Tomorrow is Day 1 of our love dare. Are you ready????
Love is patient
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient bearing with one another in love- Ephesians 4:2
I can't write everything the book describes, but the words are powerful and moving. And if you are serious about taking this dare, I highly encourage you to buy the book so you can read all of it's knowledge. This dare is preceded by saying we are born with "a lifelong thirst for love". Our hearts need love like our lungs need oxygen. It goes on to say that the two pillars of love are patience and kindness. The first dare will begin here. Being patient in any situation means you have chosen to react in a positive way to a negative situation. Imagine sitting in traffic, or being cut off. If we are patient, we are slow to anger, step back and let the person go ahead. I tend to drive this way, and I rarely get angry behind the wheel. If only I could take that trait into my household.
Anger never fixes a problem, it usually makes it worse. "Patience brings an internal calm during an external storm....patience is a deep breath".
Today's dare (February 25th)
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 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 will regret.
When you have completed this dare, please come back and comment on how you did. How it made you feel. How did your spouse react??? Sharing with each other is the great part of this. We all have support in one another, and God.
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7 comments:
Since I've finished this dare, I thought I would go ahead and put down some feelings I wrote in the journal to share with you.
"Today's dare was tough b/c Bradhas bee in a funk and I feel completely invisible. But saying negative things would have only made him angry, or pushed him deeper into his hole."
"When I had the urge (to say something negative), I took a deep breath, tried to smile, and walked away gently"
I'm really going to try hard on this.
The fact that the kids will both be in school in the morning should go a long way toward being patient.
I'll report back on the negativism.
I am out of town (without spouse!) from now until Sunday...so it makes it easy not to speak negatively to my love! I'm supporting you all and look forward to reading you.
Michelle here
I started this and I think Eric is confused because I'm pausing alot. I normally spout out a response immediately. Umm, does negative body language count when I'm choosing to say nothing at all?
Body language says a lot. My hubby can tell when I am irritated just by the way I look at him, or choose not to emphatically hug him back.
Try hard to let things go. Ask God for peace. Think about when you first met, when you married, found out you were having a baby, etc. Realize that no one is perfect, yourself included, and love him for who he is.
Good luck! You can do it!
Okay, so I now need to say some Hail Mary's or something. I slipped up in a big way. This is super tough.
Michelle
I had to remind myself on two occasions to not say anything negative. I have to admit that our day seemed much more loving since I was forced to "let go" of the small issues.
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