Challenge #54

A late in the day post, but significant nonetheless. What can you sacrifice for your spouse today?
Think of something you can give up for them today, even if it is not something physical.

We'll talk more tomorrow!

Challenge #53

How did yesterday's challenge go? I wonder how many times my attitude has been discouraging to my spouse. Probably way more times than I could ever fathom. At times, your tone of voice or even something as simple as your lack of enthusiasm can be a source of discouragement to your spouse. We must realize that our spouse often looks to us as a source of encouragement, as the push they need to get through hard days or difficult situations. Let's be that and more!

It's Wednesday, "hump day," as it is so affectionately called. What will your spouse be doing tonight? I know what mine will be doing: rounding up our four children and taking them to church. I am so very thankful to have a spouse who is willing to do this because I have other matters to attend to. Do you have a spouse that goes out of his or her way for you? Does your spouse pick up the slack when you're unable to help? If so, praise God! But if not, try being the kind of spouse that you would like to have.

I'm sure you've heard this expression "kill them with kindness." That is our challenge for today. "Kill" your spouse with kindness. Overload them with love and compassion, so much so that they don't know what to do with it all!

Challenge #52

Have you noticed that it brings happiness to your spouse when you do things for them? It's hard not to love someone who goes out of their way for you, someone who does what is best for you. I encourage you all to keep your spouse's best interest at heart.

So on to today's challenge!

Have you ever heard someone say "it's not what you said, it's how you said it?" Sometimes it is better to say nothing at all than to say something, even good things, the "wrong" way. More times than I can count, I have both said and heard words that in themselves were not wrong, but when taken in the context of the speaker - tone of voice, gestures, body language, facial expressions, etc. - were very damaging. Today focus not only on your words but how you say them. Let your context, especially your tone, reflect one of kindness and consideration as you speak with your spouse today.

Remember Ephesians 4:29? We read it earlier...
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers

Have You Heard?

We are giving away FREE registration to Weekend to Remember for the month of March!

Click here for details: The Contest

Challenge #51

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!
You know what I love most about the weekend? Spending more time with my spouse. During the week, we are both very busy and bogged down with obligations. But on the weekend, that's our time. Whether we're running around doing stuff or just relaxing at home, I enjoy being together. Someone once made a negative comment about the amount of time we spend together, saying that they could never spend that much time with anyone. I believe that when you capture the essence of what marriage is really supposed to be - you and your spouse loving and serving one another, growing together in spirit and truth, having more than just the title of "husband" or "wife" but being best friends, closest confidants, on the same team, biggest fans of eachother, etc. - you will want to spend a great deal of time with your spouse! You will miss them when they are away. You will long to be reunited. You will do your best to enjoy the time you have with them, however great or small. They will be your greatest blessing on earth!

I know some of you out there feel this way and there are others who don't feel this way, but want to. There are many things in this world that can prevent you from ever achieving this type of intimacy and oneness with your spouse, but there is one in particular on my mind today and that is this: SELFISHNESS. Yes, you read right. Selfishness. Any time what "I" want comes before what "you" or "we" need. Selfishness. There is something so dangerous about it and I will tell you what it is: subtlety. Selfishness is such a sneaky feeling. It really will creep up on you! You will find yourself thinking and even saying things that are purely selfish without even realizing it. That is why it is so important to die to yourself daily. What does that mean? Deny yourself. Put others before yourself. Think of the needs of others before the wants of yourself.

Today's challenge is to assume the attitude of a servant. For the entire day, let your mindset be this "how can I serve you today?" And whatever comes to mind, do it!

Please don't take this out of context. I'm not saying that you have to be your spouse's slave in any way, shape, or form. What is the difference between a slave and a servant? A slave is forced into bondage and does things unwillingly. That's where most of us keep our mindset: "I have to do this for you even though I don't feel like it or I don't want to." A servant does things out of love, honor, respect, and for the good of the one they are serving. The mindset of a servant is "how can I serve you? How can I help you? How can I love you?" Servants serve and do so willingly. Feel free to check out what the dictionary says it means to serve and see how you can apply this to your spouse today. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/serve

Weekend Challenge #7

This weekend's challenge comes from a friend and if very similar to challenges we've done in the past. It focuses on negative thoughts in an effort to limit them along with their effects. You can call it "Recognize and Replace." I've editted below:

"Thoughts can be a very damaging thing. They are solely between us and God, but can cause outward behavior that may be damaging. Try and catch yourself and recognize each negative thought, even just the “little ones.” When you recognize it, immediately replace it with a positive thought. For example, you think, "She doesn't understand what I go through." Replace it with "She is faithful to me and she loves me." If you think "He never takes out the trash," replace it with "I am thankful he comes home everyday to me, or I am thankful he has a job."

Recognize and replace!

Challenge #50

Bryan Carter said that "Differences are God's way of sanding off our rough edges." You may say to yourself now 'yes my spouse is definitely abrasive...' lol! But you will be wise to learn that it is actually an awesome blessing to us how different from our spouse most of us are. Where we are weak, they are strong and vice versa. There are so many areas of differences between us in so many ways - we are truly complementary. We are made to fit together and support one another. And when we put our strengths together instead of focusing on each other's weaknesses, we make a wonderful team! It really boggles the mind when you think about it. Frequently remind yourself not to hate the differences, but cherish the differences. Appreciate the differences. Thank God for the differences!

I saw this yesterday and we spoke briefly last night as to how true this simple statement is: "If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning... Face it, friend. He is crazy about you!"  ― Max Lucado

The weather is getting great where we are and it is so beautiful outside. So often, we forget that the things we most frequently take for granted are truly gifts from God. Every good thing in our lives is a gift from God! Today's challenge is to enjoy some time outside reflecting on your many gifts from God. Share a sunset with your spouse and talk about how blessed you are to have them as your life-long companion amongst your other many blessings.

The Contest

We have been discussing this for a while now, ironing out all the various details and we figured now's the time. It's the 1st of the Month and what better time is there for us to be having our own little contest?!

So we decided to do some giveaways this month. We're going to be giving away some of our favorite resources during the month of March and we invite you all to participate in our contest for a chance at winning one!

This contest will run all month long with a winner the third and fourth weeks and one grand prize winner on the 5th and final week. The third week winner will receive a copy of "The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman. The fourth week winner will receive a copy of "Real Marriage" by Mark and Grace Driscoll. And our grand prize winner on week five will receive a free registration to the Weekend to Remember event of your choice!

Okay, those are the prizes and now here are the rules:

1. To enter the contest, you must first like our facebook page.
2. Second, you must follow our blog. If your blog name or title is not immidiately apparent to us, please send us an email letting us know who you are so that we can match your blog name to your facebook votes.
3. And third, (this is where it gets difficult), you must get your friends and family to do likewise!
4. Friends and family may "vote" for you by "liking" BOTH our page and your post (see below)
5. In order to qualify for first prize, you must receive a minimum of 50 votes. In order to qualify for second prize, you must receive a minimum of 75 votes. And lastly, in order to qualify for our Grand Prize, you must receive a minimum of 150 votes. Winners of either of the books ARE still ELIGIBLE to win the Grand Prize!!!

How will we keep track of this you say?
On our facebook page, post your names and wedding dates. For example: Husband & Wife April 15, 2004. Any friends or family supporting you must like BOTH our page AND your post so we can keep track. And giving away such a prize as a free trip to Weekend to Remember, we will keep track! Your likes must match: your supporters must like both our page and your post for it to count as a vote.

In the event that there is a tie, we will have a tie breaker at a later date.

So here's how you win:
Whoever has the most votes during week 3, on March 17th at 10:00pm Central Time will win "The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman.
Whoever has the most votes during week 4, on March 24th at 10:00pm Central Time will win "Real Marriage" by Mark and Grace Driscoll.
Whoever has the most votes during the 5th and final week of our contest on March 31st at 10:00pm Central Time will win free registration to the Weekend to Remember of their choice! Remember, Grand Prize is only redeemable if votes are in excess of 150 or more.

We will announce the winners on our blog and facebook page. Winners must contact us within 24 hours of the announcement at theMChallenge@gmail.com with their pertinent information to claim their prize. Upon contact, we will request any further information needed to furnish your prize.

Please no cheating. Cheaters will be disqualified.
God speed to you all and thank you for participating!

Challenge #49

Our apologies for leaving you all challengeless yesterday. Four of the six of us were ill yesterday and we're still feeling it today. We have that crazy 48 hour bug that seems to be making its way across the nation. How our middle two daughters managed not to catch it with all the rest of us suffering around them is unbeknownst to me! Anyway, enough about stomach turning sickness. How did you all do yesterday? I hope that you all have gotten so into the routine of being selfless and loving towards your spouse that it just came naturally for you to do for them, no challenge needed! :) Just the thought: that would be awesome!

We'll keep it short today.
We've all heard that opposites attract and more than likely you and your spouse are very different. This is because God uses our differences to complement eachother. This exercise was done at The Art of Marriage and for today's challenge, we're going to take it a step further. Identify and share with your spouse some ways that their differences have benefitted you.

Ecclesiastes 4:9
Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.

Challenge #48

Did your spouse express interest in attending one or both of the marriage conferences? I encourage you to make it happen! Whether you make your plans together or plan on your own as a surprise for your spouse, I strongly encourage you to attend one or both events. You absolutely will NOT regret it! That being said onto today's challenge.

"I have no way of knowing whether or not [you] married the wrong [person], but I do know that many people have a lot of wrong ideas about marriage and what it takes to make that marriage happy and successful. I'll be the first to admit that it's possible that you did marry the wrong person. However, if you treat the wrong person like the right person, you could well end up having married the right person after all. On the other hand, if you marry the right person, and treat that person wrong, you certainly will have ended up marrying the wrong person. I also know that it is far more important to be the right kind of person than it is to marry the right person. In short, whether you married the right or wrong person is primarily up to you."
                                                                      -Zig Ziglar, Courtship After Marriage

What insightful words! Many people often wonder if they married the "wrong person," I doubt there is anyone out there who hasn't at least allowed the thought to cross their mind at one time or another. The point is to be the right person. Be a wife that is easy to love. Be a husband that is easy to respect and submit to. When you focus on serving and pleasing spouse - being the best husband or wife you can be to them - your marriage will grow leaps and bounds!

Today's challenge is to express to your spouse that they are "the right person" through both your words and your actions. If you remember to do these two things from today's challenge: be the right person for your spouse and treat your spouse like the right person for you, you will see your marriage flourish.

The Art of Marriage

This past weekend, we attended The Art of Marriage conference. If you haven't heard of this, you can learn about the event from the links at the bottom of the page.

All I can say is WOW. As many of you know from following our blog, we had attended Family Life's Weekend to Remember several years ago and really enjoyed it as well as learned a great deal. I did not know what to expect from this much smaller event that would not consist of live presentations, but pre-recorded video sessions. I must say I am genuinely impressed! Whether your marriage is in a state of wedded bliss or in need of a massive overhaul, you can get it here!!! Attending this event is highly recommended for all married couples, regardless of age or length in the marriage. I was blown away by what the coordinators were able to accomplish in such a short amount of time. The presentations and handbooks are so well organized and I'm not ashamed to say that our marriage received a very nice tuneup through attending this event!

We had already made plans to attend another Weekend to Remember this coming April before deciding to attend the Art of Marriage. I questioned whether or not there was any point to doing both, but since attending the Art of Marriage, I have only even more so been looking forward to attending the upcoming Weekend to Remember!

Today's challenge is to check into The Art of Marriage and/or Weekend to Remember in your local area (or away if you prefer, make a vacation out of it - we sure did on our first trip!) and discuss attending one or both of these events with your spouse.

Here are the links!
The Art of Marriage
http://www.familylife.com/site/c.dnJHKLNnFoG/b.6149579/k.C7DF/The_Art_of_Marriagesup174sup.htm

The Weekend to Remember
http://www.familylife.com/site/c.dnJHKLNnFoG/b.5846045/k.8C0A/Weekend_to_Remember__Marriage_Getaway.htm

Weekend Challenge #6

Create and enjoy "Engedi" together!