Stretching...

This will be my second time participating in At the Well which is hosted today over at Cindy Bealls. The topic today is: Marriage - Building Up Your Spouse and the discussion question is :How well do you sweet-talk your spouse?

Before I share my contribution, I want to share a few things. As a Christian woman, it is pretty easy to fall into a rut, doing things the same way, being so busy that we concentrate on only the necessities - keeping food on the table, keeping the family clothed, cleaning the house when time permits(!), etc. Recently I was reading "A Woman After God's Own Heart" by Elizabeth George and one chapter was an encouragement to continue to grow always in the Christian walk. OK, I thought, sounds good, Lord, I want to grow in You and be a blessing in the lives of all those I am around, I prayed.

Well, in my last post you can read about some changes our family is starting this week - today in fact! New schools, new job positions and teenagers which are always changing!!!

But the biggest changes and stretching I have come across lately has been the posts with At the Well. I accidentally stumbled upon At the Well last week and the discussion was "How Do You Welcome Daddy Home?" I evaluated our home procedures and found they were lacking a proper welcome. This is indeed an area I can grow in! Then this week, since it was so fun and encouraging to read others posts and ideas last week, I did more research and found the topic for today which is - Building Up Your Spouse - How Well Do You Sweet Talk Your Husband".

So... this is also an area I feel a stretch coming on. Through reading many books for Christian wives, respect is vital to a husband. In God's Word, as Christian wives we are to "love our husbands, to reverence and honor them" Titus 2:3-5. There is great power in our words. Proverbs is full of how important our words are and how they can bless and encourage others. In Ephesians 4:29 our speech should "minister grace to the hearers". I completely understand how important it is to love, respect honor and build up my husband. But...there is that little glitch between knowing and showing! During the day to day activities of life where there is always something or someone needing my attention, I tend to talk to dear husband - like everyone else, which is not bad, but he needs a "little extra". He certainly is worthy as he is my highest human priority - my first priority that is under God. There is surely much to be thankful for. He is a hard worker, diligent, faithful, caring, protective. He is a great provider, great father, great priest of our home - looking out for and watching for the advancement of our spiritual lives - guarding what comes into our homes and lives. He truly is wonderful!

Now for the plan - certainly sweet talk him some more! But since he has so many fantastic qualities, I will start there and look for instances when those qualities come out and point them out and show my appreciation for them. This is an area where I can grow and grow, there is no limit to showing love and respect. My plan is to make it a habit to be the encourager and his number one admirer.

My prayer this week will be - "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." Psalms 19:14