30 Days Love Your Wife {Better} Challenge? (A shout out to MeN)

[RustyAngeL]

2 minutes ago, missmuffet said:

I think instead of mixing the wives in with GE's thread someone should start a new thread on "Love Your Husbands".

If you want to go ahead but I have said what I wanted.  But not a bad idea at all.

[GoldenEagle]

3 hours ago, missmuffet said:

I think instead of mixing the wives in with GE's thread someone should start a new thread on "Love Your Husbands".

There's a 30 day challenge for women already too   I just couldn't find anything for guys. 

https://www.reviveourhearts.com/articles/30-day-husband-encouragement-challenge/

God bless,
GE

[GoldenEagle]

For any guys interested: 

*October 1st (Saturday)
Day 1. Ask her: How can I help you today (or this week)?

Timing and tone might be important on this one. Make sure she has some time to think. If she needs some time to come up with a few things give it to her.

Philippians 2:4
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Suggested Prayer: Pray for God to bless your wife and marriage. Pray for God to lead you this month in loving your wife well. Pray for your heart to be sensitive to what He will teach you.

Spend some time in prayer with your wife tonight. It can be as short as a few minutes or as long as you feel led. #LoveYourWifeBetterChallenge

God bless,
GE

[gdemoss]

There is no way I would join in on this.  It would ruin all the progress I have made with my wife.  

I spend every day seeking to improve my relationship with her and all others in my life.  

When we began our relationship I offered a covenant agreement of marriage and she agreed.  Since then it has been a challenge to stick to it and not cow down but doing so makes things richer.

Men, respect your wives for God said they will want to rule over you and your job is to keep them in subjection.  Life and death of a marriage are in the power of the tongue and a man who does not offend in word or deed is given dominion over his house by God.  God corrects those who err.

There is a time to embrace (hug) and a time to refrain from embracing in a marriage.  The man who hugs at the wrong time can hurt her rather than help her. 

Jon, I love your heart to want to do well and share good things.  May God lead you in the way of an everlasting marriage filled with love, joy and peace!

 

 

[GoldenEagle]

5 hours ago, gdemoss said:

There is no way I would join in on this.  It would ruin all the progress I have made with my wife.  

I spend every day seeking to improve my relationship with her and all others in my life.  

When we began our relationship I offered a covenant agreement of marriage and she agreed.  Since then it has been a challenge to stick to it and not cow down but doing so makes things richer.

Men, respect your wives for God said they will want to rule over you and your job is to keep them in subjection.  Life and death of a marriage are in the power of the tongue and a man who does not offend in word or deed is given dominion over his house by God.  God corrects those who err.

There is a time to embrace (hug) and a time to refrain from embracing in a marriage.  The man who hugs at the wrong time can hurt her rather than help her. 

Jon, I love your heart to want to do well and share good things.  May God lead you in the way of an everlasting marriage filled with love, joy and peace!

 

 

Hiya Gary! I'm not sure I understand a majority of what you've said here brother. How would it ruin the progress you've made with your wife? What kind of covenant agreement?  

The hope is to challenge all of us to grow closer to God and our spouses. 

But hey bottom line is if it is not something that would be good for you or your marriage no problem.

God bless,

GE

[GoldenEagle]

*October 2nd (Sunday)
Day 2. Go a whole day without correcting your spouse. Speak Life!

Proverbs 18:21
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits....

Colossians 4:6
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

 

Suggested Prayer: Pray for God to encourage your wife today. Pray for your words to be kind and loving towards her.

Spend some time in prayer with your wife tonight. It can be as short as a few minutes or as long as you feel led. #LoveYourWifeBetterChallenge

[kwikphilly]

Many Blessings GE.....to you & all the fellas here,I think we gals need to bud out now and leave you to your great efforts.......I simply wanted to support & encourage you guys,many of us love & appreciate you MEN of God     and besides,the Word of God tells us ladies to "Honor our Husbands".....   Love ya,Kwik

[Willa]

We used to attend Christian marriage seminars each year, and they were a great challenge and a great blessing.  In one men were asked to list 10 ways they express love to their wives.  It was such a revelation because many I would never have imagined were an expression of his love.  At the top of hubby's list was:  "I let her eat onions"!   You better believe I held that one over his head on occasion.  Now he automatically orders hamburgers with onions for me.   Bless his heart!  It became a very good natured family joke.  

I once suggested to our son that he not criticize his wife's housekeeping but help her out instead.  It backfired.  She thought that his help in itself was a criticism.  Her mom was in the habit of redoing her efforts to show her what it should look like!  Asking her what you can do for her is a great idea.  She may prefer a back rub.

[GoldenEagle]

*October 3rd (Monday)
Day 3. Hug your spouse 3-5 times today. It might be a good idea to attempt to hug her without grabbing her butt or in a sexual way. Women need re-assurance. Hugs are good for the soul.

Song of Solomon 6:3a
3 I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine

Suggested Prayer: Pray for God to help your wife remember or see that she is the daughter of the King of Kings! Pray for wisdom and strength for you to treat her as such.

Spend some time in prayer with your wife tonight. It can be as short as a few minutes or as long as you feel led. #LoveYourWifeBetterChallenge

[gdemoss]

On 10/2/2016 at 0:00 AM, GoldenEagle said:

Hiya Gary! I'm not sure I understand a majority of what you've said here brother. How would it ruin the progress you've made with your wife? What kind of covenant agreement?  

The hope is to challenge all of us to grow closer to God and our spouses. 

But hey bottom line is if it is not something that would be good for you or your marriage no problem.

God bless,

GE

Jon, not surprised it is confusing. I am learning so much these days that I did not previously know.  

What you have presented is a 'cookie cutter' program of one size fits all 'challenge' to men that is supposed to help them improve their relationship with their wives.  It ignores the reality that people and situations are diverse and things simply cannot be applied like a recipe to spruce up a marriage.

Eccl 3 teaches us that depending upon conditions proper actions can be exactly opposite one another.  A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing.  I have learned that I can actually hurt my wife my presenting her with affection, gifts or even face to face time under the wrong conditions.

I have a covenant agreement of marriage with my wife.  She desired to be with me.  I laid out a detailed agreement before her and said if she agreed then I would be with her.  First and foremost we would be married and no sex before marriage.  She would agree that my God would be her God and my people would be her people.  She would confess that Genesis 3:16 was true, that she had a desire to rule over me and that God gave me headship of our household.  We would have a 51%/49% partnership where whatever I decided would be the end decision on all matters both big and small.  

I hold myself to be accountable to God via his word in my treatment of her.  I have had many relationships, all of which failed miserably due to bad advice from well intentioned sources combined with my own ignorance of or refusal to accept the truth.  My current marriage is strong unlike the others because I have trusted God instead of self.

Selfishness and self-centeredness is the root of the destruction of the marriages I see dissolve.  

Here is motive tester I use:

"I am going to (insert action) so that (insert desired result) because I believe it is God's will for me."

I find that when I test my motives and see that the action being taken is for the purpose of personal gain that the sentence is rejected by my conscience.  It isn't about what I do so much as why I do it.  

Today I am learning to love my wife.  Sometimes that requires me to be critical of her.  Sometimes it requires me to tell her she needs to go away from me until her countenance is right.  Sometimes it requires me to embrace her.  Sometimes it requires me to ignore her but other times to give her my undivided attention.  The list of requirements to love my wife are long and depend upon conditions present.

The same God who led them out of captivity to the promised land also destroyed them that believed not though he be a merciful and tender God.  He who chastens them that he loves and scourges every son he receives.  I am required to love my wife as Christ loved the church for sure but how did he answer her when she was being foolish?  "Get thee behind me Satan for thou art an offense to me", "my grace is sufficient for you for my strength is made perfect in weakness".  

God give you the knowledge of his will for you in your marriage, Jon, and the power to carry it out.