Ingredients: Chapters Used For The Relationship Recipe

INGREDIENTS/ CHAPTERS USED FOR THE RELATIONSHIP RECIPE

There are some ingredients that are commonly found and used when making most cakes (flour, eggs, sugar, etc.). I want to use this analogy in my reference to relationships.  It does not matter if the relationship is a marriage, business partners,  friends, parent- child, siblings, relatives, co-workers, etc. For any relationship to be successful,  there are certain ingredients that need to be present and active. In my book: “The Marriage Recipe” I was focusing particularly on marriages between Believers.  But as I took notice of the ingredients that I was using, I realized that there were so many other relationships that needed some of these ingredients. So I decided to re-edit my book and rename it “The Relationship Recipe.” 

This book originally started out with just six ingredients, but it has now expanded to ten ingredients. The following ingredients will make up the chapters for “The Relationship Recipe”:

1. Christ – Just like flour is the key ingredient found in most cakes, the teachings of Christ should be the key ingredient for a successful relationship. Christ has a whole lot to say when it comes to relationships. For example, in the book of Acts the third chapter and the third verse, you will find these words: “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?”(NIV). This is letting the reader know that if two people intend to share the same path, they need to have already come to an agreement on how they are going to attempt this walk.
2. Currency (Finances) – “Money is one of the most common determining factors in a lot of failed and failing relationships.” But it does not have to be! We examine some easy methods that can be used to keep money from being a hindrance in a relationship.
3. Commitment – If each person in the relationship is committed to each other, that commitment will keep them from going to anyone else outside of the relationship for satisfaction. 
4. Compromise – People in relationships don’t always see eye-to-eye. They need to understand that sometimes there will be a need to come up with a compromise. When this time comes, it is important that they don’t forget the love and respect that they have for each other when they go about coming to whatever compromise they feel will work for them.
5. Compatibility – Just because you find someone who desires to attain some of the same things that you do, that doesn’t mean that both of you are willing to go about  obtaining these things in a manner which is in agreement with each other. In other words, you would not join a race horse and a plow horse together; yes they are both horses, but they would not be compatible partners.
6. Communication – It is imperative that the parties in a relationship be able to communicate with each other. Too often when people are speaking with each other, they are only listening so that they can get to a point in what the other person is saying to jump in and say what they want to say. In other words, they weren’t really listening to what they other person was saying, they were just waiting for the chance to make their point. “Communicating also means that the both of you are being receptive to what each other is saying.”
7. Confidence (Trust) – Without trust in a relationship, that relationship is going to be superficial at best. There should be enough trust in the people in the relationship that their word is not only sufficient when they say they are going to do, or not do, something. It should also be good enough to always give them the benefit of the doubt when something comes up that needs clarification.
8. Charity (Love) – I like the fact that the Holy Bible uses charity and love synonymously. This lets us know that one should care enough for a person that they are willing to give to them without the expectation of reciprocation. In short, “if each one gives, each one receives!”
9. Considerate –  “One has to be careful that even though their actions may be honorable, they must be thoughtful of the rights and feelings of their mate.” One might want to surprise their mate by getting up early and cleaning the house or making breakfast. These are honorable and wonderful things to do. But did that person take into consideration that their mate has to get up and go to work, or that they need a couple of more hours of sleep and that the noise of their cleaning would awaken their mate? This is a simple example, but the point that I am trying to make is that one needs to be considerate of their mate, partner, sibling, etc. when they are making a decision which involves both of them.
10. Compliance – This can be a very sensitive area in a lot of relationships. Sometimes one of the people in the relationship has a habit or custom that they want the other person to participate in, but the other person doesn’t really like doing it. You are probably saying that they should just talk about it and come to an understanding on how they are going to handle it. That is a novel idea, but it is not always that simple. We will go deeper into this area in our book.