In the deep and private corridors of your heart, there is a room. It's called the Appreciation Room. It's where your thoughts go when you encounter positive and encouraging things about your spouse. And every so often, you enjoy visiting this special place.
Challenge - Get 2 sheets of paper. On the first one, spend a few minutes writing out positive things about your spouse. then do the same with negative things on the second sheet. Place both sheets in a secret place for another day. There is a different purpose and plan for each. At some point during the remainder of the day, pick a positive attribute from the first list and thank your spouse for having this characteristic.
This will be done on paper.
Lisa
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Day 6 - Love is not irritable
Challenge- Choose today to react to tough circumstances in your marriage in loving ways instead of with irritation. Make a list of areas where we need to add margin to our schedule.
This is an area where Joey and I are very fortunate. He mostly works from home and I only volunteer once a week and work one day a week out of the home. So we get to spend a lot of time with each other. I don't really see any areas where we need to add margins in our schedule.
I am trying to make sure that I don't react in an irritated way to any situations in our marriage. This isn't very difficult either. We are fortunate for that also. I am glad that we went to see Fireproof because it has led us down this path to include God in our daily lives more. I am happy and thankful that we are able to do this together.
Lisa
This is an area where Joey and I are very fortunate. He mostly works from home and I only volunteer once a week and work one day a week out of the home. So we get to spend a lot of time with each other. I don't really see any areas where we need to add margins in our schedule.
I am trying to make sure that I don't react in an irritated way to any situations in our marriage. This isn't very difficult either. We are fortunate for that also. I am glad that we went to see Fireproof because it has led us down this path to include God in our daily lives more. I am happy and thankful that we are able to do this together.
Lisa
Day 5 - Love is not rude
Challenge- Ask your spouse to tell you three things that cause him to be irritated with me. You must do so without attacking him or justifying your behavior.
This was was not easy for Joey and I . But that is actually a good thing. We each only came up with one thing. I think this was a good exercise though because it encourages communication. This is one area that I think often suffers in marriages. I want Joey and I to always have great communication with each other. I know we currently do and I want to purpose to make sure that always remains. People often bottle up their feelings until they get to the explosive point. Then at that point emotions are high and it is more difficult to have a productive conversation. I enjoy talking to Joey. He is my best friend and he is easy to talk to. For that I am very thankful.
Lisa
This was was not easy for Joey and I . But that is actually a good thing. We each only came up with one thing. I think this was a good exercise though because it encourages communication. This is one area that I think often suffers in marriages. I want Joey and I to always have great communication with each other. I know we currently do and I want to purpose to make sure that always remains. People often bottle up their feelings until they get to the explosive point. Then at that point emotions are high and it is more difficult to have a productive conversation. I enjoy talking to Joey. He is my best friend and he is easy to talk to. For that I am very thankful.
Lisa
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Day 4 Love is thoughtful
Challenge- Contact your spouse sometime during the business of the day. Have no agenda other than asking how he is doing and if there is anything you can do for them.
I had to work at Teamworks today. So I had the opportunity to call Joey. This doesn't always happen. I called him to see if I could stop at Tiger Direct and buy a cable that he needs. Unfortunately I was about to go get it for him and realized that I would have had to leave Hugo in the car while I did that. We decided that wasn't the best idea so I didn't end up stopping. I enjoy working with the dogs and I think it is good because it gives us time apart so that we can have a chance to miss each other. We are very fortunate that we get to spend so much time together and for that I am very thankful. Joey and I both are very thoughtful towards each other . We both appreciate each other and that makes for a very nice marriage!
Lisa
I had to work at Teamworks today. So I had the opportunity to call Joey. This doesn't always happen. I called him to see if I could stop at Tiger Direct and buy a cable that he needs. Unfortunately I was about to go get it for him and realized that I would have had to leave Hugo in the car while I did that. We decided that wasn't the best idea so I didn't end up stopping. I enjoy working with the dogs and I think it is good because it gives us time apart so that we can have a chance to miss each other. We are very fortunate that we get to spend so much time together and for that I am very thankful. Joey and I both are very thoughtful towards each other . We both appreciate each other and that makes for a very nice marriage!
Lisa
Day 3 Love is not selfish
Challenge- Buy your spouse something that says "I was thinking of you today".
This one was a little tough because we were together all day. But we had a really nice day. We went to the farmer's market and bought some yummy apples and some German pretzels and some squash. I like that Joey enjoys the food that I make. I am glad that he has broadened his tastes and is excited about trying new foods. He really enjoys the winter squashes that we bought and I am excited to make them for him. We also stopped at Walmart and I picked out a couple of Snoopy Christmas t-shirts for him. They are really cute and will look great on him! There was a craft fair at the farmer's market and we bought another pottery bowl. I will use it to hold our fresh garlic. I like for our home to be pretty and feel welcoming and I hope that I make a nice home for Joey.
Lisa
This one was a little tough because we were together all day. But we had a really nice day. We went to the farmer's market and bought some yummy apples and some German pretzels and some squash. I like that Joey enjoys the food that I make. I am glad that he has broadened his tastes and is excited about trying new foods. He really enjoys the winter squashes that we bought and I am excited to make them for him. We also stopped at Walmart and I picked out a couple of Snoopy Christmas t-shirts for him. They are really cute and will look great on him! There was a craft fair at the farmer's market and we bought another pottery bowl. I will use it to hold our fresh garlic. I like for our home to be pretty and feel welcoming and I hope that I make a nice home for Joey.
Lisa
Day 2 Love is Kind
Challenge- Do at least one unexpected gesture as an act of kindness.
Today I wanted to get our house clean and organized. I think a clean home is a happy home. I know Joey has said in the past that when his work space is clean he can work much better. So I want to try and keep our home feeling clutter free and I think that will help our relationship be clutter free also. So I cleaned and cooked all day. I did a lot of cooking so that we could have ready to go meals in the freezer. This is good for those days we don't have something planned. I know that bothers Joey so I am going to purpose to be better about planning for our meals.
Lisa
Today I wanted to get our house clean and organized. I think a clean home is a happy home. I know Joey has said in the past that when his work space is clean he can work much better. So I want to try and keep our home feeling clutter free and I think that will help our relationship be clutter free also. So I cleaned and cooked all day. I did a lot of cooking so that we could have ready to go meals in the freezer. This is good for those days we don't have something planned. I know that bothers Joey so I am going to purpose to be better about planning for our meals.
Lisa
Day 1 - Love is Patient
Challenge- Resolve to demonstrate patience and say nothing negative to your spouse at all.
Joey and I went to see the movie Fireproof the other day and we decided to buy the Love Dare book. We want to have God in our daily life. We are happy in our marriage and we realize that this can only make our marriage stronger.
This one was easy for us. At least I think so. I try to be a positive person and so does Joey. We are fortunate enough to have reconnected with each other and so we are blessed to be married to our soul mates. As a rule in my relationships with people I try to be very careful with my words. I am very sensitive to hurtful words and so I try not to hurt others. We are doing this love dare together. We are saying grace often and it just makes us stop and thank God for all of our many blessings. We were both so happy that we went to see that movie together. It made me realize how lucky we are to have found each other and for that I thank God every day!
Lisa
Joey and I went to see the movie Fireproof the other day and we decided to buy the Love Dare book. We want to have God in our daily life. We are happy in our marriage and we realize that this can only make our marriage stronger.
This one was easy for us. At least I think so. I try to be a positive person and so does Joey. We are fortunate enough to have reconnected with each other and so we are blessed to be married to our soul mates. As a rule in my relationships with people I try to be very careful with my words. I am very sensitive to hurtful words and so I try not to hurt others. We are doing this love dare together. We are saying grace often and it just makes us stop and thank God for all of our many blessings. We were both so happy that we went to see that movie together. It made me realize how lucky we are to have found each other and for that I thank God every day!
Lisa
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