Friday, February 20, 2009

The Love Dare Day 1-6

Each Friday I am going to post about our journey through the "Love Dare" book. Hopefully I will be able to get my Husband to share on his blog, The Guys Side, about his point of view during this wonderful journey we are on.

Day 1 Love is Patient

Ephesians 4:2

with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,

Our dare was to not say anything negative to each other. For me it wasn't really a hard one. We learned very early on in our relationship we needed to communicate with each other, good or bad but in a very loving way. Now remember, we were unsaved until 2 months before our wedding in November 2005, but we still had a huge amount of respect for each other. I have learned to hold my tongue when I feel the urge to spout off in anger. My Husband may tell you differently....LOL! But I think I do a good job.

Day 2 Love is Kind

Ephesians 4:32

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Our dare today was to do at least one unexpected gesture as an act of kindness. We decided that because the next day we were going to look at furniture that was a great act...LOL! The best thing about doing this together as a couple is we are more aware of each other. There is a part in the book that asks you about what drew you to each other. We kind of chuckled because we reconnected again online through one of those dating websites. I did it as a "dare" from my sister who had me her husband on it. When my husband responded to it he said in it he didn't like really anything that I did! LOL!! I liked to go out, he liked to stay home. I liked to camp, he did not...LOL! Get the picture. The point of this is do not wait for your spouse to be kind first. You both will reap the benefits.

Day 3 Love is not selfish

Romans 12:10

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;

Our dare today was to do something that says we were thinking of them today. I decided I wanted to do this a bit later because he would be expecting it the next day! See there is a method to my madness. Besides, we had just bought new furniture this day and if anyone has bought new recently you know none of it is cheap! But it is something we both agreed will help us make our home a haven for all of us, a source of pride.

Day 4 Love is thoughtful

Psalm 139:17-18
How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.

Since we talk on the phone everyday during his breaks at work again this was something we did on a regular basis. But we are more aware of it. We make it a point to actually have a conversation, not just how are you...good....U? In the book it tells you to start preparing for the next event in your life. Which will be our birthdays, they are 1 week apart. I am going to plan something special for him. Obviously I can not discuss the details before hand, because he reads this everyday!

Day 5 Love is not rude

Proverbs 27:14
He who blesses his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, It will be counted a curse to him.

Our dare today was a bit more difficult. We had to name 3 things that irritated us with each other, but we were not to get angry about it with each other. When we read this we first just looked at each other...LOL! He said, "Ok, you first". GULP!! Ok one that comes to my mind is the way the towel is hung up in the bathroom. Ok now his turn, at first he said oh nothing really comes to mind. Then after some thought he mentioned the fact that I do not put things away, especially on the computer desk, which led to a discussion on that topic. But it was nice to be able to discuss these things and not get angry over them.

Day 6 Love is not Irritable

Proverbs 16:32
He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

The dare today is kind of a self examination. We were asked to make a list of any area where we need to add margin to our schedule. Then list any wrong motivations that we need to release from our life. In the reading before the dare it talked about selfishness. One area that stuck out to me was "Life is a marathon, not a sprint". Every day we run around in a whirl wind trying to get everything done. By the end of the day we are so tired that we do not have the energy for spending time together. Before this dare started I use to get irritated with my husband for falling asleep while we were talking. My husband always said, I fall asleep because I'm so relaxed when I'm with you after a day of dealing with people at work. I didn't buy it until reading this chapter, "A loving wife is not overly sensitive or cranky but exercises emotional self-control." Ouch!! I was not being a loving wife to him in this area, I wanted his FULL attention.

So I hope you will be back next Friday when I talk more about our Love Dare journey. We are really enjoying doing this.

2 comments:

Keeper of the Home said...

Oh I am so glad you posted this. I have wanted to get this book but haven't yet. It's great to get a feel of what it contains before spending the money. From this post it looks like one to buy for sure.

Anonymous said...

I never knew of this book Nor the movie Fireproof until a few mnths ago and been dying to see it. I am engaged for the last 3 yrs have 3 children and love this man with every beat of my heart. We finally scraped and saved money to purchase fireproof! And in one day we have changed so much we have decided to turn our life over to christ and try to regain the love that we once had. This may be alot to ask for but its worth a shot. we are both out of work and we would like to read the Love Dare book, just dont have the money to purchase it right now. If any one is willing to lend or donate there book it would be greatly appreciated. please contact me at dtsluvr1@aol.com thank you! And thank you for posting what you have!