Day 5 and 6

Day 5: Love is not Rude

"He who blesses his friend with loud voice early in the morning, it will be reckoned a curse to him."- Proverbs 27:14

Nothing irritates others as quickly as being rude. Rudeness is unnecessarily saying or doing things that are unpleasant to be around. To be rude is to act unbecoming, embarrassing or irritating. In marriage, this could be a foul mouth, poor table manners, or a habit of making sarcastic quips. When a man is driven by love, he intentionally behaves in a way that's more pleasant for his wife to be around. If she desires to love him, she purposefully avoids things that frustrate him or cause him discomfort. Embracing this concept could add some fresh air to your marriage. Good manners express, "I value you enough to exercise some self-control around you. I want to be a person who's a pleasure to be with." When you allow love to change your behavior, even in the smallest of ways, you restore an atmosphere of honor to your relationship. People who practice good etiquette tend to raise the respect level of the environment around them. Do you wish that your spouse would quit doing the things that bother you? Then it's time to stop doing the things that bother them. Will you be thoughtful and loving enough to discover and avoid the behavior that causes life to be unpleasant for your mate? Will you dare to be delightful?

If so...here's what you can practice:

1) Guard the Golden Rule- Treat your mate the same way you want to be treated.
2) No Double Standards- Be as considerate to your spouse as you are to strangers and coworkers.
3) Honor Requests- Consider what your spouse already asked you to do or not do.

Day 5 Dare: Ask your spouse to tell you three things that cause them to be uncomfortable or irritated with you. You must do so without attacking them of justifying your behavior. This is from their perspective only.

Day 6: Love is not Irritable

"He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city." Proverbs 16:32

Today's Dare: Today, choose to react to tough circumstances in your marriage in loving ways instead of with irritation. Begin by making a list of areas where you need to add margin to your schedule. Then list any wrong motivations that you need to release from your life.

Things to Ponder...

Where do you need to add margin to your life? When have you recently overreacted? What was your real motivation behind it?