Day 1
Love is patient
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.---Ephesians 4:2
The Dare for today: Resolve to say nothing negative to your spouse at all.
Wow. The book said that today was going to be simple. I think NOT. I think that this dare has so much to do with lifestyle than anything. Kal is the first one and usually the only one to get all my anger. Anytime that I am mad or upset or hurt or anything for that matter I always turn to him. I always share with him. It doesn't matter if it is good or bad he always gets it. There are times that I feel like he doesn't listen to me. Or my least favorite thing that he says is "You shouldn't take things so personal" Well hello, this is happening to MY PERSON and I will take it personal! It is a little funny to me that this was this particular dare because just the other day we were talking about how we both used to have horrid potty mouths. We have both made an effort in the last 2 years to stop. There are times that things still slip out but for the most part I think that we have done very well. He said that lately he has been cussing more and more at work and that he isn't sure why. He just gets so frustrated. Boy do I know how he feels. I get like that. When the kids are misbehaving, when the guy in traffic cuts me off or if someone doesn't use a blinker...that is why they are there. When things do not go the way I want them to go. I think that some sailors would be embarrassed by the things that would come out of my mouth. (Just a figure of speech)
When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
James 3:3-6
Think about that. Words will forever be remembered.
My reaction to this first dare is really used as more of a reminder to all of us that are doing this challenge to remember to think before you speak. If you want to say something hurtful or negative, think! Before you speak. ask "Is what I want to say true? Is it necessary? Is it kind? I wonder how much I would be talking if I made an effort every time I spoke to ask my self those questions?
Day 1 went great though. I made a big effort to not say anything negative to Kal even though sometimes I wanted to but I didn't.
Day 2
Love is kind
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.---Ephesians 4:32
Day 2 dare is to not only hold your tongue but do one unexpected gesture as an act of kindness.
The first thing that comes to mind with this is all the things that I do that are kind for my husband. I don't punch him when I think that he needs it, I don't scream at him even when I think that is the only I think he is going to understand what I am saying, and I don't call him names even when I think that he deserves it. I think that those are all really kind things. Then as I sit here I realize that those are not kind things. Those are things that you should be doing anyway.. So what is it that I do that is kind? I am not sure. I do know that I am going to try harder to be kind to my husband. I love him and I want to have him in my life forever. I know that I do not have a heart that is hardened, but I also know that it is not soft and squishy either.
She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. Proverbs 31:26
Reading this chapter has really opened my eyes to things that I need to change in my marriage and even in my life outside of my marriage. Be Kind...you can NOT rewind your words! (Cute huh?)
Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.
Proverbs 3:3-4
I discovered today that I truly love my husband. I can not imagine my life or our children's lives without him here. I think that I take for granted who he is and everything that he does for us. Never forgetting love, binding it around my neck and writing it in my heart with help me remember gentleness, helpfulness, willingness and initiative.
Tonight I will be giving Kal a back rub as my unexpected gesture because it is something that I haven't done in a while and I know that he would love it.
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