Dear Friend 

Autumn is upon us, with all its beautiful colours and shades. The change of seasons is always a reminder of our human need for change. It also reminds us of God's incredible creativity and His complete control.

There is always much changing and developing within the ministry of Focus on the Family as we try to achieve as much impact as possible in the most efficient and productive way. We believe that we are merely stewards of the resources we have been blessed with, and therefore want to use them to the best of our ability and to the greatest effect.

One thing that hasn’t changed is the need among people for help with their families. We are privileged to play a part in providing that help in this continent.

Our Family Outreach department continues to expand. The No Apologies programme has been extended into East Africa with training happening in Ethiopia and Uganda. We are entering into the third year of a three year contract in the Eastern Cape which, when completed, will mean over 8000 Educators have been trained and over 300 000 children have received the message of abstinence.

Our Parenting with Assurance programme has become increasingly popular in churches and schools. We often receive requests to present the course with specific emphasis on the discipline of children and accepting one's child. 

May I also remind you of the forthcoming Heart of Success Seminars that are being held in Cape Town and Durban in April. The tickets are selling fast, in fact Durban is sold out, so please call us to book for the Cape Town Seminar or click here for more information.

Please come and visit us, we really would love to show you what God is doing in, and through, this ministry. Also please note that our bookstore is open every Saturday from 8:30 to 12:30 so pop in and browse through some of the best family orientated resources in the world. We are at 333 Fischer Road, Hillcrest. Click here to view a map.

As always you will find below a Question and Answer excerpt by Dr Dobson.

Please click here to find out what exciting radio programmes will be broadcast during the month of February. To find out which stations in your area broadcast our programmes, please click here.

Sincerely

Danie van den Heever
Executive Chairman

QUESTION: You have said that the natural progression of a marriage is to become more distant rather than more intimate. Why is that true?

DR. DOBSON: The natural tendency of everything in the universe is to move from order to disorder. If you buy a new car, it will steadily deteriorate from the day you drive it home. Your body is slowly aging and dying. Your house has to be repainted and repaired every few summers. A business that is not managed carefully will unravel and collapse. A brick that is placed on a vacant lot and left there long enough will eventually turn to dust. Indeed, even the sun and all the stars are slowly burning themselves out. We are, in a manner of speaking, in a dying universe where everything that is not specifically being protected and upgraded is in a downward spiral.

The principle which governs this drift from order to disorder might be called 'the law of disintegration.' (Engineers and scientists sometimes call it the law of 'entropy.') The only way to postpone or temporarily combat its influence is to invest creative energy and intelligent design into that which is to be preserved.

Not so surprisingly, human relationships also conform to the principle of disintegration. The natural tendency is for husbands and wives to drift away from each other unless they work at staying together. To provide another analogy, it is as though they were sitting in separate rowboats on a choppy lake. If they don't paddle vigorously to stay in the same neighborhood, one will drift to the north of the lake and the other to the south. That is exactly what happens when marital partners get too busy or distracted to maintain their love. If they don't take the time for romantic activities and experiences that draw them together, something precious begins to slip away. It doesn't have to be that way, of course, but the currents of life will separate them unless efforts are made to remain together. 

I wish every newly married couple knew about the law of disintegration and would actively protect their relationship from it.

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