Loving My Husband

Since Tyler entered our lives and my role expanded to include that of "Mommy" I have really had to keep myself in check so that I am not neglecting the role I took on December 2, 2010, when I vowed to love my husband until death do us part.  (See this post for a in-depth study of this command.) This was very challenging for me at first.  Tyler's needs were such that the majority of my time was devoted to him.  That really hasn't changed much, and I don't expect it to anytime soon.  However, my super-wonderful, tender-loving, oh-so-understanding husband has needs, too: spiritual, emotional, and physical.  If I am to keep this vow (I'm only focusing this one for now...though I vowed much more on that blessed day) then I must make time to fulfill his needs.  

Occasionally this means that Tyler has to wait for one or more of his needs to be met.  No, we don't leave our son screaming for a bottle, sitting in a messy diaper, or crying hysterically just so we can have some "alone" time.  We love our son dearly and we both understand that his needs are often more pressing than our own.  Generally speaking we are able to wait until he's cooing in his bouncer or sleeping soundly before we take time to focus on each other.  

There are times when I shift my focus from Tyler to Ryan in an effort to show Ryan the love and attention he needs.  For example, I might be in the middle of feeding Tyler a bottle when Ryan calls on his lunch break.  For those of you who have ever fed a 2-month-old a bottle, you know it requires two hands - one to hold the baby, and one to hold the bottle.  So, when daddy calls, the bottle gets put down and the phone is picked up.  Daddy and I have a brief conversation - usually less than 3 minutes - and then I pick up the bottle and finish feeding Tyler.  Yes, Tyler may fuss a bit while the bottle is out of his mouth, but he is okay.  Some days Ryan really needs to hear my voice to help him make it through the day at work, especially when he generally works 6, 10-12 hour days a week.  Instances like this happen several times throughout the day.  I'm in the middle of doing something with Tyler, Ryan needs my attention, I give him my attention, and then return to finish caring for Tyler.  Tyler is home with me all day and he knows his mommy loves him.  It's good for him to see the love and devotion Ryan and I have for one another and to understand that he is not the center of our world.  God is the center, then we have each other, and then Tyler.

Sadly, there have been a few times when Ryan has called me out for paying more attention or talking nicer to Tyler than I am him.  Recently I have been striving harder to continually reaffirm my love for Ryan.  I don't want him to ever question or have any reason to doubt my love for him.  This has made our marriage stronger, more fulfilling and over-all more enjoyable.  The more I love Ryan, the more he loves me, and the stronger our love grows.  It's a beautiful, God-pleasing experience.

I hope this has encouraged you consider how you can shower your spouse with some extra time, love and devotion.
 

Becoming A Living Sacrifice

It's week 2 of March and I have yet to post.

So, here is my spiritual post for last week.  Enjoy!  :)

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"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." - Romans 12:1

Even though Paul was initially addressing the brethren in Rome, his plea still sounds strongly for us today.  Paul's plea is this:  give your lives completely to God.  This means we lay down our selfish ambitions to take up the cause of Christ:  "to seek and to save this which was lost" (Luke 19:10).  Once we make the decision to be baptized and to put on Christ, we must start doing the work He has called us to do.  This means we sacrifice our time, energy, and money to help further His Kingdom.  Activities that once consumed these valuable resources must take a back-seat, if not be tossed out of the vehicle all together.  Christ gave the ultimate sacrifice when He died on the cross, all He requires of us is that we live for Him.  This is our reasonable service.

Back to Blogging!

Hi Everyone!

I'm very excited - and a bit nervous - about blogging again!  I'm excited because I have missed working on projects, writing about them, and hearing your feed-back, but I am nervous because I'm not sure how well I'll be able to manage being a wife, mother, homemaker and blogger.  I'm going to give it my best shot though and start slow.  My goal will be to post once a week, at least for now.

Hopefully, this schedule will be enjoyable for you and doable for me.  I may periodically post on other topics throughout the month, but these four will be my main focus.  Look for my first Spiritually minded post next week!

May you all have a blessed day!