Love Dare - Day 10

Thursday, August 20, 2009 | 3 People Reacted | 8:28 AM

Day 10 - Love is Unconditional

Romans 5: 8

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

This task was ok. Do something out of the ordinary for your spouse - something that proves to THEM that you are with them because you CHOSE to be.

I chose to give Jos a HUGE, moment-stopping kiss. The kind where they don't want to leave for work. I miss those moments like that where you remember the good old 'make out days'. Keep them happening...it will soon feel like the old days again and perhaps reignite that spark! I also chose to iron his shirts for him....HAHA does that count? LOL Ok, I'll finish the ironing today.

Labels: Love Dare

Love Dare - Day 9

| 0 People Reacted | 7:40 AM

Day 9 - Love Makes Good Impressions

1 Peter 5:14

"Greet ye one another with a kiss of charity. Peace be with you all that are in Christ Jesus. Amen."

The task is to think of a certain way you would like to greet your partner. Do it with a smile and enthusiasm. And then try and greet your spouse that way every day.

I enjoy calling Jos during the day and surprise him with an energetic and enthused phone call. Its always so pleasant to get a happy person on the other end of the phone. You can sense the other person is smiling on the other end, just by the tone of their voice. I just love that.When he gets home, he's pretty beat from his day, and so am I...so the energy is sort of fizzled out. I will most definitely, try harder to be enthused at the door.

Short and sweet.

Labels: Love Dare

Love Dare - Day 8

Tuesday, August 18, 2009 | 0 People Reacted | 9:24 AM

Day 8 - Love is not Jealous

Song of Solomon 8:6

"Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame."

Day 7's challenge is involved with Day 8's task...ahh now it comes to light.

Day 8 is to determine to become your spouse's biggest fan, and reject ANY thoughts of jealousy. Focus on their achievements, and take yesterday's negative list and BURN IT. Well I just crinkled mine up and thew it away. It was surprisingly easy to throw it away. I don't even remember the silly things I wrote down! Was that the point? Perhaps. I am so proud of Jos. He has pulled up his socks about 100% this year. He's really impressing me with his hard work, his success, and I can only imagine that his success will double or even triple by the end of the year. I can encourage his success by being excited about his new business, new employees and team members, and help him with anything he needs help with.

I am his biggest fan.

Labels: Love Dare

Love Dare - Day 7

Sunday, August 16, 2009 | 0 People Reacted | 8:12 PM

WOW - 7 days in a row of the Love Dare

Day 7 - Love Believes the Best

1st Corinthians 13:7

Love
"Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."

I, personally, love this scripture. It reminds me of a few talks that I've heard in the past that we must not only endure our life, but endure WELL to the end. Having a strong love bond will help with enduring with a HUGE smile on your face. Who wants to be happy in love? I do! Srlsy, I do! I envy other couples that just "have it" together. I look at those who make it look so easy!

Day 7's dare was to compile 2 lists on separate papers. One for the positive attributes about your spouse, and the other for the negative attributes. Don't be shy...write away! There apparently is a different purpose for each list. Now, pick something from your positive list, and THANK your spouse for having that characteristic. I didn't necessarily tell Jos about my positive characteristic YESTERDAY, I actually emailed him about one of them a couple of weeks ago. I absolutley adore family time that we have together. We took our August long weeked and spent it at a family reunion, and one of the thing we did together as a family (before we took Lliam to the hospital for the swollen face) was going for a creek walk in the middle of nowhere! We went for a small walk near Police Lake. This creek took us to some farmer's ranchland, and we cross fences, and hiked further up the creek with both kids strapped to our backs. We helped each other along the way, and it was the perfect family time. I really crave those days that we can all do stuff together with our boys.

Labels: Love Dare

Love Dare - Day 6

| 0 People Reacted | 7:52 PM

Sorry, this post is a little late. Here we go.

Day 6 - Love is Not Negotiable.

Proverbs 16:32

"He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city."

Day 6 dare was to choose to react to tough circumstances in your marriage in loving ways instead of with irritation.

Ways I need to give a little:

- when he goes out for fast food more than 3 times in a week.
- relax when he's tasting my food I just made...I'm always nervous for the BIG critique.
- take a compliment while I'm dripping in sweat (during my work outs, he often gives me a boost, but that's when I really feel vulnerable. Especially when I'm jumping, and doing pushups)

Things that need to be fixed from my life:

- take the criticism when he does give it. He's got good intentions, its just always hard to hear.
- Show more compassion for the vulnerable side of Jos.

I'm trying not to over react to things lately. I know it just compounds the problem if you do over react. In my family, OVER reacting is the ONLY way to react. So this has been a hard one for me. My motivation to try harder on this one, is because I really want to to be able to discuss things with tact, and a slow mouth. It makes life a whole lot easier to deal with when you aren't afraid to get someone jump up in your face about anything.

Labels: Love Dare

Love Dare - Day 5

Saturday, August 15, 2009 | 2 People Reacted | 1:19 PM

Today is a quickie.

Day 5 - Love is Not Rude.

Proverbs 27:14 (seriously, everyone should read the whole book of Proverbs before they get married....31 chapters...one a day...excellent advise!)

"He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, it shall be counted a curse to him."

Notice how when we are dating, its natural that we put on our best, act our best, so that we can attract a mate. Same philosophy in nature as well...birds flaunt, big horn sheep bonk heads, you know, that sort of thing. But once that mate is attracted, that sort of "fight for it" feeling sort of goes away. Irritating things that were overlooked are now INSANELY irritating! The way they chew their food, if they make loud noises in their sleep (whether it be snores, or what have you), how they assume EVERYTHING. You get the idea. The etiquette seems to disappear to the wayside, and it starts to feel like you are roomates with your spouse. Thankfully, my spouse, is pretty good on the etiquette side. But here are some general guidelines the book recommends...

1) Guard the Golden Rule - Treat your mate the same way you want to be treated. (see Luke 6:31)

2) No Double Standards - Be as considerate to your spouse as you are to strangers and co-workers.

3) Honor Requests - Consider what your spouse already asked you to do or not do. If in doubt, then ask.

The task, you ask? LOL Was to ask your spouse what 3 things that caused them to be uncomfortable or irritated with you. This is from their perspective! This is a pride-sucking task. What fun.

My 3 things were emailed to me. *Gulp* I will not share them, sorry folks, they are mine to work on.

The 3 things I had for Jos were emailed to him. Except, that I had only 2 things. And they were little irritations...I guess I have a lot more to work on. Go TEAM WILLARD.

Labels: Love Dare

Love Dare - Day 4

Friday, August 14, 2009 | 0 People Reacted | 11:06 AM

Howdy! Day 4 already? Sweet!

Day 4 : Love is Thoughtful

Psalm 139:17-18

"How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!

If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee."

Ahhhh, isn't that such a sweet scripture? Day 4 dare is to contact your spouse during the business of the day. Without an agenda other than asking how he/she is doing and if there is anything you can do for them. This one is a pretty easy one. I call Jos about 3-4 times during the day. Yes, I know that sounds a bit much. Most of it is while he is out and about between meetings, so I don't interrupt his client meetings. I think its very sweet that he calls me for no reason at all too! Just to see how I'm doing. Sometimes its just what I need for those 10 minutes, a break from the day, a change to connect with my spouse. It also shows your partner how often you actually think of them. Since this was already a part of my daily routine, this one didn't come across as out of the ordinary. Easy smeasy task. We were bound to hit one of those right?

Labels: Love Dare