Ways You Can Make Your Marriage Better

I came across this yesterday while I was cleaning out a drawer. Here's the short version of the article by JB Collingsworth

1. Be nice to your spouse! It is amazing how relationships improve when we decide to be nice and kind and thoughtful.

2. Watch your tongue. We choose our words and they have the power to build up or tear down.

3. Turn away from temptation and evil. God knows we will have opportunity to behave badly, but He has given instructions for our good and for the success of our marriage and family.

4. Read a Proverb a day.

5. Never forget you are not on your own! You will find joy and contentment when you lean on God and allow Him to accomplish His will in your marriage, both in the good times and in the unavoidable bad times.

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 13:14


And, I would say, remember to ask your spouse how you can pray for them today. It will bless them and you just might learn what is going on in their heart. God is good. He is all about our marriage.

Kindness

Last Saturday, my sweet Kynn did the grocery shopping for us. We did not need very much, so I started to wonder when he had been gone for so long. He added one more stop to his trip and went by the Fresh Market to pick up some flowers for me. (The Fresh Market has the best flowers) It was such a sweet surprise and he did it just to put some deposits in my "love bank".

God has blessed me beyond words with a wonderful husband. He is such a family man and that is only one thing that I love about him. It gives me great security to see him reading his Bible and seeking the Lord each morning. He regularly talks about the Lord with me and our boys. Kynn makes me laugh and really has a silly streak running through his blood. But, his kindness really blesses me over and over again. He helps without being asked, picks up after himself, and just does kind things like buying me flowers.

I read the following and it made me think of him.

"The Bible keys in on the importance of kindness. "Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man" (Proverbs 3:3-4) Kind people simply find favor wherever they go. Even at home." (Love Dare)

KINDNESS

May I not forget to I bind it around MY neck and write it on the tablet of MY heart.

Happy Anniversary

Our 23rd Wedding Anniversary

May 31

Who's the Boss?

Devotional thought from Dennis Rainey

"Be selfless in the little things. Sometimes I don't want to get out of my favorite chair to help Barbara carry in the groceries, sweep the kitchen or clean a toilet bowl. But it's in these minor, everyday moments that we teach our selfish selves who is boss. This is part of what the Bible means when it tells us to "learn to do good" (Isaiah 1:17)--to constantly choose death to self, to always choose sacrificial love until it becomes our first response. "

Have you ever considered that we must teach our selfish selves who is boss? We must learn to do good. We must tell ourselves that we will not be selfish and we will chose to do good for our spouse. Ladies, chose today to pick up his clothes (one more time perhaps) or help him with some sort of manly duty around the house. Men, get out of your chair and do the dishes, and yes, clean that toilet. This is sacrificial love. By doing these acts of service, with a happy heart, we are dying to self and declaring who is Boss. Chose today to die to self. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not men. Col. 3:23

Pearls to Ponder-For the Ladies

Hey ladies, ....Here are some words to ponder on as we go through our week. Currently, the ladies Bible Study group is reading the book, What happens when women say Yes to God, by Lysa TerKeurst. My new, sweet friend, Allyson Monferdini, emailed me the following "pearls which she found on TerKeurst website Proverbs 31 Ministries. I wanted to share these with all the ladies out there. THANKS ALLYSON!!! May God bless each of you as you love your husband.

"Love means commitment."
-Commitment to love him even when you don't feel loveable.
-Commitment to share yourself even when you want to be alone.
-Commitment to hope even when the circumstances say otherwise.
-Commitment to pray for him even when you are tired.
-Commitment to speak to him even when the words don't come easily.
-Commitment to the promise you made on your wedding day even when the promise feels broken.
-Commitment to a God who makes all things possible through Him.

I think marriage is an opportunity to live blind...
Blind to all the faults of your spouse.
Blind to all the clothes he leaves on the floor.
Blind to the flaws and failures that seem to become so magnified after the honeymoon is over. Blind to the other guy who seems oh-so-much-more interested in you.

And Deaf...
Deaf to the careless words and ugly tones that linger in your head after apologies have been spoken.
Deaf to the other voices telling you happiness is out there, somewhere, anywhere but in your marriage.

And a chance to become a student again...
A student of the man God has placed in your life. Discovering the subtleties of his character. The things that make him soar. The things that break his heart. The things he does well and not so well. The ways he communicates love, even when it's not the way you are used to receiving it. What his "quiet" means and what makes him laugh really, really hard.

Getting married doesn't instantly make you selfless... it makes you realize how very selfish you can be at times.
Getting married doesn't make you feel loved... it makes you realize love is more of a decision you make than a feeling you feel.
Getting married doesn't take away loneliness... it makes you realize true companionship comes not when you demand it but rather when you give it to another person.

Marriage is a beautiful chance to make the choice to...
LAUGH-whether or not the jokes are funny.
LOVE-by folding his collar over his tie every morning.
PRETEND-like you don't need flowers, but delight when he buys them anyway.
CHEER-him on through both failures and successes.
TELL-him he's a great man everyday.
THANK-God for the privilege of being his wife.