Love Dare: Day 10

Wow! I can't believe we are 1/4 of the way through the Love Dare book. This has been fun! Some moments have been hard or painful to realize, but I love being able to think about blessing Ryan each day.

Today's lesson is on unconditional love: agape. Remember that list you made about your spouse. Imagine if every good quality they exhibit slowly disappeared. They no longer were good dads. They lost their job and didn't provide. They stopped doing the bills and being the planner for the family. Etc., etc.,etc. What if there was nothing to love at all?

In the world's eyes, that is the end of the relationship. In God's eyes, nothing has changed, because agape isn't based on anything but choosing to love. There are no conditions or qualities one must have to be loved. Though, as a Christian, I've heard this numerous times, this was convicting in how sometimes I justify treating Ryan badly because he has hurt me or has done something unloving. Yuck.

So today's dare is to do something above and beyond for your spouse that shows them you are choosing to love them today. Girls: wash the car, do the yardwork he does normally, buy him his favorite dessert pack his lunch. Boys: fold the laundry, get up early with the kids and let her sleep, or do some cleaning she normally does. I haven't decided what I'll do. I don't normally pack Ryan's lunch, but perhaps I'll get up early with him and make him homemade waffles tomorrow. He just washed his car, but that would have been a GREAT one! I'll file that idea away for later. : )

Love Dare: Day 9

So before my major issues on Saturday and being irritable, Ryan was digging my new attitude and actions. I even got surprise flowers from Ryan on Saturday morning! It is so true that your attitude affects others!

I love today's dare, because I need to work on it desperately. We've talked about it a million times, but the way I greet my husband when he walks in the door sets the tone for the evening. I can welcome him with a smile and hug and full attention, or I can be grumpy, yelling at the kids and complaining (which is often the case, sadly). So, the dare today is to have a loving, wonderful greeting waiting for Ryan when he walks in the door. I need to make him feel valued by me and missed while he was gone. These things are true, so I can reflect this in my greeting. One way I can have a loving greeting is by planning dinner so I'm not stressed when he walks in the door. So, I'm off to cook with plenty of time to spare!

Love Dare: Day 8

Writing the negatives and positives list yesterday was really interesting. I didn't enjoy thinking about all the negatives about my spouse, but it was a great exercise to be writing about all of Ryan's strengths. It made me appreciate him more! Before bed, I thanked him for being such a hard worker and provider for our family.

Today, I was supposed to burn the negatives list, but I didn't want to start a fire, so I ripped it up and threw it away. A wife is supposed to be a husband's biggest fan, and negativity cannot take root in a marriage. Today's lesson was about not being jealous of your spouse, but it is important to encourage them and celebrate any success they encounter. To be honest, this didn't really strike a cord with me. I can't imagine being jealous of Ryan getting a raise, having people tell him he did a good job on a sermon, or of him finishing a running race for which he has been training. Whenever Ryan is successful, I am so proud of him! I know I should never say I'm above a sin, though. That is when Satan uses our pride to cause us to fall. So, I am happy to be Ryan's fan and celebrate his achievements.

I am supposed to also tell Ryan about how glad I am of a success he has had recently. I do need to work on this! Though I might not be jealous, I need to be a constant encourager--even in the little things!

Fall Fest 09

Every year, our church hosts a community outreach called Fall Fest on Halloween. It is a large scale carnival with free rides, food, games, entertainment, etc. Each year it gets bigger and better, and each year the crowds hear about it and more and more people come. We love the growth, as that means more people hear about Compass Bible Church and might come to church if they don't have a home church! Last year about 5,000 people came, and this year there were about 7,800 people.

Carter was so excited this year! He looked quite dapper in his Buzz Lightyear costume with blinking wing lights. He squealed in delight as we were let into the event, and we went to the swings, big slide and cars first thing. This year they had a toddler lot that was awesome! It was less crowded, but they still had free food, pony rides, a train, bounce houses, bumper cars and lots more. Our ministry, Thrive, had a band that played at the event, and they were awesome.

Micah was in awe of all the noise, lights, crowds and excitement. He wasn't a fan of his hot octopus outfit or his late dinner, but he'll enjoy it more next year.

Enjoy some pics!

Love Dare: Day 7

Okay, I didn't do so well at not being irritated. I am glad I have many days to work on this. I had failed about an hour after I read the chapter, and then the crowds at Fall Fest, a hyper 3 year old and a crabby 7 month old, and eating dinner at 8pm did me in. I'm not excusing it, but I'm setting the scene to show you how irritated I probably was. Ugh. I'll keep plugging away at that and asking for forgiveness when I fall short.

Today's dare is to write two lists about your spouse. Each will be used later, separately in the love dare days. I am to write a list of all the negative things about Ryan and then a list of all the positive things about Ryan. After I am done, I need to pick one positive thing about Ryan and tell him today that I appreciate that characteristic of his!