Merry Christmas

I hope that you have a great Christmas, are able to spend it with your family and focus on the true meaning of why we celebrate! May God bless you and your family today and through out the year.  

Maybe Charlie Brown and Linus can help you.

New Posts, Kind of

Just wanted to let you all know that I have published some prior posts that had been kept private or in draft mode until now.  Search the archives for them and enjoy reading them.

Cheer for the Other Side?

This is great testimony to the love of Christ in one’s life.  If you go to Faith Grapevine’s website, you will see a flash of what their core values are for the students that attend their school.  One of them being: Faith Christian School will infuse a Biblical worldview into students and families in every aspect of their school experience.  This article shows that they are doing a great job of putting that core value into effect in their students lives.

They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas.

It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through.

Did you hear that? The other team’s fans?

They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, “Go Tornadoes!” Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions.

It was rivers running uphill and cats petting dogs. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on—by name.

“I never in my life thought I’d hear people cheering for us to hit their kids,” recalls Gainesville’s QB and middle linebacker, Isaiah. “I wouldn’t expect another parent to tell somebody to hit their kids. But they wanted us to!”

And even though Faith walloped them 33-14, the Gainesville kids were so happy that after the game they gave head coach Mark Williams a sideline squirt-bottle shower like he’d just won state. Gotta be the first Gatorade bath in history for an 0-9 coach.

But then you saw the 12 uniformed officers escorting the 14 Gainesville players off the field and two and two started to make four. They lined the players up in groups of five—handcuffs ready in their back pockets—and marched them to the team bus. That’s because Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility 75 miles north of Dallas. Every game it plays is on the road.

Read the rest of the story here.

Wordless Wednesday

 

This is the Nativity set that I would love for my husband to buy for me. Minus the wise men as they didn't visit Jesus until he was older.

You are Our 2nd

The other day my husband and I were talking about his search for a new job.  It has been about 7-8 months since he resigned his position in Pennsylvania and we moved back to Missouri.  It has not been an easy time for either of us but we are handling with it.  As we talked, he told me about a phone call he had received recently from pastor of a church he had sent his resume to.  He wanted to let Josh know that the committee had currently called their top candidate and were pursuing him. The pastor had called to let Josh also know that he was their number two guy.

I was joking around with my husband and saying things like, “so you are their plan B” and “you are just the back up”. Or my favorite one was when I said jokingly “you are the boobie prize!” Of course we laughed and then discussed what it meant for us and then we went about our day.  The following day as I was in the shower preparing to leave for a weekend interview at a different church, I got to thinking and talking to God. I tend to do this best in the shower or as i am laying in bed trying to sleep.  But as I thought over the previous days conversation with Josh and then my thoughts and feelings and talked to God about it, here is what I came up with.

In the process of finding a church to minister in, no matter if Josh is told that he is their #2, #20 or #100, if he is the man that God has chosen for that church he is always #1. I am sure this can relate to a lot of situations in our lives.  We even see in the Bible that their are people that God has used that are not man’s first choice or even their second. But they are God’s man and that is what is most important.  David is a great example of this; when they are searching for the next king they look at 7 of Jesse’s sons before finally getting to David.  They can not believe that the smallest and youngest of them is the chosen King of Israel.

 I know that God has a special place for Josh and I out there, we just have to be patient enough for him to lead us to it.  And when it comes down to it, it doesn’t matter if he is their 2nd or 8th, if he is supposed to be there then he is Gods #1.

Wonderful Fellowship

My husband has been a Youth Pastor since 1993 and has served in only two churches during this time. If you know anything about Youth Ministry and Youth Pastors, you will recognize that this is somewhat of an oddity and somewhat amazing.  The typical Youth Pastor stays at a church approximately 18-21 months.  Josh has spent 6 years in one church and 9 in the other. The past 7 months have been hard on him as he has not been developing a ministry however it has been made somewhat easier by the fact that he has been able to help out in the youth ministry in our current church, where we are simply members not on staff. (Which is a lot different and a whole other post in itself!)

However, this weekend  Josh, the kids and I traveled to a church about 6 hours away to interview for the possibility of becoming their Student Pastor.  I have been through about 5 church interview processes in my life and to say the least it is always stressful and nerve wracking for me.  I am not sure why, but I usually end up feeling like I am going to throw up before I even get any where near the search committee or anyone associated with the church we are visiting.  However, this weekend I experienced none of that.  It was a very peaceful trip with a great time of conversation with my husband.  Sarai traveled very well and Micah did better than expected. (He has developed a fear of being in his car seat in the car, which I will write about at another time.)

We arrived at our hotel later than we had planned due to a detour to a Target store to pick up an item we got Sarai for Christmas (none in our area had them!). Then we allowed the GPS to take us an alternate way than originally planned and it took longer.  But after arriving, Josh called the Pastor of the church and let him know we were there. The Pastor, his wife and one of their daughters met us in the lobby and then we proceeded to the restaurant for dinner.  The food was good and the fellowship was great.  I felt that we really connected with the Pastor and his wife and we even had several things in common.  It was a late but great night.  The next morning we got up, enjoyed breakfast at the hotel, and then we went to the church to meet with the search committee.  The meeting went longer than we had planned it would, but it was a very uplifting and encouraging time.  We then went out to lunch with the Pastor, his daughter (who is on the committee), another committee member and her family.  It was made even better because they chose my favorite, Mexican!! But seriously, the fellowship and conversation was what made it so great.  It truly felt like we had known each other for a while and it was very relaxed and fun!  Sarai even made a friend with the ladies son who is the same age as she is.

We are know praying that God will make it clear to not only Josh and I but also to that committee whether we are the ones that God has chosen to lead their student ministry.  We want God’s direction and will wo be crystal clear in our lives.  Please pray for us during this decision time.

Boggle Me Thursday #6

Here is the new game board and my list! Go here for more info. Good luck and have fun!

Here is my list!

• heir
• sea
• lore
• hire
• ire
• leg
• keg
• lose
• sole
• loo
• loos
• geo (?)
• lore
• heirs
• sir
• sore
• seas
• roo (?)
• loose
• vole
• elk
• gel
• role
• hero
• rig

Snow Fun!

We played in the snow today! Included in the fun was myself, Josh, Sarai and our niece Rachelle plus our dog Waffles. It was a lot of fun!

Wordless Wednesday

Fun Monday- RAK

The Assignment:  (Please read the background first, so you understand my choice of assignment).

1)  Your job this week is to go out and perform a random act of kindness.  Now, before you freak out, please read on.  This is actually really easy!!  This act may be for someone you know or for a perfect stranger.  It can be big or small, it’ll all up to you.  Obviously, it should be something within your means.  For instance, don’t go out and buy your next door neighbor a car and then complain to me that you can’t make your mortgage payment, ok?

Here are a few examples of things you could do:  

•   Give someone a ride on a cold, windy, or rainy day.  Or just give someone a ride who looks like they need it (Of course, don’t be surprised if they say no; in my experience, people are not used to kindness).
•   Pay for the groceries for the person in front of you at the express check out lane.
•   Donate your time to a soup kitchen, a club, a church; anywhere that provides services to the needy.
•   Pay the toll for the person behind you.
•   Be extra nice to that person you “really don’t like” at work.
•   Smile at everyone you meet for a day, no matter what.
•   Participate in a food/clothing drive. 
•   Adopt a family over the holidays. 
•   Participate in Toys for Tots or a similar event in your area.
•   For the holidays, visit someone at a nursing home or hospital who otherwise would not have visitors and make them feel special and loved.
•   Buy that homeless guy you pass every morning on your way to and from work meals for a day.
•   Put money into those Salvation Army buckets every time you see one until the end of the year,  even if it’s only a dollar each time (The Salvation Army provides gifts for needy children over the holidays).
•   Donate (instead of tossing) old clothes, toys, furniture, cars, etc…   to places that will provide those items to those in need for free or at minimal cost.
•   If you can’t find any such drives, start your own.  Even if it’s only within your department (at work) or your family.  If you contact your local county government agency, they can direct you where to take donations.

* Some of these ideas are re-posted from previous posts

See?  There is so much you can do without cutting too much into your daily routine.

2)  Then, blog about what you did and why.  How did it impact the person(s) you did it for?  And better yet, how did it impact you!?  How did you feel after you did it?  Would you do it again?

Or  (I had an idea)

3)  If you’ve had a random act of kindness bestowed on you (recently), we’d love to hear about it.  How did it impact you?  How did it make you feel? 

Ok, here is mine.

I haven’t actually done this one yet, but we will be doing it on Wednesday so I thought I would list it.  Anyways, we will be going out caroling and visiting people in our town.  This is a great way to brighten someones Christmas that you might not even realize needs brightening.  We have done this in years past and most people are real receptive.  We have even had people come up to us and tell us how much it means to them and thank us.  

Something else I do during the year is I send encouragement cards to people that I know may be dealing with something in their lives.  Typically I don’t even sign my name to them; I just send them with a little note and scraipture verse.

It is hard for me to sit and actually think of something that I planned to do and write about it.  I typically don’t plan my random acts of kindness but instead I do them when i see that some one needs uplifiting or it having a hard time with something. Or if I hear that someone really wants or needs something I have the ability to get it for them, then I do. And it doesn’t have to be objects either, if I know someone needs groceries, money for a bill or gas, or something like that then I try to take care of it.  It is something that I enjoy doing for people.  And I feel that it is something that, as a follower of Christ, I am called on to do.

Last Nights Moon

Was neat, although to me it did not look any bigger than usual but it seemed a lot brighter. Here are some pictures that I took. Funny thing is that when I used the night setting mode on my camera the picture came out a little fuzzy but look really neat.  And when i used the normal setting, they came out a lot clearer but there isn’t really anything aesthetically pleasing about them. Go figure.  Plus it didn’t really make a difference if I used the flash or not.  You can read more about the significance of last nights moon here.

Boggle Me Thursday #5

Here are my words found within the 3 minute time limit.

1. day
2. see
3. yes
4. son
5. rig
6. lion
7. nose
8. lod
9. girl
10. goes
11. gone
12. nosey
13. oil
14. rose
15. rosey
16. rise
17. rigs
18. soon
19. lair
20. air
21. soil
22. gay
23. ion
24. nosy
25. days
26. dine
27. dines
28. gin
29. raid

Love These Moments

 

These are some of my favorite moments of my children.

I have a lot of pictures that are similar to the one above; Sarai and Micah together in some form.  Usually sis is holding him or touching his face, playing with him or reading to him.  It is not really the activity that is taking place that makes the picture special, it is just the two of them together.  I love watching the two of them together and the way they interact.  Sarai is always trying to make Micah laugh or smile and most of the time he obliges her. I love when he gives her a big gummy smile or lets out a squeal of delight.

What an Honor

This past weekend Josh, Micah and I had the honor and opportunity to play the Holy family during our churches Christmas pageant, Imagine Christmas.  Of course playing Mary during a Christmas pageant is nothing like being her in real life but if I experienced even half the emotions that she did then I can imagine how it might have been. I am certain though that her clothing was nothing like my sparkly, glittery, beautiful costume.  And she didn’t have a huge choir standing behind her nor where there Christmas ornaments exclaiming how tiny her baby was. But she had something so much better.  She held the living Christ in her arms and loved him with all her heart, as only a mother could.  And that is something that I understand completely.  

Our parts were not complicated and did not involve a lot of work. We simply walked up the aisle as a family, walked to center stage and stood there while the drama cast played their parts. Then we exited the stage, waited through 3 or so songs, walked back up on stage and then Josh held Micah up as if he was giving him to God during the last song.  Very simple, yet very moving (in my opinion).  Micah did a great job. He ended up falling asleep all three nights about 10 minutes before our part and on all nights except the last he slept through our part and then woke up about 10 minutes later for his last part where he was wide awake.  The last night he woke up while we are on stage but still laid still in my arms until we exited the stage.  He didn’t cry or anything, it was perfect.

Here are a couple of pictures. 

Josh, Micah and I during Imagine Christmas

Fun Monday

So here’s your topic…
It’s the Christmas season, and I want you to tell us what are your three favorite Christmas Carols and a picture of your favorite Christmas “thing”. It could be a Christmas tree, or your mantle, or a church, you in a Santa hat. 

My all time favorite Christmas carol is O Come, O Come Emmanuel. I love this song. My favorite version is by Aaron Shust (click on his name to hear and download a copy). The carol was originally written in Latin text in the 12th Century. The author of the words and composer to the music is unknown. It is, however believed that the melody was of French origin and added to the text a hundred years later. The Latin was translated into English by John Mason Neale in 1851.

Another favorite carol is Little Drummer Boy. Not sure why it is a favorite, but I love to listen to it.  I think it has something to do with always listening to it at my grandma’s house. Or maybe it is the fact that I have nothing of value to give the King of Kings, yet he still came to earth and died for me.  The words and music to the Christmas song Little Drummer Boy was composed by Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone in 1958. The lyrics of Little Drummer Boy consist of no less than 21 rum pum pum pum’ – a major part of the song and therefore presenting an apparently easy task for the lyricist! However, Little Drummer Boy has been a huge hit for several artists. The most notable rendition was created by the most unlikely combination of Bing Crosby and David Bowie (you can find it on YouTube). This version of Little Drummer Boy was a massive hot for the artists and was in fact Bing Crosby’s most successful recording since the legendary White Christmas. You can listen to it here, it is Josh Groban singing (I love him!).

Another favorite of mine is What Child Is This? It is a great Christmas carol and you can listen to it here (Josh Groban again!) ”What Child Is This?” is a popular Christmas carol that was written in 1865. At the age of twenty-nine, writer William Chatterton Dix was struck with a sudden near-fatal illness and confined to bedrest for several months, during which he went into a deep depression. Yet out of his near-death experience, Dix wrote many hymns, including “What Child is This?”. It was later set to the traditional English melody of “Greensleeves”. The song has been covered by multiple artists.

Here is a picture of my favorite Christmas thing.

Every year it has been a traditio in our house that we set-up and decorate our tree as a family.  We usually pick the day after Thanksgiving or the Saturday after. We spend most of the afternoon and early evening setting up, taking our the ornaments, putting the lights on, putting the ornaments on, and then daddy lifts Sarai up and she places the angel on top of the tree.  Every year I got out and buy one or two special ornaments for Sarai and for daddy.  When Sarai moves out on her own she will already have a great ornament collection to add to! And my tree won’t be bare! Now that Micah has joined out family, I plan to do the same for him.  Each ornament that we place on our tree has special meaning and each holds a special place in our memories.  Opening and unwrapping them is something that I look forward to for most of the year.

Today in History

Do you know what today is? December 7th, 1941 was the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

 

The attack on Pearl Harbor (or Hawaii Operation, as it was called by the Imperial General Headquarters)^[6] was a surprise military strike conducted by theJapanese navy against the United States‘ naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941, later resulting in the United States becoming militarily involved in World War II. It was intended as a preventive action to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from influencing the war Japan was planning to wage in Southeast Asia against Britain, the Netherlands, and the United States. The attack consisted of two aerial attack waves totaling 353^[7] aircraft, launched from six Japanese aircraft carriers.

The attack sank four U.S. Navy battleships (two of which were raised and returned to service late in the war) and damaged four more. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three destroyers, and one minelayer, destroyed 188 aircraft, and caused personnel losses of 2,402 killed and 1,282 wounded. The power station, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building (also home of the intelligence section) were not hit. Japanese losses were minimal, at 29 aircraft and five midget submarines, with 65 servicemen killed or wounded.
~from Wikipedia

I have personally never been to the USS Arizona memorial in Hawaii, but my mother-in-law visited there a couple years back and brought back pictures from the trip that I later scrapbooked for her.  Doing the research for those pictures and the scrapbook was moving to me. One of these days I would love to visit for myself.  Here is a picture of the memorial. 

 

USS Arizona Memorial

Through the Fire

Today I was shuffeling through my iTunes account because I thought it would be fun to answer this note I had seen posted on a friends facebook account (I will post the answers below). Well, while doing that I came across this song that I love but had not listended to in a long time.  As I sat listening to it over and over (yes, I kept repeating it!), I realized how true the words are.  And not only how true they are, but how there are believers out there that start to go through dark times and valley’s and wonder where God is and why He would allow this to happen to them.  Here is the song and two video versions of it from YouTube. Plus the little quiz that started it all.  

 

Through the Fire- Randy Travis

So many times I’ve questioned certain circumstances
Or things I could not understand
Many times in trials, weakness blurs my vision
And my frustrations get so out of hand
It’s then I am reminded I’ve never been forsaken
I’ve never had to stand the test alone
As I look at all the victories, the Spirit rises up in me
It’s through the fire my weakness is made strong

And He never promised the cross would not get heavy and the hill would not be hard to climb
He never offered victory without fighting but He said help would always come in time
Just remember when you’re standing in the valley of decision and the adversary says give in
Just hold on, our Lord will show up and He will take you through the fire again

I know within myself that I would surely perish
But if I trust the hand of God, He’ll shield the flames again

And He never promised the cross would not get heavy and the hill would not be hard to climb
Just hold on, our Lord will show up and He will take you through the fire again
Just hold on, our Lord will show up and He will take you through the fire again 

The ipod/itunes game quiz

Put your iTunes on shuffle.
For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing the same as well as the person you got the note from.

1) IF SOMEONE SAYS, “IS THIS OKAY,” YOU SAY?
Grown Men Don’t Cry- Tim McGraw
2) WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
The Last One to Know- Reba McEntire
3) WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Refiner’s Fire- Various
4) HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
HEre I Go Again- Casting Crowns
5) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE’S PURPOSE?
Yearn- Shane and Shane
6) WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Garland of Grace- Small Town Poets
7) WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOu?
Till You Love Me- Reba McEntire
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Everytime- Jeremy Camp
9) WHAT IS 2+2?
He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands- Randy Travis
10) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Turn the Tides- 38th Parallel
11) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE? 
Shine on Us- Phillips Craig and Dean
12) WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Prodigal- Casting Crowns
13) WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
I Can Hear the Angels Singing- David Crowder Band
14) WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
I’m Thinking About You- Gospel Housing Authority
15) WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Come Awake- David Crowder Band
16) WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Dancing with the Dinosaur- Steven Curtis Chapman
17) WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
That Changes Everything- Billy Currington
18) WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Online- Brad Paisley
19) WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Hang Out- Morella’s Forest
20) WHAT’S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Pick Me Up On Your Way Down- Martina McBride
21) HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Manner and Means- Caedmon’s Call
22) WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU REGRET?
This Man- Jeremy Camp
23) WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Someone Who Cares- David Phelps
24) WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Once a Day- Martina McBride
25) WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Does He Love You- Reba McEntire
26) WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
What Kind of Foll- Gary Allan
27) DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Up Above My Head- Randy Travis
28) IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
40 Acres- Caedmon’s Call
29) WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
God’s Will- Martina McBride
30) WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Corn Fed- Shannon Brown

Out of the Mouth of Babes

I have heard it said that if you want the truth just ask a young child and you will get it.  It most regards I think that is true. Young children don’t feel the need to lie to us to make us feel better or to make a situation seem better.  And most young children I know seem to have a better grasp on who God is and their faith in Him than most adults I know (myself included) at times.  All that to say that I received a forward from a friend the other day that was about kids and church.  I quickly read through them and chuckled at most of them and thought about different things that my daughter has said.  Sometimes at inopportune times.  But one of the little quips caught me and I am sure that I have read it before.  I think it is a good commentary on the orginal verses and it really makes you stop and think.

One particular four year-old prayed, “And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.”

How much trash do we put in our baskets as we go through our days? And how much trash goes in our baskets from other people, whether we allow them to put it there or not.  There are days that my basket is overflowing with trash and sometimes I don’t even realize that it is trash.  But imagine that if the baskets in our house filled with trash and we never took it out?  We just let them fill up and overflow onto the floor.  Pretty soon our entire house would begin to smell.  Eventually all kinds of nastiness would take root. We would have mold growing, an aboundance of germs, sickness would start to run through our bodies.  And all of it could have been avoided if we would have just emptied our baskets.

And it is not only our trash that can effect our lives in this manner.  It is the trash that we allow others to put into our lives and baskets.  I think sometimes we allow a person or several people to have input into our lives because we feel that we have to.  However, I have come to the conclusion that I need to be more picky (for lack of better word) about who I allow to be in my life.  Not everyone will give me good or sound advice or be looking out for my best interests.  Isn’t it funny how as children our parents always were on us about the company that we keep and the friends that we have; make sure they are not bad eggs and all that jazz. And then as parents, we continue to to teach that to our children and try to make sure that the friends they are making and drawing close to are not going to be a negative influence on them. Yet, we as adults will allow someone into our lives that is not a good influence and begins to fill our trash baskets for us.  Over the past couple of years I have experienced this with people and also previously while in high school and college.  I tried to have a relationship with them, but after a little while I realized that the influences they were introducing into my life were not good.  I also noticed (as well as had pointed out to me) that when I was with them or had been with them my attitude towards others or about certain things was not good.  And while I will not say it was the other persons fault (I was at fault as well) I realized that a friendship with these people was not possible and I withdrew from the situation.  Much to that persons dislike and then I heard about it.  As an adult it is up to me to realize the amount and type of trash I am putting in my own basket, putting in others baskets or allowing to be put in my basket.  And it is up to me to change it.

So, how’s your trash basket? This week I plan on taking care of some trash that I have left in the bottom of the basket and just kept pressing down to make room.  It is being thrown out for good!

The Generous Wife

This is a website that I found about 2 years ago and have visited several times during that period.  There are a lot of great things on and about the website and the owner, Lori, does a fantastic job.  My favorite part (and I am sure others as well) is that you can sign up to receive a daily e-mail from her.  In this e-mail you will receive a “tip” on how to be a more generous wife.

During the time that I stumbled (can’t remember how) upon the website, I was looking for ways that I could improve my marriage.  Things weren’t bad but they weren’t good either.  I felt that Josh and I had started to get comfortable with each other and we needed some sparks.  But I didn’t want anything that was going to cost a lot in either money or time.  I wanted something that would be simple to do yet have a big impact. Something that was subtle and that he probably wouldn’t even realize I was doing but it would change the way things were headed.  So I found this website.  Here is the description off the site itself.

Over the years I have grieved to see couples that lack intimacy and show signs of stress and conflict. In considering why, I came to the conclusion that most couples aren’t taught how to cope with the changes and stresses of life. Instead of digging in deeper, standing together and nourishing each other, they withdraw in an attempt to nourish themselves, giving up kindness and care, handing out leftovers instead of their very best.

     To stop this in my own marriage, I decided to “give a bit more” and, well … “get generous.” It was not an immediate and complete understanding at first, but as I walked toward generosity, I began to reap the benefits of it – my husband’s gratitude, respect and love. At that point, becoming a generous wife became a serious goal. (I even jokingly said, “When I die I want ’she was a generous wife’ put on my tombstone.”) I enjoyed intimacy and security in my marriage and I could face my marriage with a greater sense of integrity as I blessed my husband with little acts of kindness, respect, and love.

     I know that generosity won’t cure all marriage ailments, but I sincerely believe it will cure many. I offer this list to women as a way of beginning to change the atmosphere in their marriages from one of distance to one of intimacy and mutual respect.

     Everyday you’ll receive an idea geared to bless your husband (a mix of romantic, practical, sexual, relational, and spiritual). Use the ideas that will work for you and use the rest to spark your imagination in looking for ways to bless your husband.

     Please join me in becoming The Generous Wife.

                                              Lori <><

Copyright © 2001-2008 Lori J. Byerly
All Rights Reserved
http://www.the-generous-wife.com

Please go visit the site, look at past tips, read the articles and sign up to receive the e-mail tips daily.  It may take a little bit but you will begin to see a difference in your spouse and in your marriage.  And if you don’t want to sign up for the list, check out my page here for the most current tips. I am going to start lisitng them on my website.  Hope they help you!

P.S. There is also a list for husbands that you can tell your husband about and who knows maybe he will sign up!