Day Three: Love Fest!

Day 3:
The Dare: Along with restraining from negative comments, but your spouse something that says, "I was thinking of you today."
Based on the verse: "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor." Romans 12:10
Points that impacted me the most: Why do we have such low standards for ourselves but high expectations for our mate? The answer is a painful pill to swallow. We are all selfish. When a wife constantly complains about the time and energy she spends meeting the needs of her husband, that's a sign of selfishness. But love "does not seek its own." (1 Cor 13:5) True love looks for ways to say "yes". Remember, your marriage partner also has the challenge of loving a selfish person. So determine to be the first to demonstrate real love to them, with your eyes wide open.

This was so good for me. The text was the best part. It was helpful to remember what I was working towards when I made a special trip to the dollar store to buy him a bag of sour patch kids flavored cotton candy (trust me...right up his alley). The not saying anything negative has been really good too! I've had to get really creative on how I communicate and I realize that the majority of the time if I asked a few questions like "what do you mean?" or "I don't understand what you're saying" the situation is diffused. I'm aware now of how quickly I would jump to an emotional reaction without clarifying, and then he just goes on the defensive. Also, I've had to get very creative aobut how to problem solve. Like today when he started complaining again about how he doesn't like the diaper rash cream I buy and he doesn't think it does anything (the only brand he thinks that works id Desitin) instead of saying what I wanted to say---which I won't elaborate on) I just said, "How about I call the doctor and ask if they suggest a brand." YEAH! I know!
Two things have been interesting in this journey:
1. John commented to me last night about how little we've been arguing. I was overflowing with thankfulness to God for that fact. It's TRUE! It's amazing how much changing myself changed the equation. (Tributes to the MJ "Man in the mirror" song)
2. He's started looking more and more like the man I married.
And the funniest part is...his looks haven't changed....but my glasses have.