Hello Todd,

I hope this email finds you and your family doing well! I haven't gotten a newsletter out in a while so I thought I would take this opportunity to get it out today while I have a chance. Below is some great new marriage enrichment content and a quick update!

Update - The Lord continues to blow our minds 🤯 by doing some amazing things in and through the ministry of Agape Pastoral Services since we last connected.

There's a lot that has been going on, so here it goes, we're currently taking care of 66 active clients and more women are starting to work with Liz every day. You might be thinking to yourself Todd, how on earth can you guys keep up with that many clients, and that's definitely a legit question, and one answer would be that number also includes couples who are seeing me in a maintenance capacity (31%) which involves only meeting once every 4 to 6 weeks and it also includes Premarital Counseling clients (26%) who only meet with me every other week and then some of those clients are meeting with Liz, so it's more than doable, and you know what, the Lord is in control! 😃

We continue to see God doing some absolutely amazing and transformative things within individual and couples lives. It is a reminder to me everyday that what we do has nothing really to do with us at all, but everything to do with what the Lord is doing in and through us here at Agape Pastoral Services!! We're seeing Romans 12:2 play out in so many lives every single day and if the individuals and couples are willing to humble themselves and own what they need to own, their minds will be renewed and the transformation will occur, guaranteed!! Praise the Lord!! 🙏🏻✝️

We appreciate and covet your prayers everyday and thank you for being a part of what God is doing in and through this ministry!

Look for Marriage Tips, 1, 2, 3, 4 below!

Thank you,

Todd - Founder

The Life Series:

𝗝𝗼𝗱𝗶 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 "𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗕𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲" 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 beginning 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟭𝟵𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝘁 𝟲:𝟬𝟬 𝗣𝗠 and it will run for 10 consecutive weeks. If you have ever worked with me before you know that this is a Bible study that I have encouraged you to consider going through, either individually or as a couple, and it's finally come about that we will be facilitating a group through this amazing and life changing study! It's go time baby!! 😃

To learn all the details of what this Bible study is about, please follow the link below to get all the information you need to decide if this is for you!

Again, this study will run from Monday, February 19th through Monday, April 22nd without break starting at 6:00 PM each night. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗕𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆. We will however open it up to a free will offering to cover the cost of renting the facility and the workbooks.

To get all the details and to register please use the button below.

Marriage Tip #1 (left this from my last email because it's so important!!) 🙂

What it means to give God your First and Best!

1) Your first and best involves giving God your total being.

Jesus quoted the greatest commandment as loving the Lord “with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37). The whole of who we are is the best we can give Him. To give God only a part of ourselves falls short of loving Him with “all” of who we are. To present ourselves to “as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” as commanded in Romans 12:1, is only reasonable in light of what God has done for us.

2) Your first and best involves giving God your first of everything. Throughout the Old Testament we read of the Israelites giving God the first fruits and the best of the flock. We serve the same God, still worthy of the first and best of our time, efforts, and resources. To give Him leftover or misdirected time and energy isn’t giving Him the best He deserves.

3) Your first and best involves giving God your most superior work. To give God a half-hearted or sloppy effort falls short of doing whatever we do “for the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). How can we be “a workman who does not need to be ashamed” if we inaccurately represent Him (2 Tim. 2:15) because we didn’t take the time required to get it right?

In light of these three points, we must conclude that to give God our first and best, we can’t compartmentalize our lives — God time, me time, work time, family time. All of our lives, at all times and in every way, must be seen as God time. Wherever we are and in whatever we do, we do it all to the glory of God!

Marriage Tip #3:

Be Present in Your Marriage:

One thing that made Jesus’s ministry so powerful was the fact that He was present in the lives of His people, just as He is now. Jesus walked with the disciples, ate with sinners, and in today’s passage from John 8, he knelt down beside the woman preparing to be stoned. He took on flesh so that he could bear with us in our flesh. While you can’t be your wife’s savior, you can certainly do life alongside her; being present for the grind and investing in the relationship.

I can attest to how difficult it is to find time for one another in marriage. This isn’t about an amount of time. This is about giving your attention and being intentional with the time that you do get. Are you engaged in conversation or haphazardly nodding as she talks about her day? Are you leaving the family agenda in her hands or are you looking for pieces of time to enjoy one another? Are you on your phone or tablet throughout dinner or are you delighting in conversation? She doesn’t need your presence for a set amount of time as much as she needs you to be present in your time together.

229 Jackson Street,

Suite 136

Anoka, MN 55303

763-200-1664