"Home is the nicest word there is." ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder
In love with Jesus. Wife to my best friend & man I love more than life. Mama to 4 amazing God given blessings. Proud Homemaker & Homeschooler. Living life with it's ups and downs and blogging about it!

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Husband Encouragement



I have been meaning to do this all week! Sarah does this and I always love to read her insight and thoughtfulness towards her husband and what will make their marriage stronger. So, I am trying to be more thoughtful and encouraging. Here are some ways I have been thinking of doing that:
Date Night- It has been so long since we have had an actual "date". It's very hard to get people to watch the girls, not because they are bad children, just because everyone is wrapped up in their own lives. I miss connecting with my husband. we need time to sit and talk without interruptions. So, this week we have already had a few "dates" after the girls have went to bed early. And Claire's being a little terror this week so I doubt I could have handled that without a major breakdown if it hadn't been for our time we've had just talking and connecting. It's amazing how much it has helped me to calm down and relax. So, this week-end we are finding a sitter for a couple of hours and going to do something fun. The weather is supposed to be nice so maybe we will go and play miniature golf and have a picnic at the park. I really hope this works out and we can find someone to watch them. Pray for us!
Meals- This week our menu plan is all of Charlie's favorite foods and a few new ones that have similar ingredients to what he usually loves. And we will get to make the homemade pizza together! We LOVE to cook together! It's our favorite therapy, well, maybe not our fave, but this is a rated "g" blog!
Bible Study- This is something he has really been wanting to do so I am trying to find a study with a focused format (such as a book in the bible at a time, a theme, etc...) any ideas on studies that you particularly love?
Friends- I am very shy and always afraid to reach out and try to become friends with people. Shocking, I know! It's easier with blogging, I don't know why! I am afraid of rejection, I do not handle it well. However, my husband needs friends and I need friends. We need couple friends. So, we are going to try to reach out and do some things again with a few couples that we know. We all have young children so this should be interesting to say the least. Should be a lot of fun!
Keeping my mouth shut- I am committed to keeping my mouth shut when Charlie is trying to make a decision. I too often rush in with my opinion and that is not always what he needs to hear. I believe that he is quite capable of making decisions to lead our family so I should start letting him do that. Also, I often tell him things that I should be taking to the Lord! I should be able to tell Charlie anything and I can but he can't fix everything and his nature as a man makes him want to do that. Then when he can't fix it for me, he feels like a failure. This has convicted me before so from now on I will be taking these things to the Lord. Also anything that would make him angry or cause a rift with someone unless he just absolutely needs to know for our safety. Sometimes griping about people just makes him angry with them and I am being spiteful when I do that. I should have forgiven them in my heart as soon as it happened and then I wouldn't have to go and tell Charlie and cause him to be upset. Don't know if this makes any sense but it's what I feel the Lord is leading me to do!
Keeping the House in order- I have a whole other post that I am going to write on this one! I have been doing a pretty good job this week even with a demanding toddler who is going through a horrible stage of screaming about everything! Lily is also fighting allergies, so I am not getting much sleep, it's been a trial, that's for sure! I have been keeping the laundry off the couch and folded and put up .That's a HUGE deal with Charlie and I hate it when it's not done, too! I have been cooking every night so we haven't had to eat out once in about a month! That's helped us tremendously because Charlie hasn't been working that much. His work depends on the weather and it has rained a lot lately. So money is tight right now. I have been using my crock pot and just keeping everything scheduled so that I have time to get everything done. Our home looks better; it FEELS better and that just does something great for our spirits.
Well, there's my list, hope you stuck around to read it all! Pray for me that I can keep doing these things. I have seen a lot of improvement in our relationship just from what I have done this week! This is blessing our marriage so much and we are actually living in harmony, most of the time!
I encourage you to try some of these encouraging your husband goals.
Sarah has some great ones!
Love and Prayers to all,
Julie

3 comments:

Denise said...

May your marriage be greatly blessed.

cryssi said...

I hope these work out for you and I do know what you are talking about with the "taking it to the Lord" I do the same thing and Paul cant fix it either... Anyway, I am fighting a migraine today so I will go and email you when I feel better...

Blessings and love ya
sis

In Light of the Truth... said...

Wow, these are really great goals and I will be praying about them for you! Have a fun date this weekend, and watch how your marriage will be greatly blessed! =)

If we don't find Him in the small things, how will we ever find Him in the big ones? ~Elisabeth Elliot