"...when I was sick you visited me..."

The other day I found out that my neighbor was sick with the flu. My initial thought was that I'd better steer clear of her and those around her till she gets better and certainly keep my children far away! A few days later I was explaining to Shiona that we show we love Jesus by dong his commands like loving one another. I was suddenly stricken in my conscience. My immediate reaction to someone in need was to be selfish! And what little faith I was displaying! If I got sick, so be it, but couldn't God protect me too? So the next day I got her a gift and the girls helped me make a batch of cookies for her. However. When I called to find out how she was doing she was
feelng much better. Opportunity lost because my initial reaction was to respond to my fears instead of showing love. :( Now, not to be cruel, but I am awaiting the next individual to get sick so I can sieze the oppotunity I'd missed. I understand mothers wanting to protect their children from contagious diseases and sicknesses but there are other ways to minister like sending cards and praying too!

His Home is His Castle

In case you didn't read the comments left on the previous post entitled "Pet Peeves" I wanted to use Lisi's comment (Herb of Grace) to remind us how our husbands should feel when they are home. She writes,

"I totally agree! If women all over the world could just do this ONE THING, I bet we'd see a marked drop in the divorce rate. Seriously. I can't imagine anything worse as a man than to spend the whole day working in an environment where he is respected and in authority and then come home to relax and rest in the bosom of his family and be met by a nagging wife. That's NOT the kind of comparisons I want my husband to be making..."

I think that pretty much sums it up right there. One of the keys to a man feeling loved is by being treated with reverence and respect. I've heard a lot of stories where a man will leave his wife for another woman and it isn't about looks at all - it's about the way the other woman treated him! Scary, but true. Let's keep the heart of our husbands by showing him honor and respect and making him feel like he is the king of his home and of our hearts!

You like it? It was only $....

I know things are tight for many people right now. It is hard to think of spending extra money on unnecessary items, but could you spare $10 to surprise and delight your husband? It is so fun (and appreciated) to find a little something new for your special "wardrobe" for him. It doesn't have to be from Victoria's Secret. Even the clearance section in Walmart has some fun things just to add something new to your collection. It may not be the sexiest thing you've ever gotten, but your husband will appreciate that you were thinking about him and that you only spent a few dollars on it! It is so important to keep things exciting, new and fresh.

Pet Peeves

All right, let's admit it. As wonderful and great as our husbands are, there are probably a few things that bother us, too. We aren't perfect and the things that probably annoy us aren't moral issues or matters of conviction, but rather irritating or thoughtless actions by others. The ones that can really get on our nerves are those things done frequently by those who are closest to us. So, here is my proposition: pick one pet peeve that your husband does and make it your goal to get over it and decide to live with it and don't let it irritate you anymore. Your marriage will be that much sweeter and life a little happier if we can knock off some of these silly things that can disrupt our peace and unity. Try not to mention the issue to you husband again, don't roll your eyes when it happens and (we all know this) NEVER nag! Smile and get over it!

Yes, yes, easier said than done. Let me give you an example from my sister. (By your leave, Denise and Jonathan. :) Her husband will come in from his hunting or what not, forget to take his boots off and sometimes leave tracks in their carpet. Now, we all might get irritated at this, but she had a better perspective. Her husband gets deployed for months at a time and also he is sent on smaller assignments where he can be gone for weeks. She told me she decided she was just glad he was home to make the tracks in the carpet! Imagine his surprise (if he noticed) of seeing his wife cheerfully cleaning up the mess he accidentally made and not being "reprimanded".

Another case in point: something that bothered me was when my husband would leave his socks inside out and I'd have to turn them the right way to wash them. As much as I adore my husband, I didn't relish the idea of sticking my hand in his work-worn socks every time I did laundry. Now, I mentioned it to him a couple times and he tried to remember to turn them right-side out. It was a sweet gesture, but after a day of his kind of work he would be exhausted and forget. I realized I didn't want to add any more "burdens" to his day. I wanted him to come home and feel like he could relax and not be treated like another child or even an "equal" member of the house. After all he worked to put food on the table, so to speak, the least I could do was turn his socks right-side out! I learned to do it and do it with a smile because I was grateful for the hard work that went behind the dirty, inside-out socks!

Thunder Cookies

Every spring/summer when those wonderfully exciting thunder storms come around I get an urge to bake cookie! Well, I decided to incorporate this into my children's lives. Ever since Katrina was little, when a thunder storm came rolling by we'd don our aprons and bake cookie (and Seth was the grateful recipient! :). This was something fun to do, but in all honesty I really wanted to train my children to not be scared of thunder! When the wall-shaking claps of booming thunder were heard, I'd smile and clap my hands saying excitedly that we should make cookies. I don't know if my children would be like this anyway or if I successfully conditioned them to not be frightened of thunder, but it has never bothered them - not even when it was time to go to sleep and a storm was raging outside.

Bragging Rights

I don't think we realize how much it can bless someone if they hear us bragging about them to others. I try to always recount to Seth the accomplishments and good deeds done by the children when they are listening or at least within ear shot. Also, even though Seth gets embarrassed, I think it means a lot to him when I brag about him to others, especially since one of his love languages is words of affirmation. It also can set their mind at ease and know we are not going behind their backs and complaining about their faults and disclosing their failures, but rather reverencing our husbands and extolling their good points. So, I guess my tip for the day is to try to brag on your husband and children to others while they can hear it!

Running His Errands

Whenever Seth is in town he always calls me several times to see if I need anything. I know that this really isn't about trying to save a trip to town (honestly, he doesn't mind running in to town frequently - he'll be in twice a day sometimes!) it is about him thinking about me and trying to make things easy on me. I caught on to this recently and began trying to reciprocate. It is a way to tell him I am thinking about him and trying to help and serve in a practical way. Most of you probably are much more organized and structured than I am. I'm very scatterbrained and despite my dedication to lists I will usually come back from a 6 hour shopping day in town and realize I forgot this or that. Thinking of my husband and asking if he needs anything before I leave and even again while I'm in town is a service indeed because with three children I can't easily run into the post office or bank - it is always a big deal to go anywhere! My dear husband is aware of this and tries to minimize this with his consideration of my needs. Its practical love that gives and receives.