Ok, so we aren't this behind. We've been doing our devotionals, but haven't stayed as on track as we need to. Things have been mad crazy. So we made sure to sit down tonight and do our devotional, so I thought I'd start playing catch up on the blog!
Today was about cherishing the one you love, no matter what. Love gets tough sometimes, I don't care who you are...love can get tough. People get complacent and annoying and whiney. But you still love. You don't dump the person for someone new, you work on what you've got.
Today's dare was to meet a need of your spouse...whether it be a back rub or help with housework. I honestly don't remember what we did on this day, but I can promise you that we did something special for each other. Actually, I'm pretty sure Brian gave me a foot rub and I made him a special dinner that night (being at home all day, that's about all I can do for him.)
But we always do things for each other...maybe because we're newly weds. I made the comment to Brian that we need to do this again in a year. Maybe every year as a reminder.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Brian 01/12/2011
Today we were supposed to do something out of the ordinary and special for our spouse.
Well it turns out we both spent the entire day trying to think of what we could do that we dont normally do.
Well we came to the conclusion that we both already try to go out of the way to help each other and make their life easier.
This was the best feeling in the world knowing that we already treat each other the way this day said we should.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Day 10: Love is Unconditional
Today's devotional was about unconditional love, and it raised some great questions.
If someone asked you why you loved your spouse, what would you say? Would you answer with characteristics about them and things they do for you? So then what if all of the sudden they stopped being that person and stopped doing the things they did for you? What then? Would you still love them?
Agape love is unconditional love, it's one of the three words used for the different types of love in the Greek language. It means love at all times...bad and good, "in sickness and in health." This is the kind of love that God has for us. I mean think about it...he loves a hooker on the side of the road just as much as he loves the saints. That's some really strong love. That kind of love overwhelms me when I think about it. Try and think about it.
LOVE NO MATTER WHAT! I could be cursing God's name, and while he won't like it...he will STILL love me! That's the kind of love we should have for our spouse. And let me tell you there are times I feel like Brian shouldn't love me...like when I bite his head off for no reason...he still loves me.
The dare for today was to do something out of the ordinary for your spouse. We had a really hard time with this dare. Brian called me at lunch to ask me what I wanted for supper...he wanted to cook for me. I love my husband dearly, but I'm not that big of a fan of his cooking. I politely declined the offer. Later on I started wondering what I could do for him and couldn't come up with anything! I sent him a text that read:
"The problem with doing something out of the ordinary is that we already try to do what we can for each other every day."
He agreed. I guess we're ahead of the dare on this day. We both try to make each other's life as easy as possible every day. He does the dishes in the morning so that when I get up, I have clean mixing bowls and mixing tools. I do the clothes and have his dinner ready for him when he comes home so he can relax the rest of the evening.
So, maybe we're already on the right track. :)
If someone asked you why you loved your spouse, what would you say? Would you answer with characteristics about them and things they do for you? So then what if all of the sudden they stopped being that person and stopped doing the things they did for you? What then? Would you still love them?
Agape love is unconditional love, it's one of the three words used for the different types of love in the Greek language. It means love at all times...bad and good, "in sickness and in health." This is the kind of love that God has for us. I mean think about it...he loves a hooker on the side of the road just as much as he loves the saints. That's some really strong love. That kind of love overwhelms me when I think about it. Try and think about it.
LOVE NO MATTER WHAT! I could be cursing God's name, and while he won't like it...he will STILL love me! That's the kind of love we should have for our spouse. And let me tell you there are times I feel like Brian shouldn't love me...like when I bite his head off for no reason...he still loves me.
The dare for today was to do something out of the ordinary for your spouse. We had a really hard time with this dare. Brian called me at lunch to ask me what I wanted for supper...he wanted to cook for me. I love my husband dearly, but I'm not that big of a fan of his cooking. I politely declined the offer. Later on I started wondering what I could do for him and couldn't come up with anything! I sent him a text that read:
"The problem with doing something out of the ordinary is that we already try to do what we can for each other every day."
He agreed. I guess we're ahead of the dare on this day. We both try to make each other's life as easy as possible every day. He does the dishes in the morning so that when I get up, I have clean mixing bowls and mixing tools. I do the clothes and have his dinner ready for him when he comes home so he can relax the rest of the evening.
So, maybe we're already on the right track. :)
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Brian 01/11/2011
Today we were supposed to give our significant other a special greeting to make them feel special.
Ii fell down on the job.
I thought about what I was going to do but i never did it. So tomorrow I will do it.
Lauren came running to see me and gave me one of the biggest hugs ever. That made me feel so good.
But this made me think about something. I LOVE it when i walk in the door and Lauren gets a big ole smile on her face. So how do you think it makes her feel when I show her how excited i am to see her.
Try it out get excited when you greet the one you love. it might just make their day
Day 9: Love Makes Good Impressions
Hello my faithful readers. Sorry it's been a few days. We missed a couple of days because we were so distracted with SNOW! We got about 5.5 inches of snow Sunday and Sunday night. It was sooo beautiful. We got back on track yesterday, though!
This devotional talks about how much you can tell about a couple by the way they greet each other. I never really thought about this...but it's true. It goes on to say you can tell a lot about someone by the way they greet ANYONE.
If someone comes slowly up to you with a scowl on their face to shake your hand and pulls it away quickly...they obviously don't really want to be around you (maybe people in general) and are very stand off-ish. But if someone has a great big smile and leans in towards you and warmly shakes your hand, it makes you feel good. Well, it's the same with your spouse.
If they come home and you just say hi...I mean, I wonder how that makes them feel. But if you greet them with a smile and an "i love you," imagine what that would do...
Our dare was to think of a way to greet our spouse today. So when Brian came home, I was in the bedroom putting some clothes away. I dropped what I was doing and ran and flung my arms around him and told him I loved him. He was FLABBERGASTED! He loved it! And he told me tonight that when he comes home and opens the door and I'm smiling a big smile, it always makes him feel better.
So SMILE at your spouse...what could it hurt?
:)
This devotional talks about how much you can tell about a couple by the way they greet each other. I never really thought about this...but it's true. It goes on to say you can tell a lot about someone by the way they greet ANYONE.
If someone comes slowly up to you with a scowl on their face to shake your hand and pulls it away quickly...they obviously don't really want to be around you (maybe people in general) and are very stand off-ish. But if someone has a great big smile and leans in towards you and warmly shakes your hand, it makes you feel good. Well, it's the same with your spouse.
If they come home and you just say hi...I mean, I wonder how that makes them feel. But if you greet them with a smile and an "i love you," imagine what that would do...
Our dare was to think of a way to greet our spouse today. So when Brian came home, I was in the bedroom putting some clothes away. I dropped what I was doing and ran and flung my arms around him and told him I loved him. He was FLABBERGASTED! He loved it! And he told me tonight that when he comes home and opens the door and I'm smiling a big smile, it always makes him feel better.
So SMILE at your spouse...what could it hurt?
:)
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Day 8: Love is Not Jealous
There are two types of jealousy...legitimate and illegitimate. Legitimate jealousy would be if your spouse cheats on you, your love for your spouse causes legitimate jealousy. It's jealousy out of love. Illegitimate is when you covet something of someone elses. The devotion said that many times anger comes out of illegitimate jealousy.
It cited several different examples of illegitimate jealousy. It talked about wanted something someone got, or not being happy for someone because they got a promotion which put them higher than you. Another example was about a husband golfing and about a wife getting invited to go out a lot by her friends. You get jealous of the others that get to spend time with your spouse.
I know that that kind of jealousy would hit home to a lot of southern wives. A lot of husbands spend their weekends out hunting or fishing, and I know some of them feel neglected and jealous...and I also know that bad feelings sprout from that.
I love spending time with my husband. But I want him to be as happy as he can be. When he still lived in Washington, I INSISTED that he go out with his friends because I knew they made him happy. BUT, he chose me sometimes. He knew it made ME happy for us to "spend time together" even if it was over the phone. There has to be a balance. But there can't be a balance unless you express to your spouse that the scales are tilting in one direction or the other...and even then your spouse has to understand.
Our dare was to take the list of negative qualities and burn it discreetly. Well, we're doing this together so it wasn't discreet. We folded up our lists so the other couldn't see what was on them and burned them in the sink then washed the residue down the drain.
It was a very powerful exercise. It was meant to put all of the focus on the positive aspects of your spouse, and I can see that it will work. If you burn them and they don't exist...you have nothing to think of but the positive. And if I spend my time thinking of the positive, then the next time he forgets something at the store, maybe I won't go to the Depreciation room. We also had to congratulate our spouse on a success.
And let me tell you...
The job my husband has is not easy. I could not stay and work there, but he did because he had to. And he has made the best out of a sometimes bad situation and he has FLOURISHED! He's so creative and talented and only gets better at his job every day and I can't tell you how proud I am of him!!
It cited several different examples of illegitimate jealousy. It talked about wanted something someone got, or not being happy for someone because they got a promotion which put them higher than you. Another example was about a husband golfing and about a wife getting invited to go out a lot by her friends. You get jealous of the others that get to spend time with your spouse.
I know that that kind of jealousy would hit home to a lot of southern wives. A lot of husbands spend their weekends out hunting or fishing, and I know some of them feel neglected and jealous...and I also know that bad feelings sprout from that.
I love spending time with my husband. But I want him to be as happy as he can be. When he still lived in Washington, I INSISTED that he go out with his friends because I knew they made him happy. BUT, he chose me sometimes. He knew it made ME happy for us to "spend time together" even if it was over the phone. There has to be a balance. But there can't be a balance unless you express to your spouse that the scales are tilting in one direction or the other...and even then your spouse has to understand.
Our dare was to take the list of negative qualities and burn it discreetly. Well, we're doing this together so it wasn't discreet. We folded up our lists so the other couldn't see what was on them and burned them in the sink then washed the residue down the drain.
It was a very powerful exercise. It was meant to put all of the focus on the positive aspects of your spouse, and I can see that it will work. If you burn them and they don't exist...you have nothing to think of but the positive. And if I spend my time thinking of the positive, then the next time he forgets something at the store, maybe I won't go to the Depreciation room. We also had to congratulate our spouse on a success.
And let me tell you...
The job my husband has is not easy. I could not stay and work there, but he did because he had to. And he has made the best out of a sometimes bad situation and he has FLOURISHED! He's so creative and talented and only gets better at his job every day and I can't tell you how proud I am of him!!
Brian 01/08/2011
We combined yesterdays and today's, or is it today's and tomorrow's? Either way we combined them.
We were supposed to take 2 sheets of paper a piece and write on one all the negative aspects of our spouse and on the other all the positive. i could only come up with 2 bad things, the good were:
Independent
Strong
Kind
Resourceful
Empathetic
natural leader
Generous
Smart
Spiritual
Then we had to pick the most important one to us and tell our spouse. I chose empathetic because Lauren helped me through a lot of difficult times because of her ability to relate.
The next step was SO cool. W had to take the negative and burn it. Yes we burned them in the sink. It was one of the coolest things ever.
I suggest that every couple do this.
Then we talked about jealousy. The activity was that we had to tell each other what we were proud of the other for. I told Lauren how proud i was about her baking and how amazing she is doing.
Read this book, seriously.
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