in a relationship with the Lord, Jesus Christ, and the love of God is the lubricant that keep our marriage gears running smoothly. We both put our highest priority in living for Jesus, and our second priority is living for each other. Both those priorities reinforce our love for each other.
Happy Valentine’s Day.
“Okay – we’ve taken Sharon and Jim to the airport. What would you like to do next?” (The year was 2016.)
spotted a place called Beach Terrace Inn. “I wonder how much they charge for a night’s stay.” Translated into a man’s language, it actually means, “Find out how much it costs to stay here.” Yes, Ma’am.
flashy.” Carol and I found that to be true.
Years ago, that perplexed me because, since God is all-knowing, He knew that man would need a helper, a friend, a companion. So, why the comment? I think it was because God wanted Adam to realize that he (Adam) needed a companion. God allowed Adam to explore the world, look at and name the animals, prepare his own meals, etc. – all the while with no human to talk to.” Being alone is no fun.
Watching portions of the Olympics some time ago, I was amazed at the skill exhibited by the figure-skaters. Their performance was a beautiful expression of the art of skating. Several fell, but they got up and finished the presentation. How could they execute their art with such masterful technique and style? They studied and practiced. Falling didn’t deter them – they kept at it. That’s the method we use in mastering any art form, including the art of marriage.
hosting marriage seminars for years. Paul wrote the book WisdomBuilt Biblical Principles of Marriage (EA Books Publishing, 2019) that goes along with the seminars. These seminars are based on Building People – Building Relationships. Paul joyfully says, “Stay Together – Stay Happy!”
So whether we are engaged and considering marriage, or are celebrating our 70th anniversary, we all need to work at improving our communication skills; therefore, improving our marriage or prospective marriage. As we redefine our roles, marriage will take on a renewed, satisfying, and completed meaning. Remember: our spouse is God’s gift to us.
The Apostle Paul had an attitude. Whether you call him a Christian, Jew, or Roman, he was at times hard to get along with.
Although Jesus criticized some Pharisees for being hypocrites, others were unswervingly dedicated to truth. This described Saul. He was “a Pharisee of the Pharisees” – that is, he was a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee. Pharisees were teachers of the Jewish law, and Saul pursued truth with his entire being; at times even becoming angry at those he considered to be in error.
But what we should do is stop and pray about it; think about our options. We need to realize that no one human sees the entire picture. This is why Paul eventually wrote 1 Corinthians 12: the eye needs the ear; the ear needs the nose; the eye, ear, and nose (and the rest) need the baby toe. (By the way, the baby toe provides stability while walking and tip-toeing.)
Spirit will lead us if we pay attention. We all need each other. Each Christian needs the others. Each minister needs the church members and needs fellowship with ministers in his own and in other denominations.
enjoyed about 99% of the trip. We had been thinking about a trip like this for over 30 years, and it was time to fulfill the dream.
One of our routes to Springer was through Espanola and up the canyon through which flowed the Rio Grande. At La Cienaga we turned east toward Sipapu then over the mountains and down into Mora. And that is where my hands turned red – or maybe, purple. Mora is well-known for its raspberry farm, and Carol had often asked me to stop and pick raspberries. Each time I said something like: “I’m going to be preaching and teaching, and berry-picking isn’t on my mind.” Although that was true, it was also a smoke-screen: I didn’t want to pick berries.
juice, and she was so gentle in her running commentary about how delicious those berries would be in ice cream or made into a berry jam, that my mouth drooled and I just had to stop. When Carol excitedly asked, “Are we going to pick berries?” I said, “Yes. I don’t want to, so this will be a labor of love.” 
do ever for Carol? Where I merely paused on my trip and received a few scratches on my arms, Jesus deliberately left His home in heaven and came to earth to rescue mankind from an eternal separation from God the Father. Jesus didn’t have mere scratches on His arms; the soldiers made a wreath containing inch-long needle-sharp thorns and jammed it onto His head. Jesus purposely allowed Himself to be killed in a gruesome manner in order to reveal the depth of the pain we would suffer eternally without God. 
we can manifest our love. Here is Chuck’s list with my brief commentary on each item.
than a great feast with strife.”) Unless you are trying to make enemies, let your verbal interactions reduce friction. Let your words be oil on troubled waters, not gasoline poured on a fire. Don’t let anyone goad you into an argument, either. Instead, allow him room to express himself in a non-threatening atmosphere.
old, and are friends going back to 1968. Mel, a bi-vocational pastor, and I worked at Boeing in Everett, Washington together in the tooling shop; also called the jig shop. Tools, in this sense, are not hammers, screwdrivers, and pliers. Tooling is a specialized field, and those tools are what the production workers used to actually build the Boeing 747s. 
We would have dinner with them, then spend the evening discussing theology, Bible doctrine, church beliefs, personal understandings of Scripture, and a lot more. When we discovered it was two in the morning, they told us to spend the night and ask Carol & me to sing for them in the church service.
quite firm in some of my beliefs – church beliefs outranked Bible doctrine at the time – Mel helped me to grow in my understanding of the Bible, and in understanding of Who Jesus really was – and is. Mel always talked about Jesus because Jesus was – and is – the most important Person in his life. Mary comes next.
Couple) more than words can say. We are grateful that, in our formative years as a family, they invested valuable time into our lives to help us become who we are today. That is a primary reason that we, in turn, invest time into other’s lives. 
love for us. But mostly we thank you for your love and devotion to each other and to our heavenly Father; for that is what made you who you are today.
Carol and I were married on my 20th birthday: August 22, 1966. Carol says, “Marriage is made in Heaven; but it comes in a kit, and you have to put it together here on earth.” She is correct, and with God’s help we did a lot of “putting together” in our marriage. 
that sometimes.) And I learned that Carol was not being a demeaning tyrant who held me over the fires of hell every time I made a mistake. She was merely interested in truth: TOTAL truth. 
Gene Linzey 