LOVE

First of all, Happy Valentines Day!  

This is actually my favorite holiday, it brings out the "girlie" side of me! I love the colors the stuffed animals the hearts the love, and most everything about it.   My husband never knew this until this year!  How crazy is that?!  On the 17th we will have been married for 23 years, and he never knew that!  ( only because I had never told him )  Get it ladies they don't know unless you tell them!!!  lol !

When we got married I imagined the perfect life, being a wife, a mom and a homemaker!!  That is all I ever wanted!!  I dreamed of never having trouble, no financial, job, or disagreement  troubles! I dreamed of living happily ever after! 

  

But then the job took off, bills increased, children were born, laundry piles grew, and, and, and, and life got chaotic.  For us, honestly, all hell broke loose, our marriage has been through a few major storms.  I know some day I will be able to use My Story to help someone else! 

When marriage doesn't meet the unrealistic expectations we imagine before the wedding, and real life kicks in, women can inadvertently get sucked into tearing down their husbands, and their marriages as well.  And then couples stop giving their marriages the attention that it needs.

So girls, we need to realize the toll it takes on our guys if we are not building them up!   We need to simply choose words that encourage, NOT discourage.  We have a powerful influence on our guys and we will either "make or break" them. So we have a choice to build them up or tear them down, and we need to help them feel respected, appreciated, admired and loved.  When those critical thoughts pop in our heads....keep them to ourselves!   Take a look inside OUR hearts and see what WE can do different!  

Through a wife's gifts of unconditional love, respect, and admiration, we can create the marriages we always dreamed of.  How exciting is that!?

If your marriage seems strained right now, think about your conversations with your husband lately. Have your comments been encouraging and uplifting, or discouraging and destructive?

Instead of chocolates this Valentine's day, give your husband what he really desires- respect, admiration, love and whatever else you know he needs!  :-)

1 Corinthians 13:2-7, "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." (ESV)

*****This is not intended for women in abusive situations!!  If that is you get out and get help!!*****