A special announcement!

I have a very special announcement!

I’m having a…

…guest blogger join our conversation next week! Ekk! To add to the hype, I’m not going to reveal who it is. Wait. Before you start throwing rocks, I’ll give you a few hints.

·        This person has the type of notoriety that their name is easily dropped in conversations across the country! No joke. Kevin Bacon and his six degrees have nothing on our guest blogger.

·        Favorite question of our guest blogger: Are you in the Word?

·        They are able to speak three languages (one being female-ese).

·        Finally, they don’t know how to do laundry – or at least would need a while to remember how.

I’m currently blogging about some of the lessons I have learned from being married. Last blog I wrote on #1. Today, I’m covering #2-5. Enjoy!

1.      Be Intentional. Read my last blog post to see what I had to say about this one.

2.      Mind your manners. Jon has to put up with the worst of my moods, so shouldn’t he also get to bask in the best of my moods? I think so. This is what God showed me: The person you should be most kind to is your spouse, not the Wal-mart greeter or the person sitting beside you at church. But it’s so easy to be kind to strangers! You are with a stranger for 5 seconds and a spouse for life! Here are some practical things I do to show kindness to Jon: Say please and thank-you. Be polite. Greet them with a kiss! Recognize their presence. Don’t wait for your kindness to be earned or deserved, just do it!

3.      When your spouse is quiet or moody, just remember that not everything is about you. One day I came home from work with so many stories to tell Jon. I’m talking a mile a minute and almost finished recapping my day when I realize that Jon is awfully quite. At first I’m quite too. Then, I begin to get agitated. Why isn’t he interested in my words? Now he’s not answering my question. That’s it! This happened a few times before I realized that while I was at work living life, Jon was also living life. And what if, while living life that day someone had hurt him or upset him or whatever. I realized that while I may be the most important person in his life, I surely am not the only person in his life. When he is quiet or moody (yes, men can be moody too) God asked me to try not to think about myself first and to instead consider him first. And whatever it is bugging him, after he opens up to me, I needed to try and start off standing beside him. And as my sister says, if he says nevermind or I don’t want to talk about it, don’t push him.   

4.      Men get lost in a lot of words, but God’s word can pierce them through and through. What could be said in one word, takes me hundreds of words. The more words I say, the more my voice raises and my mind scrambles…is he listening…did he understand me…who cares, he’ll never get it. This is what God showed me: Don’t just choose your words carefully, go to scripture and recruit the right words. In the armor of God (Eph 6) the only weapon that is listed is the sword of the spirit, the word of God. It is said that God’s word can pierce a man through and through – that’s in one end and out the other! I have seen this strategy work on Jon numerous times. I’m not ashamed to say it! 

5.      When your spouse tries especially hard to please you, take special care not to initially correct them.

6.      Laugh often. Don’t even try to hold it in!

7.      Tell God about his faults, tell your spouse about your prayers.

8.      Make sure your spouse knows their the best.

9.      Tell him “job well done!”

10.  Flirt like lovers don’t tease like school children

11.  Remember that there is much more to learn about your spouse

12.  Pick your battles and battlegrounds wisely