Time for a little practice.........:)
Pick ONE thing that your dh does that you think is unwise,irresponsible,a bad influence,a waste of time etc.etc.
Think long and hard about this........Pick one of those things that bother you daily,or at least almost daily.
Do you have your thing? (Bet it wasn't too hard to think of something was it?) :):)
Now......
Write it down on a piece of paper, and look long and hard at it.
Finally............Crumple it up,throw it in the trash or even BURN it.
Let that thing go.Determine to STOP caring about that thing.
Let that chip fall off of your shoulder forever.
Don't EVER let it ruin another evening.......Not even another MOMENT.
Remember that you have NO idea what the Lord is doing in your husbands life OR yours.
Remember that the job the Lord gave YOU as your husbands help meet is to reverence,support,respect,love,encourage etc. etc.
Not to nag,complain,or criticize.
You will find it wanting to rest on your shoulder again but don't let it.Brush it off every.single.time.
Before you know it...........You will find that it never or atleast rarely,weighs you down anymore,AND I almost guarantee that your husband will notice it.Instead of doing that thing MORE.........
He just might do it less.
(But make sure you aren't DOING it to try to get him to do it less.Make sure you are making these changes because they are RIGHT,expecting nothing in return.)
You are practicing JOY.
Showing posts with label Finding Joy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Finding Joy. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
And whatsoever ye do..........
do it heartily,as to the Lord,and not unto men.
We need to always remember what the #1 reason is for being an excellent wife.
We do it because it is RIGHT.Not because our husbands deserve it (sometimes they don't).We most definitely do not always deserve to be loved "as Christ loved the church....." either do we?
Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do,do it heartily,as to the Lord,and not unto men.
Ephesians 5:22 Wives,submit yourselves unto your own husbands,as unto the Lord.
I personally think my husband is pretty perfect (wink) and being an excellent wife to him is EASY most of the time because he is such a wonderful man AND I know his heart.
BUT.......We all have those times when we don't want to bite our tongue.We don't want to respect him.We don't want to keep quiet.We want to throw a little fit.We don't LIKE the decision he is making.
At those times we need to remember to look past him and unto Christ.
Our men are carnal,we are carnal.
The Lord ALWAYS deserves our obedience,our respect,our honour,our love.
So next time you find it hard to do what you SHOULD do,be it to your husband, your mother-in law,your next door neighbor, your child, or the lady at the grocery store.Try to look past them and see the LORD.
HE is why we do what we do and HE will give us the strength to be able to do it.
Psalm 18:1-2
I WILL love thee,O Lord,my strength.
The Lord is my rock,and my fortress,and my deliverer,my God,my strength,in whom I will trust;my buckler,and the horn of my salvation,and my high tower.
Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength,a very present help in trouble.
Our new habits........
Week 1~Greet our husbands with Joy and keep our words sweet for 15 min (at least!).
Week 2~Start our days in prayer and with scripture.Drawing strength from the Lord.
We need to always remember what the #1 reason is for being an excellent wife.
We do it because it is RIGHT.Not because our husbands deserve it (sometimes they don't).We most definitely do not always deserve to be loved "as Christ loved the church....." either do we?
Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do,do it heartily,as to the Lord,and not unto men.
Ephesians 5:22 Wives,submit yourselves unto your own husbands,as unto the Lord.
I personally think my husband is pretty perfect (wink) and being an excellent wife to him is EASY most of the time because he is such a wonderful man AND I know his heart.
BUT.......We all have those times when we don't want to bite our tongue.We don't want to respect him.We don't want to keep quiet.We want to throw a little fit.We don't LIKE the decision he is making.
At those times we need to remember to look past him and unto Christ.
Our men are carnal,we are carnal.
The Lord ALWAYS deserves our obedience,our respect,our honour,our love.
So next time you find it hard to do what you SHOULD do,be it to your husband, your mother-in law,your next door neighbor, your child, or the lady at the grocery store.Try to look past them and see the LORD.
HE is why we do what we do and HE will give us the strength to be able to do it.
Psalm 18:1-2
I WILL love thee,O Lord,my strength.
The Lord is my rock,and my fortress,and my deliverer,my God,my strength,in whom I will trust;my buckler,and the horn of my salvation,and my high tower.
Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength,a very present help in trouble.
Our new habits........
Week 1~Greet our husbands with Joy and keep our words sweet for 15 min (at least!).
Week 2~Start our days in prayer and with scripture.Drawing strength from the Lord.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Phone tone!
So remember,the new HABIT we are learning is to greet our husbands with obvious JOY when they come home at night and be sweet for *atleast* 15 minutes.(Horray to the mamma who left a comment saying that she was tempted to complain but stopped because her 15 min was not up lol and then forgot to complain after her time was up!)
Here is another area to think about though.......
How does your voice sound on the phone?I don't know how many of you talk to your husbands on the phone throughout the day but I know many of us do.Do you sound happy to hear from him?
I always answer my phone with a cheerful "Hello?".I always have.I have always been big on making sure that the person who is calling me does not feel like they are inconvienencing me in any way.Even in the middle of the night.I have talked to too many people on the phone who make it clear by their tone that you are being a big burden to them.I can't stand it.It makes you want to say "Nevermind." click.
I have found though that although I am super polite to strangers/friends/family etc. I sometimes found myself using kind of a drab/boring/sometimes overwhelmed tone with me dh when saying "Hello?" .
When I realized I decided that it was going to STOP.When he calls me I want him to hear a happy tone.I want him to know that I am thrilled to see HIS number on my caller ID.Always!
Tone makes all the difference in the world.Practice your phone tone! Not only with your dh but with everyone.Does your tone say "I am happy to hear from you! What can I do for you?"
Are you good at SHOWING your joy?
I am a people watcher.When I am in town,shopping etc. I just automatically notice people and peg them.I *know* that my impressions could easily be wrong.It isn't that I am judging them but I DO get an impression.
Some people just LOOK happy.Some look absolutely miserable.
Sometimes,even if our heart IS happy,we don't do a good job at showing it.I am practicing SHOWING joy.Smiling more.I already smile AND laugh alot lol but I want to smile even more.I definitely have room for improvement.
I am amazed at the transformation that goes on when someone smiles.
There is nothing that makes a woman more beautiful.
Now I don't mean you need to keep a smile pasted on your face 24 hours a day lol but I have yet to see a truly happy,content and joyful person who doesn't smile alot.
Look at yourself in the mirror with 3 different faces.Better yet,have someone take a picture of you with 3 different faces.
Frowning/angry face
Your *normal* face
Smiling face
You will see just how much better you look with a smile!
Sometimes we can feel perfectly joyful and are just to busy to take the time to smile.So make sure that your joy is visible and do it often.Smile for no reason! When you pass your husband in the hallway SMILE.When you wipe your little child's face SMILE.When you pay for your groceries SMILE.
Smiles do amazing things for an atmosphere.Even forcing yourself to smile for 1 full minute can change your OWN mood lol. Try it next time you are feeling grumpy!
Get in the habit of SHOWING your joy!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Joy is often lacking in a woman's life..........
because she is not thankful.
I read that line recently and loved it.
Sure,there are times to grieve.Most often though,in my life and what I see in the lives of others,99% of our unhappy moments stem from unthankfulness.
Bad moods because the house is a mess.
Attitudes because a dh isn't doing something we think he should be doing.
Feeling depressed because there is 2 ft of snow on the ground.
Pouting because we didn't get to do something that we really wanted to do.
Sighing because the toddler won't quit getting into everything.
Complaining because our groceries didn't get bagged properly at the store.
Sulking because it seems like all we do is train children.
Being impatient because our children are asking us to many questions.
I need not keep listing things because I am sure you could all add your own things to the list. It is the critical spirit.The spirit that always sees the negative instead of counting the blessings.The happy people that I know in life are not the ones that I hear complaining at the hardware store about how miserable the weather is.They aren't obsessed with discussing how high the gas prices are or how bad the economy is.Sure,they know about those things and don't like them etc. but they know that there is no purpose in dwelling on those things because there is nothing they can do about them.Dwelling on them only causes unhappiness.Happy people look on the bright side.There is always a bright side.Hapy people find the JOY in the moment.
Hebrews 13:5
Let your conversation be without covetousness;and be content with such things as ye have:for he hath said,I will never leave thee,nor forsake thee.
Following that scripture is the key to JOY.
From the big things down to the tiny things.
I know of people who have terrible/tragic things happen to them and they are still full of joy.
I know of others who have it *all* but are miserable all the time.
Happiness is an attitude.It is not about circumstance.Do you ever find yourself saying or thinking "Well,I would be hapy too if I had what she had..........." or "Well no wonder she is always smiling,she has everything she wants........." If you are waiting for your husband to treat you better, or for your house to get organized, until you are happy, you will be waiting for a loooooooong time.Why? because you will *never* be happy if you are depending on circumstances to make you happy.
Practice makes perfect.This is another wonderful thing that I have read recently.If you have no knowledge whatsoever on how to play the violin and you pick it up and try to play your favorite song you are going to fail miserably.If you start practicing every day,before you know it your fingers will find the notes with ease.You don't even have to think about it.You can play the notes with your eyes closed,in the dark,while having a conversation with someone........The same goes for practicing thankfulness.If you struggle with anger,frustration,impatience when trials happen sart practicing patience and contentment........before you know it,it will become easier and easier and next thing you know,some little person will spill a glass of milk all through your purse and you will honestly be able to calmly say "It's ok sweetheart,I know you didn't mean to.Atleast I have a new box of checks to replace the drenched ones,I am rich enough to be able to buy a new purse if I need to,credit cards are plastic,sunglasses can be washed and best of all,I have been blessed with a little child that spills milk!!"
I read that line recently and loved it.
Sure,there are times to grieve.Most often though,in my life and what I see in the lives of others,99% of our unhappy moments stem from unthankfulness.
Bad moods because the house is a mess.
Attitudes because a dh isn't doing something we think he should be doing.
Feeling depressed because there is 2 ft of snow on the ground.
Pouting because we didn't get to do something that we really wanted to do.
Sighing because the toddler won't quit getting into everything.
Complaining because our groceries didn't get bagged properly at the store.
Sulking because it seems like all we do is train children.
Being impatient because our children are asking us to many questions.
I need not keep listing things because I am sure you could all add your own things to the list. It is the critical spirit.The spirit that always sees the negative instead of counting the blessings.The happy people that I know in life are not the ones that I hear complaining at the hardware store about how miserable the weather is.They aren't obsessed with discussing how high the gas prices are or how bad the economy is.Sure,they know about those things and don't like them etc. but they know that there is no purpose in dwelling on those things because there is nothing they can do about them.Dwelling on them only causes unhappiness.Happy people look on the bright side.There is always a bright side.Hapy people find the JOY in the moment.
Hebrews 13:5
Let your conversation be without covetousness;and be content with such things as ye have:for he hath said,I will never leave thee,nor forsake thee.
Following that scripture is the key to JOY.
From the big things down to the tiny things.
I know of people who have terrible/tragic things happen to them and they are still full of joy.
I know of others who have it *all* but are miserable all the time.
Happiness is an attitude.It is not about circumstance.Do you ever find yourself saying or thinking "Well,I would be hapy too if I had what she had..........." or "Well no wonder she is always smiling,she has everything she wants........." If you are waiting for your husband to treat you better, or for your house to get organized, until you are happy, you will be waiting for a loooooooong time.Why? because you will *never* be happy if you are depending on circumstances to make you happy.
Practice makes perfect.This is another wonderful thing that I have read recently.If you have no knowledge whatsoever on how to play the violin and you pick it up and try to play your favorite song you are going to fail miserably.If you start practicing every day,before you know it your fingers will find the notes with ease.You don't even have to think about it.You can play the notes with your eyes closed,in the dark,while having a conversation with someone........The same goes for practicing thankfulness.If you struggle with anger,frustration,impatience when trials happen sart practicing patience and contentment........before you know it,it will become easier and easier and next thing you know,some little person will spill a glass of milk all through your purse and you will honestly be able to calmly say "It's ok sweetheart,I know you didn't mean to.Atleast I have a new box of checks to replace the drenched ones,I am rich enough to be able to buy a new purse if I need to,credit cards are plastic,sunglasses can be washed and best of all,I have been blessed with a little child that spills milk!!"
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