day 9 the love dare

Well due to the camping, day 8 actually took a few days. i plan on extending it a bit, simply by going down the list sending beau thankful texts on his lunch break (he cant take phones to work and loves to get texts :) . I should have brought the bad list camping, it would have been easy to burn. But in general i frown on burning things in the house so i just threw it out lol. gone is gone right.

I'm still slightly convinced that beau is doing the love dare too. I was throwing a temper tantrum because i couldn't get the baby gates to fit, and couldn't find another. Instead of scolding my temper tantrum, he just did it himself and found the gate. It has been soo nice. My day is so less stressful not worrying about the little guy falling down the stairs.

day 9   making a good impression!

Greet one another with a kiss of love- 1 Peter 5:34

looks like all my euro friends have this one right!!

Jesus noted long ago during his sermon on the mount, that all people (believers or otherwise) greet those they like kindly. That is easy. Being Godly requires showing grace and humility even in the face of your enemies. fortunately when you roll over in the morning (atleast i hope) you aren't looking at the face of your enemy, so this dare should be easy in comparison :)

When we meet a stranger, acquaintance, friend, or even someone we dont like, our typical response is to say Hi and be nice and polite. "Doesn't your spouse deserve the same, times ten.". Of course!!! To be honest, i dont always view waking up with someone as a time that requires a greeting. But what a great way to set the tone for the day. I'm lucky enough to be married to a military man, which means he sometimes comes and goes throughout the day. Off to PT , home for breakfast, off to work, home for lunch, back to work, home for dinner etc. This provides me lots of opportunities to greet him in a great way, also lots of missed opportunities if I'm not careful.....and if I'm honest, i often miss them or the kids get to him first. I am his wife so I'm setting yet another goal here!

If you are familiar with the prodigal son you have a great example there of an undeserved, but well appreciated special greeting. If your not familiar I'll give you the run down. Rebellious son takes his inheritance and wastes it partying and doing the typical young adult thing. Blows all his money and prepares his apologies, returning home ashamed. Instead of the expected scolding, he receives a warm welcome from his father. An undeserved welcome, but the father's love was always truly unconditional therefore the response makes sense. Our love for our partner should be the same. So that makes the "always greet kindly" dare a bit of a challenge. It means sometimes we are mad or irritated and we should still greet with love regardless because our love is still strong and present even when challenged with anger. A loving greeting in its simplest form, blesses your spouse and helps them feel that love u share a little bit more.

todays dare...

Think of a specific way you'd like to greet your spouse today. Do it with enthusiasm and a smile.