Love Dare Challenge - Day 21

Yesterday was not a good day.  I got so frustrated with Hubby and everything else for that matter.  Nothing was going right at work, my daughter was sick with an ear infection, I wanted to get to the store and wasn't able to due to work and the sick one.   I never even got to read yesterday's dare, let alone complete it! After work, I was still frustrated with hubby and annoyed with him. So, when I finally decided I had to go to the store to get the prescription, I remembered an earlier dare and picked up something for him while I was there.  After doing so, I felt much better.

Day 21: Love is satisfied in God

The Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire.

—Isaiah 58:11

There are no coincidences and these dares are just driving home the point.  I've been wanting to read the Bible regularly, but just haven't been making the time for it like I should be.  So, I'm going to be working on that, starting today.

 Follow others that are doing the Love Dare by checking of Mama to 3 Blessings' post and Linky.

Love Dare Challenge - Day 20

In thinking back through the dare so far, Day 5 was a particular challenge for me.  But I made it through and I don't doubt that God had a hand in it.  I see evidence of his love everywhere I turn.  The Day 11 challenge where I cleaned around the bathroom sink wasn't particularly challenging, but I'm still glad I did it.  The sink area is still clean and I'm hoping to keep it that way.  It's a nice reminder to me of the Dare and I think that's a good way to start out the day.

Today marks the halfway point.  I don't think he's realized that I'm doing the dare, and I don't really see much difference in him, but that's ok.

Day 20: Love is Jesus Christ

While we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

—Romans 5:6

Follow others that are doing the Love Dare by checking of Mama to 3 Blessings' post and Linky.

Love Dare Challenge - Day 19

Last night's dinner went alright. He liked the food, we talked a little about our day and that was pretty much it. I think I mentioned that we ate a little later so we could be alone (we waited for the girls to go to bed). I made lamb, asparagus and some baby baked potatoes.

Day 19: Love is impossible

Let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

—1 John 4:7

Follow others that are doing the Love Dare by checking of Mama to 3 Blessings' post and Linky.

Love Dare Challenge - Day 18

Day 18: Love seeks to understand

How blessed is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding.

—Proverbs 3:13

I've started preparing dinner. I approached the subject with hubby suggesting a dinner for two tonight and he didn't seem that interested, since it means waiting until the girls go to bed.  Check back tomorrow to see how it goes!

Follow others that are doing the Love Dare by checking of Mama to 3 Blessings' post and Linky.

Love Dare Challenge - Day 17

Day 17: Love promotes intimacy

He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

—Proverbs 17:9 NIV

We don't have too many secrets from each other and ever since we did the small group Fireproof study, I've been working VERY hard to not discuss things that I know bother him publicly.  We work together, so I almost spend 24 hours a day with him, 7 days a week.  Due to school right now, our work schedule is skewed a bit so there are three hours in the morning and three hours in the afternoon we're not together, but that's it.  Certainly wouldn't be easy to have secrets from each other.  But we're not the kind that have much to hide from friends and family either.

I've read ahead to tomorrow's challenge.  I'm glad I did because I need to go grocery shopping!

Follow others that are doing the Love Dare by checking of Mama to 3 Blessings' post and Linky.

Muffin Tin Monday - ABC's and 123's

I've been looking forward to this one (I'm weird like that) because the theme was ABC's and 123's. I actually even did this one a bit early so that I could make sure to get it on my blog!

A - Alphabet yogurt
B - Banana
C - Cheerios Cereal
E - Egg
D - Donut

The girls liked most of it. The one hasn't been eating much lately at all, so she just sampled, but I sent it with her to day care. The oldest ate everything but the banana (and her banana was a bit over ripe).

Head over to Muffin Tin Mom's Muffin Tin Monday post to check out more ABC and 123 ideas!

Love Dare Challenge - Day 16

Day 16: Love intercedes

Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

—3 John 2

I've been praying for my spouse and every member of my family, for years, but this challenge speaks more to a specific kind of prayer.  I've prayed several times today and will continue to do so in the future.

Follow others that are doing the Love Dare by checking of Mama to 3 Blessings' post and Linky.

Love Dare Challenge - Day 15

Thursdays are usually the night I watch TV. He has practice for the Worship team at church, so I usually end up watching Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice and Ugly Betty. I DVR them, and am usually a week or so behind (because sometimes, he doesn't have practice). So, last night rather than continuing to watch Grey's when he got home, I stopped, handed him the remote and layed down on the couch with him.

Today is:

Day 15: Love is honorable

Live with your wives in an understanding way . . . and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life.

—1 Peter 3:7

Follow others that are doing the Love Dare by checking of Mama to 3 Blessings' post and Linky.

Love Dare Challenge - Day 14

I didn't discuss the rules of engagement with hubby last night because I didn't want to rock the waves. So, I took the suggestion of coming up with a list of my own.

1) Don't be so definsive and admidt my mistakes
2) Don't try to redirect the guilt to someone else (very close to #1)
3) Talk about it rather than claming up (this is what he said I need to work on on day 5).

On to:

Day 14: Love takes delight

Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting life.
—Ecclesiastes 9:9 HCSB

Follow others that are doing the Love Dare by checking of Mama to 3 Blessings' post and Linky.

Love Dare Challenge - Day 13

I'm going to have to come back to Day 12 later. We didn't fight yesterday and we so rarely do that it doesn't make sense to wait until we DO fight to continue.  So, on to day 13:

Day 13: Love fights fair

If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

—Mark 3:25

Follow others that are doing the Love Dare by checking of Mama to 3 Blessings' post and Linky.

Love Dare Challenge - Day 12

I'm still going to need to work on tracking down the source of the funky html, but for now I'll do it by hand.

I completed day 11 and actually got a Thank You!  Last night I was going to give him a back rub, I'd been planning it all day the day before, but then we had an argument right before we went to bed and it didn't happen.  So, yesterday I was going to do it last night. Well, I was really tired (due to lack of sleep from the argument the night before) and ended up falling asleep before he was done reading.  BUT, unlike most nights, when he turned out the light, I woke up, so I gave it to him then.

I have a pretty good marriage, I'm not doing the love dare because things are bad.  But, I do feel there's always room for improvement.  So the argument we had the night before last was a rare occurance which is why it bothered me so much.  And it wasn't really an argument which made it all that much worse, we both just went to bed without talking it out.

I noticed something yesterday that really bothered me.  I was going to Google to look for Union 28's website. I'd tried union28.com and it wasn't right (I'd forgotten it was a .net) so I thought I had misrememberd the company name and decided to Google "my husband rocks" because I was wanting to check out their T-shirts.  I got as far as "my husband" and was struck by the suggestions that Google had (which are other top searches, I'm pretty sure).  Look at this:


I was struck by how negative all of these are.  I truely am blessed that I was Googling "My husband rocks" instead of "My husband is a jerk"! Although sometimes I do need the reminder. 

By the way does anyone know of other shirts similar to the ones that Union 28 sells? The designs I like there are on the weird cut T's and I'm not sure they'd fit.  I do have the "i love my husband" t-shirt that came out with the Fireproof stuff, but was looking for something else too.
Wish me luck with Day 12!

Day 12: Love lets the other win

Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

—Philippians 2:4

Follow others that are doing the Love Dare by checking of Mama to 3 Blessings' post and Linky.

Muffin Tin Monday - No Theme

No theme this week (but personally, I'm looking forward to next week's ABC's theme.  I still need to get some new muffin tins though so the kids aren't eating out of my good non-stick ones, until then, I've just given them plastic silverware (which goes over just as well as the muffin tin by the way).

Mondays are usually leftover days for us, so Muffin Tins work well.

The Top one was for my 3 year old, it had Milk, spaghetti squash with peas, ranch, chicken (x2) and banana.

The bottom one was for my 6 year old, it had Milk, spaghetti squash with peas, spaghetti (x2) and banana.

Head over to Muffin Tin Mom and see what others did for Muffin Tin Monday!

Love Dare Challenge - Day 11

Yesterday I cleaned the area around the bathroom sinks for him.  I know it bothers him when it gets really cluttered.  It was really dusty too.   I neatened things up, put away the stuff that doesn't get used every day and wiped it off. I even cleaned the mirror.  He hasn't said a word about it though.  Oh well, I didn't do it for him to praise me, I did it because I love him.  On to the next day....

Day 11: Love cherishes


Husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies.

—Ephesians 5:28

(Click the title for the challenge to go to it).


Follow others that are doing the Love Dare by checking of Mama to 3 Blessings' post and Linky.

Note: The HTML for this post got really garbled by bloggers' editor so sorry if you see this post come through your feed more than once. It's rather fitting though since I need to repeat this day of the challenge!

Love Dare Challenge - Day 10

Day 10: Love is unconditional

God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

—Romans 5:8

I've got some ideas on what I'd like to do for this challenge so, check back tomorrow and see which one I pick!

Follow others that are doing the Love Dare by checking of Mama to 3 Blessings' post and Linky.

Love Dare Challenge - Day 9

Well, I burned the list yesterday. And honestly, I really have to think about what was on it.  There were only 2 or 3 things though.  I'm hoping to work on a Valentine's Day gift that involves the "good" list.

So, we're to day 9 and I'm back to reading the book since this is beyond where I've made it previously.

Day 9: Love makes good impressions.

Greet one another with a kiss of love.

-1 Peter 5:14

I'm later blogging today so I can tell you that I've done this and greeted him with a hug.  I'll be working on greeting him when he comes home from work more cheerfully and affectionately over the next week.

Love Dare Challenge - Day 8

Day 8 - Love is not jealous
Love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire.

—Song of Solomon 8:6 NIV

As you saw yesterday, I made the lists, I actually had to go back and add one that I had thought of when I was originally thinking, but was away from the computer and that's that he's a great father.  Last night I thanked him for helping with the kids.

Tonight, I will burn the list.

Follow others that are doing the Love Dare by checking of Mama to 3 Blessings' post and Linky.

Love Dare Challenge - Day 7

Well, we did better getting to dance yesterday than previous weeks, but there's still a lot of room for improvement.  And working on getting the girls ready earlier was only one of the things I need to work on, so that will be an ongoing goal.

Day 7 - Love believes the best

[Love] believes all things, hopes all things.

—1 Corinthians 13:7

Ok, I'm not going to publicly post the negative list but I will post the positive one.  Here goes:

Christian
Caring
Patient
Tender
Slow to anger
Rarely raises his voice
Great eyes
Generous
Understanding
Musical
Reader
Likes to fix things
Loving
Smart
Funny
Forgiving
Father

I will say though that the negative list isn't as long.

Follow others that are doing the Love Dare by checking of Mama to 3 Blessings' post and Linky.

Muffin Tin Monday

Chicken, broccoli, brown rice, ranch, Mickey Mouse cheese and ketchup

This is my first Muffin Tin Monday post, but not my first Muffin Tin meal. I missed though that there was a theme this week.  My kids love these meals, but I'm not sure why I don't do it more often. I guess I'm a little afraid of the novelty wearing off.  If I'm going to do this regularly though I'm going to need to get some silicone pans so they're not using silverware in my good non-stick muffin pans.  This night, I gave them plastic wear.  Previously, when we'd done Muffin Tin meals, it was because we were on the go, our church was having Movie night each week and we had to be there early to set up, and my oldest was going through a Lunchable phase where that was all she wanted.  Nevermind the fact that she doesn't actually eat Lunchables!  So these were her "Lunchables".

For more Muffin Tin ideas check out Muffin Tin Monday.

Love Dare Challenge - Day 6

I did it!  I asked him and he came up with one thing, not three, but we'll start with the one.  (In all honesty, I'm not sure it's really fair to put him on the spot like I did, it's definitely a question that you need to think about the answer to.)  He said that when I get mad, I don't talk.  It's true.  Part of the challenge is excepting what your partner says and not rebuking it, so I'm going to leave it at that.

Today's challenge:

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

Areas where I need to add margin:
1) I need to get more sleep.  My level of patience with everyone around me is directly related to how tired I am.
2) Allow more time in our schedule for getting ready and getting places.  I'm certain it is no accident that this challenge is today (Tuesday) since that's where our schedule is tightest.  I'm always underestimating how long it will take the girls to get ready to go.
3) Spend more time one on one with each family member.
6) Spend more time each day with God.

Wrong motivations:
1) I need to be more grateful for the help he provides around the house and focus less on what he's not doing.
2) Don't worry so much about whether he notices that I'm trying the Love Dare again.
3) Stop thinking about myself so much and think more about those around me and what I can do for them.

I don't think this is something I can do in single day, but I'm going to start working on today.  I did give myself more time to get to work and last night hubby and I spent a good bit of time just chatting.  It'll be a good day if my 3 year old doesn't tell me that I'm mean because I had to raise my voice to get her moving so that my 6 year old could get to dance on time.

Love Dare Challenge - Day 5

Between the weather, school cancellations, working with my hubby and everything else, I've spent almost all my time with him (even more than the usual 20 hours a day). So, I had to mix things up a bit.

I did buy him some Sprechers Root beer (for Day 3). It's only available at one store here that I know of and it's one of the high end grocery stores, so we don't get it real often, even though it's his favorite root beer. And I did call him (for Day 4) one of the few times we weren't together, he was getting ready to call his mom though so we didn't talk too much.

Day 5 - Love is not Rude

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

(click the link to see the challenge)

This is the day I've secretly been dreading. It's not easy putting yourself out there like this challenge is asking you to do. Also, my husband up to this point doesn't know I'm doing the challenge. But this will tip him off, I'm sure. I've started the challenge before, I think I mentioned that. The first time, I skipped day 5, the second time, I stopped at Day 5. For some reason in addition to not wanting to open myself up to criticism, I really would rather he not know that I'm doing the challenge. I guess maybe I'm afraid that then he'll be expecting something from it (and me) and I wont fullfill his expectations.

Pray for me!

Love Dare Challenge - Day 4

Well, yesterday didn't work out that well, due to the snow I couldn't actually get out and buy anything, so I'm going to try to do that today as well as today's challenge of calling sometime during the day to see if there's anything he needs.

Day 4

How precious also are Your thoughts to me. . . .How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.—Psalm 139:17–18

I found that the love dares are posted on the Offical Love Dare Journal website, so you can go over there to check out what Day 4's dare is (I still recomend the book though).

If you're blogging about the love dare, check out Mama to 3 Blessing's site and Join her Linky.

Love Dare Challenge - Day 3

They're calling for snow today in our area. So yesterday, I worked in the garage rearranging everything so that it would be done when he came home and he could put the plow and chains on the tractor easier. Then, I also helped him when he did it.

1/7/10 Day 3 (Love is not selfish)

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preferance to one another in honor.

Romans 12:10

Due to the snow today, school was cancelled and we car pooled to work. So, I'm not sure how I'll be able to complete today's challenge, but I'm going to try. I read somewhere that suggested taking the "Love Language" of your spouse into consideration when doing these things too, so for example if their love language isn't gifts (and gifts aren't important to them), then instead of buying a gift as a dare might say, maybe do something that's more targeted towards their language (Quality time, etc). That might be what we end up doing today.

(Note: Since I'm not sure of the legality of publishing all the dares fully, I'm going to stop, I've only thus far posted ones that were in the movie anyway. I will say though if you haven't bought the book there's much more to it than the dare itself. Each day has discussion leading up to the dare. And in truth, you could Google the dares for each day, but I'll play it safe).

Love Dare Challenge - Day 2

Well, day 1 went pretty well, I think. There was one time where I did stop myself from commenting negatively on something he did, but I just let it go. Really I need to work on this a lot sometimes I let my temper get the better of me and not just with my husband, I especially need to work on it with the kids because I definitely was NOT patient with them yesterday!

Day 2's Dare: Love is Kind

Ephesians 4:32

Do at least one unexpected gesture as an act of kindness.

We're also to continue with Day 1's dare of not saying anything negative.

You can check out how others are doing with the Love Dare (and join in!) over at Momma to 3 Blessings.

Love Dare Challenge - Day 1

I don't know how many of you have seen the movie Fireproof. If you haven't seen the movie, you should. I actually asked for it for Christmas, I didn't get it, so I'll probably buy it for my self. All of the films done by Sherwood Baptist Church are really good, I'm looking forward to their next movie Courageous.

Fireproof is about a couple (Caleb and Catherine) that has hit a rough spot in their marriage, neither partner is putting their "all" into their relationship and they've reached the point where they're considering a divorce. Caleb gets a package in the mail from his father which has a 40 day challenge in it. During the forty days, Caleb embarks on a journey to improve his marriage.

The 40 day love dare is available in book form you can get it at pretty much any book store, I bought mine at Walmart. It's called the Love Dare.

Over at Mama to 3 Blessings, Mama is doing the Love Dare and sharing it on her blog. I thought I'd join her. If you haven't done the love dare, or even if you're doing it again for a second time, join in. What a great way to start out the New Year!

Day 1 (Patience)

Be completely humble & gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Eph. 4:2

The Love Dare is to demonstrate patience & to say nothing negative to your spouse at all.

Check back tomorrow to see how I did and to see what tomorrow's challenge is!