Day 505 ~ Give Joy, Get Joy! (XVIII)

Day 18 of the Husband Encouragement Challenge
courtesy of ReviveOurHearts.com

"You will show me the path of life.  In your presence is fullness of joy . . . Happy are the people whose God is the Lord!'" (Psalm 16:11a; 144:15b) 

"A merry heart does good like medicine . . ." (Proverbs 17:22a)

• You can't say anything negative about your husband . . . to your husband . . . or to anyone else, about your husband.
• Say something that you admire or appreciate about your husband . . . to your husband . . . and to someone else, about your husband!

It's hard to criticize others when we are enjoying their company. Instead of speaking negatively to your husband today, enjoy him! Encourage him! As you experience fullness of joy with God, share some of that joy with your husband. Does your husband have a playful side? A great sense of humor? Is there a "little boy" that wants to escape from time to time, reflecting the joy in his heart? This is a wonderful part of who he is, and a great strength. Let him know that you appreciate his joyfulness and his playful spirit. Find opportunities to join him in positive play times.

If your husband can sometimes be overly serious, coax him out occasionally for some play times. It will help him relieve stress and relax.    

Day 18 ! . . .    

I'm going to keep this simple and not let it get too wordy.  

If someone is always nice to you, giving you joy, making you laugh, telling you how great you are... well you very well can't get mad at them ... now can you?

I'd say that it would truly make it difficult.

So give it a try.  

I have.  

If you think about it that's all I've been doing with this challenge... encouraging my husband... telling him how great he is... how much we appreciate him... how thankful we are for him and all he does for us.

There's a bonus to this challenge too... a happy home!!

[here's to you finding your... ]

Peace...

I am second..

... for a, l & c.  You are my sunshine(s).  

Images are courtesy of google or Bing images.  Some images maybe labeled property of Carla Barila Karam and of this blog, Took It... Making It... Living It... My Life .  © 2012  U.S Copyright Laws apply.

Day 500 ~ Time & Intimacy (XIII)

Day 13 of the Husband Encouragement Challenge
courtesy of ReviveOurHearts.com

"I belong to mybeloved, and his desire is for me ." (Song of Solomon 7:10) 

• You can't say anything negative about your husband . . . to your husband . . . or to anyone else, about your husband.
• Say something that you admire or appreciate about your husband . . . to your husband . . . and to someone else, about your husband!

The sexual relationship. It's one of those elements—along with money and children—that can derail a marriage through negative comments. Negativity destroys intimacy, but encouragement builds and strengthens the marriage bond.

Let's get practical here. Is your husband a "good lover"? Have you told him so? Be specific. Let him know when he pleases you. Most husbands genuinely want to please their wives, especially in this important area of marriage.

In moments of intimacy, do you find your mind wandering? This can change as you focus on something wonderful about your husband. Realize that your husband wants intimacy with you . . . his desire is toward you.

Does this area of your marriage need some work? Remember that this is a sensitive area for men. Be sure to encourage his lovemaking and masculinity in positive ways. 

Day 13 ! . . .    

I'm going to keep this simple and not let it get too wordy.  

I could not agree more that this is a sensitive area for most... sensitive and a little akward for most to speak of openly.- myself included.

I know this is getting a little personal... just a little - wink, wink.

I will say this... I need to make more time for my husband and make the effort to be on the same page with him.

What I mean is that I am going, going and going all day long.  I take Calley to school, then pick her up and all that's in between having to do with The Blessed Spoon.

{and}. . . 

My hubby is up at dawn and off to work before we even get out of bed; works for four to five hours; then goes and works a second job; and then back for another four hours or so... and gets home anywhere from 7:30 to 8:30 each evening.  The man gets home exhausted!!  

Calley's in bed by 7:30; I do my nightly blog writing and finish and Blessed Spoon business; and hit the sack by 9:00p

Hubby on the other hand needs un-winding time, a little time at the guitar and music mixer (he's always creating music- his second love ... wink, wink.); and then if there's a MMA or UFC fight you can find him glued to his tv chair! -  {and} really I do not blame him one bit for wanting to kick back in the evenings.  

SOOOooo . . .  as I said the hubby and I need to get on the same page or just spend a litle "exhausting" time together!!  BIG SMILE!!

On another note... I just wanted to do a little celebrating here... DAY 500!!!  WOW!! I can't believe what a great milestone!!!  YUP-PEE!!!!  

Here's to 500 more!!  

What a fabulous growing experience this has been and continues to be.  Not to mention all the wonderful people that are crossing my path.  Thank you for being a part of such a wonderful journey.

[here's to you finding your... ]

Peace...

I am second..

... for a, l & c.  You are my sunshine(s).  

Images are courtesy of google or Bing images.  Some images maybe labeled property of Carla Barila Karam and of this blog, Took It... Making It... Living It... My Life .  © 2012  U.S Copyright Laws apply.

Day 499 ~ Lowering Expectations is the Key (XII)

Day 12 of the Husband Encouragement Challenge
courtesy of ReviveOurHearts.com

"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love ." (Ephesians 4:2) 

• You can't say anything negative about your husband . . . to your husband . . . or to anyone else, about your husband.
• Say something that you admire or appreciate about your husband . . . to your husband . . . and to someone else, about your husband!

Part of the difficulty you may face as you continue in this 30-day challenge to encourage your husband is that you really are struggling to find positive things to praise. Perhaps the problem is not with your husband. Have you checked your own heart?

Sometimes we get disillusioned because of our own unreasonable or unrealistic expectations (Prov. 13:12). It may not be that our mates are doing something wrong; it's simply that we expect too much in some areas. Our expectations must be met in God alone, and then we will have the right perspective to ask God for the healing and grace we need to respond to others.

How sad that we give more grace to others than to those in our own homes. Today, try to look at your husband through eyes of grace. Verbally thank your husband for what he is already doing. 

Hello day 12 ! . . .    

I'm going to keep this simple and not let it get too wordy.  

WOW!  This is amazing.  I really am making HUGE efforts here with my husband.  Each day I try to find a new way of telling him how much I appreciate his hard work... how much I love what he does for Calley and I... telling him that I love the little things he does for me... and especially how much I appreciate his working hard for our family.

I really don't think he's onto me and my challenge... which is great.

Hold on a sec... I am not saint though!  I have had a couple of rough patches to go through and still have to be thankful and positive.

Were those "bad" moments due to "my" high expectations?  Possibly.  More than likely.  I think so.

I think the important thing here is to realize when one has erred... learn from it... let it go... move forward... never repeating... and more importantly... never looking back!  

[here's to you finding your... ]

Peace...

I am second..

... for a, l & c.  You are my sunshine(s).  

Images are courtesy of google or Bing images.  Some images maybe labeled property of Carla Barila Karam and of this blog, Took It... Making It... Living It... My Life .  © 2012  U.S Copyright Laws apply.

Day 494 ~ Appreciate His Faithfulness (VIII)

Day 8 of the Husband Encouragement Challenge
courtesy of ReviveOurHearts.com

"...but who can find a faithful man?" (Proverbs 20:6b) 

To refresh your memory, here's the 30-Day Encouragement Challenge for the next 30 days:

• You can't say anything negative about your husband . . . to your husband . . . or to anyone else, about your husband.
• Say something that you admire or appreciate about your husband . . . to your husband . . . and to someone else, about your husband!

Faithfulness is a wonderful but rare quality today, especially in regard to marriage. Do you understand how important this quality is? Your challenge is to continue to root out all negative speaking, and plant seeds of encouragement instead. You may be amazed at what will grow.

Contemporary culture often entices men to be unfaithful to their wedding vows and spiritual commitments. Appreciate your husband's faithfulness—how he is loyal to you. Let him know that you are glad he has "stick-to-it-iveness" in your marriage.

Appreciate his faithfulness to God. (If you have an unfaithful husband, this is a difficult area for you. Pray, speak the truth in love, remain faithful yourself, and discover ways to encourage faithfulness in your mate. The Bible says that husbands may ". . . be won by the conduct of their wives" [1 Pet. 3:1]. You may also want to seek counsel from a mature, godly individual or couple.)

Here's day 8 ...   

I'm going to keep this simple and not let it get too wordy.  

Although many would think I blew my challenge today because my husband and I had an argument, I would disagree.

Why?  Because I held back.  I did not engage as I once did.  I allowed him to say his peace and I held my tongue.  

However I did not hold back as I should have.  Do not get me wrong...  I never ever name call or say ugly things.  Words can hurt and can not be taken back.  (Hmmmm I wrote about how words hurt before, check it out here)

But I will share this with you... I was really proud of myself for refraining, thinking about it, keeping my challenge in mind, as well as my "passionate" classes and what I have learned there.

Boy, I tell you, two or three months ago I really would have spoken my mind as well and let him have it.

I trully recommend doing this challenge, it really is making a difference in my life.  So is my "passionate" (anger) management class.  Between both classes, I am really learning some great tools here. 

[here's to you finding your... ]

Peace...

I am second..

... for a, l & c.  You are my sunshine(s).  

Images are courtesy of google or Bing images.  Some images maybe labeled property of Carla Barila Karam and of this blog, Took It... Making It... Living It... My Life .  © 2012  U.S Copyright Laws apply.

Day 489 ~ Building Him Up (IV)

Day 4 of the Husband Encouragement Challenge
courtesy of ReviveOurHearts.com

"... let him labor, working with his hands what is good..."  (Ephesians 4:28)

To refresh your memory, here's the 30-Day Encouragement Challenge for the next 30 days:

• You can't say anything negative about your husband . . . to your husband . . . or to anyone else, about your husband.
• Say something that you admire or appreciate about your husband . . . to your husband . . . and to someone else, about your husband!

We are all accountable for the things we say, both negative and positive words. Have you embraced the challenge to speak only positive things to your husband and to others about him? Here's a suggestion that touches the core of your husband's world.

Some women take their husband's career for granted, and they show it in many ways. Do you "dump" on your husband at the end of the workday, or do you strengthen and encourage him with your words? A wise wife will make her husband feel that she values and appreciates his work. Let him know that you are glad he is a hard worker. Take opportunities to praise his diligence and resourcefulness to others.

If your husband is out of work, unable to work, or refuses to work, you'll need to be more creative. Praise him for a character quality that you see in him that would be a vital part of a successful career—such as persistence, decisiveness, strength, an analytical mind, organizational skills, good with people, good listener, determination, etc.

Here's day 4 ...   
I'm going to keep this simple and not let it get too wordy.   

My household continues to be peaceful.  

Funny ... I can see what I am doing via this challenge.  I am inadvertently building my husband up each day.  Each day I have thanked him for loving me... thanked him for the little things he does for us... and have even thanked him for getting up so early and being such a hard, "honest" worker.

My husband has proven to be an honest, dependable, responsible employee who is a great example of integrity.  The man even goes to work sick!  I can't get him to stay home.  He even was going to work with a walking pneumonia- he was clueless and ended up in the hospital.

That's my man... Mr. Dependable.

There's nothing wrong with that... not one bit!

I know I am only four days into this challenge... however I can already see a difference.  Dean seems... happy.  I love that!!  My husband is happy!!   

[here's to you finding your... ]

Peace...

I am second..

... for a, l & c.  You are my sunshine(s).  

Images are courtesy of google or Bing images.  Some images maybe labeled property of Carla Barila Karam and of this blog, Took It... Making It... Living It... My Life .  © 2012  U.S Copyright Laws apply.