10 ways to show your wife you love her - #1

Well, we finally made it guys. We're finally getting to the #1 way to show your wife that you love her. I told you that you might be surprised. Here it is:

#1 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." (Quoting Jesus from Matthew 22:37, NLT)

Surprised?? If not, then you're probably doing a pretty good job of showing your wife that you love her.

For me, guys, everything in life comes down to that one scripture. If you "love the Lord" to the very best of your ability, then you will do what Christ says in the next verse in Matthew; "Love your neighbor as yourself." If you "love the Lord" you will do your best to love your wife as Christ loved the church (remember #2). If you "love the Lord" you will serve her well (see #3-10).

Guys, it's very simple; if you "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind." then you will do your very best to honor Him in all aspects of your life. Sure you will fail. We all do. Your character is revealed in how you respond to your failure. Do you give up? No! You get up, repent, ask God to forgive you and to help you do better in the future, and then you work and strive to do better. You learn from your mistakes and you move forward.

Give it a try. If Christ isn't first in your life, give up control and give Him a try. Honor Him in your life; your marriage, your parenting, your work, etc.... He will not fail you. Yes, there will be trials along the way, but He will carry you through. He is faithful.

Put Christ first and see what He can and will do for your marriage. My bet is, He'll bless your socks off.

Enjoy the ride!!!

Scott

10 ways to show your wife you love her - #2

#2 - Love her as Christ loved the church

I'm assuming, of course, that if you're reading this blog that you are a Christian. If you're not, write me a comment to this post and we can discuss that. You might also read the previous posts for some ideas on how to better love your wife.

Now, for the #2 way to show your wife that you love her. God's Word tells us in Ephesians 5:25 (NLT); "...husbands...love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her...."

I believe that most (probably all) of us would be willing to give up our lives for our wives. If that is the case, then why do we struggle to serve them. Why is it so hard to help around the house, listen to her, help with the kids, be patient with her? Why do we stop dating our wives when we marry them?

How about this, if we're willing to give up our lives, literally, then why not figuratively. Why do we willing give up our wants and desires for what she wants and desires? Why do our agendas always rate over hers?

I think if we spent a little more time being attentive to our wives needs then life will be much better for us. God created her as a "suitable helper" for us. Let's create in her heart the desire to play that role by leading by example. If you want to be served well by her then you might think about serving her well.

This conversation has so many tangents that they can't all be covered. Some of you are asking, what about the "wives be submissive" part of the scripture from Ephesians? My answer (with a question) is this; if you're not loving her as Christ loved the church then should she be required to be submissive? Give it some thought guys. If you are doing your part then she will, almost certainly, do her part. Give it a shot.

Enjoy the ride!!

10 ways to show your wife you love her - #3

#3 - Pray with her

I'm giving you this one with the assumption that you're already praying for her, and if you're not, shame on you.

Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 18: 19-20 (NLT); "'I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.'"

Jesus is our representative before our God in heaven. He took our place in dying for our sins and He made us holy. How awesome is it that we can come together as believers and He is there with us? When you pray with your wife you have invited Jesus, in the person of the Holy Spirit, to be there with you.

Talk about making a marriage strong - take the time to pray, at least daily, with your wife and bask in the presence of the Holy Spirit and lift up your praises, your cares and concerns the God that loves you. His Word says that, "...My Father in heaven will do it for you." It doesn't say He "might" do it, or He'll "think" about it; it says He will do it.

Make the time to pray with your wife. I promise you will be blessed for it.

Enjoy the ride!

10 ways to show your wife you love her - #4

#4 - Speak highly of her.

Proverbs 31:10 (NIV) says, "A wife of noble character who can find?" I know a lot of you guys are saying "Amen" right now. "Where is that woman - I'd like to find her?" I know where she is because I'm married to her. She's mine and I'm not giving her up!

Here's the real deal guys you probably have a wife of noble character, also. If she doesn't have it now you can draw it out of her. (Check out #5-10 for a few tips.) Speak highly of her - the chances are great that she'll live up to what you say about her. If you speak highly in one area she'll probably try harder in other areas to gain your praise.

We need to remember that our words are very powerful. We tend to live up to or down to what people say about us. Let's give our wives the praise they deserve by speaking highly of them whenever possible. They deserve it if for no other reason than for having to put up with us.

Later in Proverbs 31 - verse 25 it says, "Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her."

If you want to, be selfish. Bless her with words of praise and you'll be blessed in return. It may seem like work to begin with, but once you see the blessings come back to you, you will wonder why you didn't do this all along.

Enjoy the ride.

10 ways to show your wife you love her - #5

#5 - Give her a gift!

This may take some research guys. I have confidence in you, though. We men are problem solvers. If the problem is that you can't remember what she likes, then you'll have to do a little digging. That might mean asking questions and listening to her (see way #9.) A little conversation with your wife might just be a gift in and of itself.

Don't make this too difficult. If you can't afford to buy her a gift make her something. A gift is a very broad idea. It could be cleaning the house, washing the car, taking care of the kids so she can sleep in, etc... The big point here is to find out what she likes or wants and then present it in such a way that it is seen as a gift.

How about this: if your wife would like some help around the house, make her a coupon book - each coupon is redeemable for some chore that she'd like a break from (see above.)

Put your thinking caps on guys. The more we continue on this journey together the more we will learn about our wives. I promise, that's a good thing.

Enjoy the ride.