Life Before and After the Honeymoon

I recommend this book to every couple and single person out there, planning on getting married or just improving your relationship with your spouse. As a young person that got married at an earlier age (19), I can say from experience that it take a lot of effort and compromising to make it work. After being married for over seven years, this book has opened both mine and my husbands eyes to much more! Bishop Francis targets a lot of issues relating to married life, and to have a successful one at the most, in this book. God bless you Bishop and I thank God for the inspiration that he gave you to write this book. Thank you - Mrs. Kerisha Johnson

As a young couple, our hearts and knowledge have been enriched and increased immensely with such godly words of wisdom. This book is inspiring and is a must read by both couples, and those that are planning to get married. The book is written in both a biblical and practical manner mixed with some humor which will make it both enjoyable and edifying by either a single individual or a married couple. Reading Life Before and After the Honeymoon is like having your personal marriage counselor available seven days a week, for 24 hours everyday. We give it four thumbs up!! - Bro and Sis. Wilmoth

Life Before and After the Honeymoon

By Bishop Cedric E. Francis

Francis, Cedric E. Life Before and After the Honeymoon Copyright 2001, 2010 Francis, Cedric E. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the author and publisher. *All Biblical quotes in this work are from the King James Version of the Bible Edited by: Charmin A. Stewart Published by: Cedric E. Francis ISBN 978-1-897544-39-6

PuBLICATIoN ASSISTANCE ANd dIGITAL PRINTING IN CANAdA By

DIGITALLY PRINTED IN CANADA BY

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DeDicAtion
The inspiration for this book is from the Spirit of God and forty years of marriage to my beloved wife, Pastor Cynthia V. Francis. This book is dedicated to many people. Firstly, to my beloved wife, nurse, rose, lover, life partner, and partner in the ministryCynthia. I wish to acknowledge our children, daughterin-law, son-in-law and grandchildren who have been a blessing to my wife and myself. I give thanks for my father, Emuel Francis and my mother, Evangelist Almena Reid, who taught me to know God and my parents-in-law, Evangelist Z. Hamilton and the late deacon Hamilton. To my brothers and their familiesI love you. I also give thanks and appreciation to my pastors in Jamaica, West Indies and England (Bishop G.E. Edmond, Bishop Sydney dunn, Mother dunn). I give my appreciation to my best friend Elder George Brooks. To the most precious souls Beulah Church of Jesus Christ Apostolic Inc. that God has put under my care for thirtytwo yearsyou are the fruit of our labour. I love you all. To doctor Paul Arnold, my family doctor for more than 30 yearsthank you, doc, and God bless you and your family with long life, health and strength. To all those in the medical community who performed my heart surgery and participated in my recoveryGod bless you for your dedication and care.

contents
The Beginning Personal Experience Is He or She the one? The Engagement and Pronouncement Finances Changes Roles of Husband and Wife Getting Along Parents-in-Law Children, Here They Come In Sickness and in Health Till death do us Part Conclusion 1 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 27 28 38 40 43

Chapter One

tHe Beginning
First, I must start from the beginning. God who is the creator of all life and human beings formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into mans nostrils the breath of life. Then man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7) God planted a garden and in it He placed the tree of life. In the midst of the garden was the tree of knowledge, and of good and evil. God ordained Adam, whose name means the first man, to take care of the garden and the animals that God created. Then came a day when God looked at Adam in the garden and said, It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a help [fit] for him. (Is that why men get marriedbecause they cannot take care of themselves?) God decided to make a woman for Adam but He could not make her from the dust of the ground because she and Adam would be two separate beings. So God with His wisdom, knowledge, and understanding decided to take the woman out of the man, so they would be two of one. The wisdom of God is past finding out. Its just amazing. God put the man into a deep sleep, took one of his ribs, and then closed

Life Before and After the Honeymoon

up his flesh. (Note that Adams flesh was good as new because God is the healer of body, soul and spirit.) God made the woman and brought her unto the man. At that time God woke up Adam. Adam had never seen another human being but himself before. (When Adam was made, he was a complete man with no growing up to do except he had the innocence of a child.) Adam said, This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, Isha, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh (Genesis 2:23-24). Remember Adam was asleep when God took his rib and healed the wound, so he had no knowledge of what had happened. Remember also, Adam had the innocence of a child. So, God opened Adams mind, gave him the knowledge and let Adam make his own marriage vowswhich is God-holy vow until this day and forever will be. (God could not allow the two of them to live in the garden unmarried. If He did so, He could not tell us, the descendants of Adam, that a man should not live with a woman without the benefit of marriage. We refer back to Adam and Eve as our examples.) This was the dispensation of the innocent. The man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed of the fact. At the time, they did not have any sexual feelings because of the innocence. However, after they disobeyed God, sin was born

The Beginning

and the dispensation of innocence was no more. They then realized they were naked and were ashamed. Sinful knowledge told them to go and hide. The word of God declares, Righteousness exalteth a nation but sin is a reproach to any people (Proverbs 14:34). God had no choice but to cast Adam and Eve out of the garden. Sin comes with consequences. For Adam, from the dust God made him and to the dust he would return. Adam would also work until he sweat to eat bread. Men, that is the curse from God. That curse will never be removed until death. God is a God of forgiveness, but this sinalthough forgivenwill not be removed because Adam and Eve brought the curse to the whole human race. Although they were forgiven and their sin blotted out, we see that the wages of sin is deathboth naturally and spiritually. However, the gift of God is eternal life through only through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). This is the curse of Eve: God said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee (Genesis 3:16). Note, in Genesis 2, they were equal partners and Adam was not ruling his wife. After the disobedience, when God called for Adam to have fellowship, Adams innocence was gone. Now Adam recognized who he was and was ashamed because he had sinned against God. When

Life Before and After the Honeymoon

he faced God, he said Eve gave him to eat of the tree (Genesis 3:12). In other words, he was saying the woman made him do it. until this day men who are not mentally mature are still blaming women for sins such as fornication and adultery. Its not my faultthe woman made me do it. But those men also have to pay the price. It takes real mentally mature man to take the blame and say, Im sorry. Please forgive me. Such a man will have no problem acknowledging his fault. Adam blamed his wife but God did not accept his excuse. God said that because Adam had hearkened unto the voice of his wife and eaten of the tree, then the earth would be cursed. Married men, take notice. your wives are there to support you in the right thing but you do not think for them. your wives have brains of their own. God made Adam and Eve, whose name means the mother of all living, to have need of each other and sexual desire. Firstly, to produce children and populate the human race so that God would have a generation of men and women to serve Him and keep his commandments. For this, as Ecclesiastes 12:13 states, is the whole duty of man. Secondly, Adam and Eve needed to satisfy themselves naturally. I wont go into details but after the joy of salvation, this is the greatest joy and pleasure one can havethe caring, loving and intimate relationship between husband and wife in this natural life.

The Beginning

Women are the most beautiful creatures God made. The only creation that compares to a womans beauty is a flowerbed of a variety of flowers. The beauty of the flower fades, however, but the beauty of a natural woman lives oneven when she gets old you can see the beauty in her face, her graceful walk, her voice, and her mannerisms. God knows mens desire and love towards women.

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