Love and Respect

"So each husband should love his wife as much as he loves himself, and each wife should respect her husband."
Ephesians 5:33 CEV 

My church, Lake Pointe, has been doing a new message series called Fixing Your Marriage. The first message was given by Steve Stroope and was centered around this verse. He called the message "The Foundation of Love and Respect".

That Sunday, I had gone to church with Sophie and left Ben at home with a sick Milly and an iffy Gideon. I sat alone in the service listening to Steve talk about how women and men need different things on which to feel "sturdy" in their marriage. He likened it to how we as humans can go for 3 days without food but only 3 days without water.


In marriage, a woman's water is love and a man's water is respect.


This hit me hard and made me listen very close. I knew that men and women were different. Heck, I learned that lesson back in elementary school when the boy I liked acted like a jerk to me and expected me to figure it out that it meant that he liked me back! (Boys are WEIRD.) I just thought that once we hit a certain age that everyone needed love. It's true that we all need love but men feel loved in a different way. They need to know that they are respected. They feel this way in their jobs, by their children and especially by their wives.


Disrespect from a wife can crush a man. Did you know that we hold that kind of power?


Unfortunately, I had no idea how to speak that language. I know my husband's Love Language but how does that translate into respecting him? Is it the same? Is it made of actions or is it done with words? If broken does it take years to repair or can I apologize and fix it with immediate action?


It made me nervous. This is the foundation we're talking about here. I live in a tiny rental house with horrible foundation problems that affect EVERY SINGLE THING in the house. The doors don't close correctly, the plumbing is wonky, the tile gets more crooked every day, the paint is cracked, and so on. When I think about this in regards to my marriage then I get very concerned.


So I went to God. We're still talking it over and rolling out some new programs. There seems to be good feedback. I'm grateful for that message.


How do you show respect to your husband? Does he know what he needs? Can you ask him? Are you showing it now?

My Delicate Little Flowers

We got a present in the mail yesterday. My MIL had made a framed cross-stitch for Milly just as she had done for Sophie years ago.  Both are beautifully done. My MIL is extremely talented.

Sophie's has her first name in English and in Greek. The verse is 1 Timothy 3:15 and was chosen because "Sophia" means "wisdom" in Greek. Her name is surrounded by cherry blossoms because her middle name is Sakura, the Japanese cherry blossom tree.

We named Milly "Millicent Mei" because we wanted the girls to have somewhat similar name meanings. "Millicent" means "brave strength" in Old French. "Mei" means "the youngest of sisters" and "beautiful" in Japanese. What we had neglected to notice was that there was a blossom hidden in our littlest girl's name, too.

First, I love that my MIL chose one of my favorite verses for Milly. Proverbs 31 is perfect for her because it references that strength that her first name means but it also tells about her smile. My MIL even put a sun on the picture. Ben and I have said time and time again that Milly's smiles are like sunshine in the darkest of night. Second was the flower. Mailed with this beautiful picture were printouts explaining the flower.

Apparently, when the sakura trees are sleeping, the plum trees are blooming. Japanese plum trees are called "Mei".

So these are my sweet flowers. My Sophia Sakura and my Millicent Mei. They blossom at different times so our lives are always filled with beautiful blooms.

Oy

I'm tired and I have a headache. Enjoy this lazy picture post!

Gideon practicing his accounting skills.

While I was doing laundry, Gideon demanded to wear his Daddy's shirt.

"You've got a friend and a breakfast buddy in me!"

Such a lady.

Watching ARCA racing intently with Daddy.

She's hiding. You can't see her.

Milly likes Abby Cadabby.

The Little Things

Yesterday was tough.

There was bad news from friends and family swirling through my head.

Sophie had 2 poop "accidents" even though she knows what to do. I couldn't correct her because the meltdown was too close to the surface.

Milly was still cranky and feverish from the shots she got the day before.

Gideon was just wild and wanted attention that I couldn't give.

The laundry was threatening to eat us alive.

The kitchen was almost bare.

When Ben got home, I was breathing hard so that I wouldn't cry or scream in front of the kids. He took over and I ran to the car. I cranked up the music and screamed as I drove to the library. Feeling a little better, I plugged my ears with my music and got new books. Then I filled up the car with gas and went to Target. I plugged my ears again and went to get some basics. After picking up some Pull-ups for Sophie (at least we don't need very many!) I took a path back to the grocery section through the shoes.

They were there.

2 pairs left.  On clearance. Fifty percent off.

One pair was my size. They came home with me because they made me smile.

Some days just call for pink sequined Converse shoes.

Family Picnic

Thanksgiving Trip 2011

All a Part of the Body

God ask His people to obey in all different ways.  Some people teach and some people preach.

(I promise this whole post won't rhyme.)

He calls me to pray.  A lot.  Sometimes I'll have specific prayers and sometimes I'll wander around the house just thinking about someone until they take up all of my brain space.  Then I stand still until I understand that God wants me to pray for them for a reason that only He knows.  I really like having specifics and watching to see the Lord work.

I'm working on a new way to remember my prayers.  I'm writing them on note cards and putting them up in places where I find myself standing during the day.  There will be some over the sink in the kitchen where I wash dishes and some on my bathroom mirror.  This should also help me to always be ready to talk to the Lord at any time.

Right now I'm praying for:

• 3 beautiful ladies to be blessed with children
• 4 people to be blessed with partners
• comfort on one going through a divorce
• comfort on a family who lost a loved one
• 2 ladies fighting diseases that seem insurmountable
• 4 ones who need the Lord in their hearts
• friends going through moving stresses

This is in addition to 3 people that God has put on my heart and I have no idea why.  So I just pray that God works however He needs to.

I take requests.  I love to talk to my God.

The Homer to my Marge

"Don't make me laugh!  We're supposed to be gazing lovingly at each other!"

First memory is the Koresh countdown you kept on your binder in 8th grade Algebra.

First kiss on the volleyball court at my church in 8th grade while the Beach Boys played in the background.

Found each other on MySpace in 2006.  Both just assumed we would marry.  It was logical.

Married on May 25, 2007; 10 years after we graduated high school, 30 years after the original Star Wars came out in theaters, and on Towel Day.

Stared at each other and 2 lines on a stick in disbelief on June 25, 2007.

January 17, 2008 brought Sophie.
June 26, 2009 brought Gideon.
January 19, 2011 brought Milly.

1 apartment and 2 houses.  2 moves while I was pregnant and both during Thanksgiving / Christmas holidays.

Bills, surgeries, job losses, new cars, car trips, diapers, taxes, grey hairs and cellulite.

You're still that boy in the backwards San Antonio Spurs hat that makes me laugh right before you kiss me.

Happy Valentines Day, beloved.

"I shimmy with joy!"