Living for His Glory

It was an absolute gorgeous afternoon. We had just returned from one of the most beautiful weddings I'd ever been to... My brother Jon and his lovely Mary. It was a simple, but beautiful wedding. The bride and groom were glowing w/ joy. Everything was so pure, lovely, and beautiful!! They walked out on 'Peter Piper', (you can find it on you tube) which makes one feel like dancing. (and kissing! \"/)

It was on this gorgeous afternoon that I went on a walk w/ some young ladies who asked me a question... And I think I have thought about that question every day since. It was, " How do you keep marriage from getting old and boring?" (or worded something like that.) The first answer that popped into my head was, "Well, I'm the wrong person to ask! I've only been married for 4 yrs." But I keep thinking about it.

My 4 sisters and 2 cousins range from ages 21 to 13. They are all at the age where they dream of getting married, wonder WHO and WHERE the right one is, but they are also observing couples and well some people make marriage look like something one would want to RUN from - in the FASTEST way possible!

We've all seen the couples that have been married for 10, 20, 25, or more yrs and their lives look about as exciting as a sneeze. But you also meet people that have been married for 10, 20, 25 yrs and they still sparkle. True, their 'sparkle' is slightly different from a couple on their wedding day. Their sparkle is deeper, more mature, but you can't miss the looks they give each other - the looks that speak volumes; the looks that speak love and commitment.

I've been married for 4 1/2 yrs. On our wedding day life seemed perfect! I'd just married the man I loved w/ all my heart. I knew life would be wonderful and it has been. But as wonderful as the honeymoon is, real life comes and brings you back to reality. 'Real life' is different for every couple. Real life for us has had some hard times. Things like miscarriages, Dr./hospital bills that threatened to drown us, babies in the NICU, disappointments, tears... but it's also given us a lot of wonderful things, like 2 beautiful children, lots of laughter, love and joy. I would NEVER trade the last 4 1/2 yrs for anything!!

But how do you keep marriage from becoming boring, mundane?? I want our marriage to last for a life time; and not only last, I want to keep it fun, exciting and spontaneous. So I've come up w/ a few ideas that I'm trying. Here are a few...

Once a month I have a 'because you are special' supper; get out the pretty dishes and fix the table up nice for no other reason then that Wes is special, and I want him to know it! ( Lately everytime I try this he comes home early and 'ruins' the whole surprise!! Maybe I should do it every day??!!)

Notes... I love writing them and he loves finding them. Put them anywhere and everywhere. Not all pieces of clothing have pockets, so get out the safety pins! :) And btw... I try to get more creative then, "I love you! Have a good day!" I figure since I'm his wife, I can write about anything!!!! :)

I'm trying VERY hard to ALWAYS welcome him home w/ a smile and NOT overload him w/ my problems, disastrous day, naughty children stories,etc. the minute he walks in the door.

And I have a few other things in my head that I won't put down here. :) Be creative! Your marriage/husband is different then mine, so these ideas that I put down might not mean anything to your husband.

I have a wonderful husband! He's about 98% perfect and I feel so blest that God has given him to me!! Unfortunately, I am not nearly so perfect! But I love him and I love being his wife!!

Our marriage is precious to me. I don't want it to become stale and dull. It can be tough to maintain a marriage when you are sick/puking/pregnant, walking the floors w/ a newborn screaming w/ a tummy ache, or trying to keep a toddler out of the toilet. (and many other places!!) Sometimes the only thoughts in my head are "get the food on the table, get the house cleaned, get the clothes in the drawers, take care of the children". But I'm finding that life is a lot more fun when I use my imagination to bless the three ppl that I love the most. It really doesn't matter if there's laundry in the dryer, finger prints on the mirrors/windows, or if I serve hotdogs or soup in pretty dishes!

Life is not all fun and happy. Some of the times in our marriage that I treasure the most are the times we cried together. Sometimes the bad times are what brought us closer together.

I am so very thankful for godly couples that are wonderful examples of what a good marriage looks like!! May God bless you for your wonderful example!!

I'm thankful for my husband, my best friend.

I am thankful for God; the One who created the wonderful idea of marriage. With out him it wouldn't be worth trying!!

To change the subject....

Yesterday Aubrey informed me that she is a cowboy! She had on a green dress w/ pink tights, her thick winter coat and Daddy's blue and gray FORD hat. She couldn't have been more mismatched! She looked up at me w/ bright blue eyes and said, "I'm a cowboy Mama!!" Oh really!!?? Whatever put THAT idea into her head??

God bless you all!!!!