love letter from my husband

This is my command: Love Each Other -John15:17

My love language is not gifts, it is time and words of affirmation. To me the best valentine gifts from my husband are not things but a handwritten love letter. My husband and I have been together since we were 12 and our love has grown so much over the years. Perhaps the most noticable change has been in my husband, who did not know the Lord when we first met. Infact, my husband has just begun to grow in his relationship with Christ in the last 5 years. It is truly amazing what God can do to a man. As strong as he is, his gentleness is stronger. Here is the love letter he wrote me for valentines day today:

To my Precious Love,
When I am with you the world seems miles away,
I get lost in your smile, those sweet shimmering lips,
When I gaze into your eyes, I see a soul full of light,
When we embrace, I feel your love pouring into my heart,
We have a bond that I could never find with anyone but you,
There is no corner, no dark place in me that your love cannot fill,
Your tenderness encourages me to be a better man,
I feel unworthy of a love so pure, a woman as stunning and incredible as you,
I thank God for you everyday, and pray to be the husband my beauty deserves,
When I am with you forever is where I want to stay.
Forever your lover,

Be the encourager

Ephesians 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love

God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason and I am trying to learn that. I am often to quick to speak completely forgetting what God has called me to do ,"quick to listen and slow to speak". As I grow in maturity along this walk with God, I am convicted of my quick tongue that I once was so proud of.

I am well spoken and have always been able to win almost any 'spritited debate' that I have been in. In college this seemed like a gift, as a married woman trying to show God's love it is the source of much regret. My lips are almost raw on the inside as I have been biting them so inorder to tame my tongue. I am not mean or sharp with my tongue, but how much fun must it be for my husband to be married to someone who is "always right". Doesn't really matter if I'm right if I am not being encouraging and loving.

Being an encourager to my husband takes more than biting my tongue, it takes prayer to be more gentle and less selfish. To care more about him than myself. To care more about him walking away from me encouraged than me walking away a winner. As I show more encouragement and love from my mouth rather than champion debating skills, I see my husband respond back to me with more tendernous. I will write more about this in my series of posts - "I am learning to Submit"- Part 2!

I am also linked up here: http://www.time-warp-wife.blogspot.com/

and

I am learning to submit

Wives submit to your husband; husbands ought to love their wives-Eph 5:22,28

I have to admit that for a long time in my marriage and while I dated my husband, I thought the word submit was an offensive word. The word, at the time, meant weak, less than, not in control of my life, giving up my dreams. I had a very negative connotation associated with that word. So when I chose to live my life for Christ and start living more biblically, one of the hardest areas for me to deal with was this idea of "submission".


Today, as I am enjoying my marriage more than ever, I have to admit, that it is because I have learned, no, I am learning to submit to my husband. However, the word no longer has the negative connotation that it use to carry with me. Now the word connotates trust, love, encouragement, and being part of the awesomeness that God had intended for marriages.



As old fashion as it sounds,submission is the biblical call for our marriages and it is the key to our marriages happiness and growth. Submission is a beautiful word if you understand that the outcome is more trust, more love, more encouragement, more respect, and more joy. There is so much joy extended to us in our obedience. It is what we are all looking for, as a women, I just want to be loved, really loved. And, as a husband (my husband tell me), they just want us to be submissive, or respected. I often wonder why it took me so long to accept.

I will write more on this topic and what submission looks like in my marriage today why I am always smiling....

I am linked up with http://www.aholyexperience.com , but couldn't get the button to share, so please click on the link to go there.

Are you a joy?

One simple question that can change the way you live your life- Are you a joy to be around? And if you want to know the honest answer, close your eyes and answer this question through the eyes of your husband. Thats right, what do you think your husband would say when asked if you are a joy to be around?

My husband is my best friend. We were high school sweathearts at the age of 12 and have been together ever since. We have grown together in every way and it has been an amazing journey of love and faith-BUT-this is the man I do everyday life with and busy schedules, the demands of work, bills, school, dissapointments, expectations, health, all those issues we have to deal with together sometimes take over my love feelings toward my husband and I will admit I am not as joyful towards him as I want to be.

I say want to be, because in my heart I wish I was more expressively joyful, I love and care for this man more than I could express, but yet, my expressions that come out are often frustration from a day and not joy from an overflowing heart of love. Why is that? Why of all people around me, does he not get the most joyful reactions from me? I want to be more gentle with my words and make sure my husband could easily reply, "Yes, my wife is a joy".

Over at the woman Living Well blog, there is a marriage challenge I am excited to begin about loving and encouraging our husbands. I pray that my mouth may encourage my husband and be gentle in its response to him no matter how crazy my day. He is not my dumping ground after a hard day but a safe place to enjoy and fall into.