SPOUSES ARE #1 (Day 4 of 6)
(Need to start at the beginning? Day 1)

As you looked for ways to give your spouse importance, where did you struggle?

Certainly, demanding life seasons can interfere some. Babies that wake you several times in the night can leave you exhausted with little time and energy for others. Totally understand. Do what you reasonably can and assure each other that it is just a season.

It’s hard to spend time with your spouse or do loving acts when you are angry with them. Totally get it. The point here is to own it, work to remedy the problems, so you can more easily put your spouse in the #1 spot.

Are you distracted by busyness? Without really thinking it through, it’s easy to adopt a very busy lifestyle with little time for your spouse. Rethink your priorities and time use to create a space for them. (Take time off and put your phones down now and then.)

Where and how else did you struggle?

A Tilly picture from the archive.

The girl really knows how to relax.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.
Image credits – distracted couple © Aleksej / Adobe Stock, Tilly © Lori / Doing Marriage Well
We’re Donation Supported

BE STEADFAST  (Day 4 of 6)
(Need to start at the beginning? Day 1)

So how did your day of practice go?

Consider well and watch carefully the path of your feet, and all your ways will be steadfast and sure. Proverbs 4:26 AMP

Were you able to honor your spouse, or did you talk down about them to your co-workers? Did you work to find a place of agreement with them, or fuss until you got your way? Did you let your spouse know they are your only eye candy, or did you peek at porn?

Where did you struggle to stand strong and steadfast for your marriage?

I can generally see and avoid doing bad things, but the flip side of the coin is doing good things. Doing well is more than just avoiding the bad. It’s about stepping up and taking action to accomplish something good.

That takes thought, time, and effort. That’s the substance of being steadfast.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!

We’ve had temperatures drop below 0° F overnight, and we will likely have the same for a couple more nights. Praying for spring.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.
Image credits – sneaky wife © Kaspars Grinvalds / Adobe Stock, thermometer © Rosy / Bad Homburg / Germany from Pixabay
We’re Donation Supported

STOP THE SCOFFING  (Day 4 of 6)
(Need to start at the beginning? Day 1)

How did yesterday’s practice go?

Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go away; even strife and dishonor will cease. Proverbs 22:10 AMP

What made it harder to stop the scoff?

I’m impacted by the level of scoff around me. I’d like to think that doesn’t happen, but I have to own my humanness and vulnerability. I’m not special, exempt, or somehow not affected.

What that means practically is, I have to pay attention to the amount of snarkiness on the YouTube videos I watch, limit the amount of time I spend with cranky people, and generally watch my heart attitudes. I’m also practicing being more careful with my word choices. Some words are more gentle than others.

Were you affected by others? Is sarcasm or hard humor normal for you? We’re you able to catch the scoff?

WooHoo! I got the rest of my ordered seeds.

I’m all set for spring. Now I just need a little sunshine. (Yes, that’s Tilly in the background.)

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.
Image credits – snarky woman © M Alfan Setyawan / Adobe Stock, all the seeds! © Lori / Doing Marriage Well
We’re Donation Supported

SAY/DO NOTHING (Day 4 of 6)
(Need to start at the beginning? Day 1)

How did you do yesterday? What are your thoughts?

It was a bit tough for me because Tuesdays are my social day. I hang with good friends and we have fun. I did try to ask questions and take my time in response (if at all). I wanted to give others a chance to really share their hearts, giving their words more weight in the conversation.

I didn’t have a lot of opportunity for appropriate inaction. I have several practical chores that are my responsibility. I did offer to help someone who said, “No, thanks.” I figure graciously backing down is a close second to inaction. They didn’t need or want my help. ‘Nuf said.

What did you learn from your day of practice?

A while back, I closed down my flock of Coturnix quail. I needed to rethink and reconfigure my cage setup for them. When I started back up, I had a difficult time getting fertile eggs that the postal system didn’t decimate in transit.

I finally managed to get a few hatched and to maturity. They’re just now starting to lay eggs. In a few weeks, when I know they’re very mature, I’ll try hatching some homegrown eggs to enlarge my numbers.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.
Image credits – coffees © Pixabay.com, quail eggs © Lori / Doing Marriage Well
We’re Donation Supported

LET’S ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING (Day 4 of 6)
(Need to start at the beginning? Day 1)

What makes it difficult for you to move from intention to action? Or even to think about action?

Little children, let us … love … in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:18 ESV

Busyness, and the distraction that comes with it, is a service killer. It’s hard to meet other’s needs when you don’t have the time, energy, and awareness to do so.

I had to think through expected roles. If it’s not my usual action, it’s largely because someone else has always taken care of it and I expect they will continue to do so. And, that’s not bad, necessarily, but it does close the window to stepping up to love on folks with action.

Paul usually takes the bagged household garbage to the garbage dumpster on property. However, the bags are not so heavy that I couldn’t take one on my way to visit another household. I pass right by the dumpster, and it’s an expression of love to take something off Paul’s plate.

For me, it takes thinking differently.

What did you learn? Where were you able to serve with love?

I’m starting to think about gardening. 🙂  Really, I am.

Some of that is seeing the continual white of winter and needing the hope of spring. And some of it is the steady stream of seed catalogs in the mail. I have much of what I need, but there are a few gaps. A little planning and some ordering of seed is in order.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.
Image credits – household trash © Lori / StockDreamAI, seed catalogs © Lori / Doing Marriage Well
We’re Donation Supported

WORDS, WORDS, WORDS  (Day 4 of 6)
(Need to start at the beginning? Day 1)

As you were practicing yesterday, where did you struggle?

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14 ESV

I did pretty well on the kindness level, but I had a challenging situation where I didn’t have the words to explain a concept. I was helping a friend with her bookkeeping and, boy howdy, it was a tough problem. Thankfully, we were both able to stay calm and muddle through to success.

It was rather nice because we did all that in front of her kids, some of them teens. I love seeing good behavior and words modeled for youngsters. I want them to know it can be done!

What were your successes? What did you learn?

We’re reworking a bit of the house.

Drywall mud. Ug. No fun, but it sure will be nice when we’re done.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.
Image credits – woman working with spreadsheets © Pexels / Pixabay, Paul starting the drywall mud © Lori / Doing Marriage Well
We’re Donation Supported