God designed and created marriage - A beautiful and priceless gift - to:
- eliminate loneliness
- multiply our effectiveness
- establish families
- raise children
- enjoy life
- bless us with relational intimacy
It also shows us our need to grow and deal with our own issues and self centeredness through the help of a lifelong partner.
This powerful union provides the path for you (me) to learn how to love another imperfect person unconditionally.
It is wonderful
It is difficult
It is life changing
Taking this "dare", I must change my view of following my heart and choose to lead it.
The heart is more deceitful than all else. ~Jeremiah 17:9
It will always pursue what feels right at the moment.
Love is a decision.
- Selfless
- Sacrificial
- Transformational
Day 1 - Love is Patient
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ~Ephesians 4:2
Love is built on 2 pillars: *Patience and *Kindness
Patience - Slow to anger
Rather than being restless and demanding, love helps you settle down and begin extending mercy to those around you.
...Not just biting my tongue! patience is a deep breath!! It clears the air.
A choice to control my emotions, rather than them controlling me.
Anger is usually caused when the strong desire for something is mixed with disappointment or grief. An emotional reaction that flows out of our own selfishness, foolishness or evil motives.
Patience, however, makes us wise. It is where love meets wisdom.
It gives my spouse permission to be human. When a mistake is made, it chooses to give them more time than they deserve to correct it. -WOW-
What would my home look like if we lived by this:
See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always see after that which is good for one another. ~1 Thessalonians 5:15
TODAY'S DARE
THE FIRST PART OF THIS DARE IS FAIRLY SIMPLE. ALTHOUGH LOVE IS COMMUNICATED IN A NUMBER OF WAYS, OUR WORDS OFTEN REFLECT THE CONDITION OF OUR HEART. FOR THE NEXT DAY, RESOLVE TO DEMONSTRATE PATIENCE AND TO SAY NOTHING NEGATIVE TO YOUR SPOUSE AT ALL. IF THE TEMPTATION ARISES, CHOOSE NOT TO SAY ANYTHING. IT'S BETTER TO HOLD YOUR TONGUE THAN TO SAY SOMETHING YOU'LL REGRET.
4 comments:
WOW!! That is some good stuff. Thanks for sharing.
I am going to try really hard to exercise the first dare.
Will you post daily????
I can't PROMISE everyday, but my plan is to post every day that I can. Pray for me! I know it will be a challenge to make it through the 40 days! :-)
We looked at the trailers for "Fireproof" - really inspirational! Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Another one of those movies that might bring a tear or two to my eye.
God is at work Jenn.
Which means you-know-who will be trying to distract you.
I had chills and then nearly tears when I read this. I will commit to praying for you & JC every time I read one of these posts. And even though its 40 days - each one is a new start. Praise God!
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