WELCOME TO MY BLOG!

So glad you came to visit today! Here at my little corner of bloggy world I share a little bit about everything--family, parenting, goals, struggles, photography, recipes, n more! So curl up with a cup of hot tea {or not} and feel free to peruse around my site! Check out my sidebar for links. And come back again!

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Husband Encouragement Challenge: Day 6

Reflections on yesterday...
I posted yesterday what I was going to do for the day. Here is a portion of the letter I wrote to Kevin's family...
[transitioning from how we might go to a movie after Bible study, but I didn't want it to be too late since Kevin has to work the next day] .....He's such a hard worker, and I'm so proud of him for all he does. For working long days like he does sometimes, for looking up information and figuring out how to fix the Jeep himself, for being such a great family man, for working hard so I can stay home with Eli. He's a good man who comes from a good familiy and I love being married to him! God has blessed us indeed!
I'll get the letter sent out today. I know it will bring them great joy not only to get a letter from me but to hear me praise their son. Makes me happy to do that.

We did get to go to a movie (Pirates) after Bible study (since the weather was questionable for kayaking in the afternoon), and it was good to get out again, just the two of us. This challenge is definitely blessing our marriage! Since I'm only saying positive things, we're not spending ANY time arguing about silly things! It's great!

So what's in store for us today....

30-Day Husband Encouragement Challenge
By Nancy Leigh DeMoss

June 6--DAY 6
". . . whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Cor. 10:31b

Do you recognize and appreciate your husband's creativity? Or do you criticize and demean his efforts? Instead of negativity, determine to be positive. Perhaps you can help your husband see that his efforts are an opportunity to glorify God.

Is your husband the "creative" type? Does he have any artistic gifts? What is that special "knack" he has? Affirm him for his handiwork - a hobby, music, gardening, tinkering with cars, working with wood, etc. Remember: Even if he doesn't measure up to your standards, praise his efforts. If your budget allows, buy him a book or magazine that will continue to encourage his special skill or talent.

If you have a hard time finding his "creative side," understand that men's creativity sometimes is related to their work. Find something he does to make his job run more smoothly or something he does that adds value to his work . . . and let him know that you have noticed.

Make his day . . . Praise his accomplishments in public, while he is listening.

Deep down Kevin is creative. If something is broken and we don't have means of fixing it the way it's supposed to, he's really great at finding some creative way to make it work. Bungee cords for everything! He figured out to pull our outside door shut when we're outside by attaching a bungee cord from the opposite door frame to the door handle. And what about our guest room in our unfinished basement? He used old sheets to hang up for "walls", a shower curtain and window curtains to cover the cement wall behind the bed, and a tarp on the ceiling to cover the exposed insulation. (it really does look nice!) He's quite creative when he needs to be, and I really admire that about him since I am a person that only knows how to do things the "right" way. =)

Kevin's also very artistic but just doesn't practice it. He can do graphic stuff on the computer, or paint a picture, or take an artsy picture. And someday he'd maybe like to take up woodworking (which I think he'd be really good at and enjoy) but right now we don't have a garage or tools or a house for which to build. A couple years ago though, I did buy him a basic woodworking book to support his interest. And when the time is right, maybe we'll get him set up for some projects. In the meantime, his main hobby is offroading and Jeep maintenance (it's a 1992, so it always needs some work), so I try to support his hobby by allowing offering him time to work or go out with him on a trail when we have time of our own.

Today I'll make a special effort to vocalize all this to him and let him know how much I appreciate his creativity!

If you're in with us today, sign your name below and let us know how your husband uses creativity!



1 comment:

Amy said...

Today's challenge was eye-opening to me. Although I've always tried not to say negative things about my husband to others I realized that I may joke around about him more often than I should. I also decided to encourage his creative side by asking him if he would like to design and build a toy chest for our daughter. (He's been trying to learn carpentry). In the past I have always prejected my ideas onto his projects, so my challenge is to let him take charge and to encourage him along the way.