Day 312 Honoring Our Day

Hello everyone, it has been quite the year. I am so exciting to be back and have missed sharing the blessings that come with honoring your husband.   We have been busy, taking care of our new Godson, vacationing, decorating our yard and home and taking care of each other.  Now that I think about it, I've missed several opportunities to share some great moments.  But God's time is always the right time.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to attend the wedding of one of my closest high school  friends.  She got married at the age of 49 for the first time.  How cool is that!  The wedding was absolutely beautiful and as with most weddings I could not help but think about when Bryan and I said our nuptials over 13 years ago. 

One of the songs in my friend's wedding was Whitney Houston's "I Believe In You and Me" which was the song I originally wanted for our wedding.  However I was coached by our Minister of music to consider a song that was more aligned to the spiritual theme of our wetdding.  Although I absolutely love Whitney's song, I was so happy for such great advice about our music.  We went on a hunt to find something that was very fitting, told our story and touch our hearts from a spiritual perspective.  Below is the song we selected. We changed a few of the lyrics to make it present and our own, like the word if to cause and loved to love. It is one of the songs from the broadway play Jekyll and Hyde. 

Today I am honoring my husband by honoring the day we became one with the song that was sang while I walked down the aisle. During our premarital counseling the pastor stated if ever you find yourself questioning why you got married, take a moment to pray about and then watch your wedding video.  I have found that listening  to this song reminds me of all I may have forgotten in a moment of frustration.  It reminds me of the love we have and how it has grown over the years. 

If you find yourself in a place of frustration in your marriage, first pray and then listen to your wedding song, or watch your wedding video to help you gain perspective.  Remember we can only change the world by starting with ourselves.  When our hearts change, the hearts around us also change.  Be the change you want to see in your marriage.



How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes are doves.

How handsome you are, my beloved! Oh, how charming! And our bed is verdant.

                                                   Song of Solomon 1:15-16

                                                                 Rochelle

Day 311 Honoring My Husband's Love

This year was a different kind of Valentine's day for me.  It was the funeral of my friend in New Jersey and I continued to be filled with emotions as the decisions were changed about the venue for Whitney's funeral.  The pastor that preached the sermon  at my friends funeral talked about how each one of us have an expiration date.  What I so enjoyed about his sermon was that although he did not personally know my friend he spoke about him as if he did.  He was intentional about trying to comfort the family with his eulogy.

As he spoke I was reminded about how little time we really do have on this place called earth.  He shared how my friend seemed to love life, which he did and he tried to enjoy each moment.  I began to think about how I think I/we need to live each and every day as if it is our last.  I heard on the news that people will spend close to a billion dollars in gifts to celebrate Valentine's Day.  My question is, what about the other 351 days of the year.  What would we do different if every day was Valentine's Day.   I made the decision in the moment that I am going to love my husband and family every day as if it is my last.  That being said, today I am honoring his love.

I am honoring his love because he loves Valentine's Day and has always tried to make it special for me yet he was very understanding of me wanting to show my respects to my friend in New Jersey.  I am honoring his love with my choice to love with my arms wide open as much as possible every day.  I was born in the same year as my friend and as Whitney Houston, so I believe it hit me in a different way because of this commonality.  I decided I do not want to wish I had done things different, loved in a different way, gave more of myself should my husband go on to glory before me.  I want us both to be able to say, we loved as hard as we could, gave all of ourselves in every encounter, focused on the positive, overlooked the small stuff, loved like Jesus, forgave like God and cherished every moment we share.

Wives of the world how can you or do you honor your husband's love.  What would it look like if you treated every day as Valentine's Day?  Would you demonstrate your love in a different way, would you be nicer or easier to get along with?  I intend to try to make every day like Valentine's Day and love with my arms wide open.  Please join me if you can and please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"...and the greatest of these is love" 1st Cor.

Day 310 Honoring My Husband's Generosity

The Nemacolin Resort - Truly a hidden gem.
If you are looking for a great romantic weekend
get-away, check it out.  http://www.nemacolin.com/

It is amazing to me how time really does fly.  I am capturing this as day 310, mainly because it is the  next day in the sequence of my postings.  Yet I am continuing to honor my husband even when I have not posted. 

This past week was a little challenging for me.  It started with me hearing about a dear friend from New Jersey passing away and it ended with me hearing about my favorite singer, Whitney Houston, passing away.  So my week has been filled with sadness while at the same time trying to take in and enjoy the blessings God has been granting.  To say that we walk in duality has been an understatement for me this week. 

I had the opportunity to speak at a Bishops conference this week in Pennsylvania.  I knew about the trip some time ago and had requested that Bryan travel with me.  On the day we were to leave, it was as if the devil was trying to put every obstacle possible in our path.  We had a miscommunication about which car we would drive, Bryan had several issues in his business that took up his morning, we had to get new tires, and we ran into much traffic.  The miscommunication about which car we would drive caused some friction but we continued to forge forward.  We were supposed to leave at noon and did not get on the road until after 3PM.  I decided not to be wary about all the issues and to simply know that we would get there when God wanted us to be there.

In all we experienced, I did not lose sight that Bryan made the decision to still go even though he had several business issues lagging behind.  He was most concerned about me not driving the distance alone and arriving safely.  Because of this, I am honoring the generosity of his time.  He could have easily stated to me to drive alone and stay connected via phone along the way so he knew I arrived safely, but he did not.  He contacted several of his workers to put systems in place to hold things over the two days we were gone.  He remained in contact with them throughout our visit but not once did he state he should not have gone even as things escalated in his absence. 

God made it such that it turned into somewhat of a romantic short trip.  The location was absolutely wonderful, very romantic and we were blessed by the preaching and teaching during the conference.  I also made several business leads.  The lesson in all of this for me was to know that when we make plans God does often laugh and throw us a curve ball.  When this happens we have to go with the flow, remain cool and allow God to do his work.  I am grateful for my husband's generous sharing of his time at the sacrifice of his business.  Something he finds hard to do and because of this I am honoring him.

Wives of the world how do you honor your husband's generosity? Do you recognize when he sacrifices something of great importance to him for you and your interest?  We often take it for granted when our spouse does something we think they should because of the role they have.  When I was young my father used to say to me, when you get married be sure to marry someone that loves you just as much as you love them or someone who loves you more if possible and no matter what they do for you, always be grateful for it because they do not have to do anything except be black or white and die.  I have never forgotten those words, it allows me to try very hard to continually notice and acknowledge the small and large things Bryan does for me and us.  How do you honor your husband's generosity?  Do you take it for granted or acknowledge the blessings as they are?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can." John Wesley

Day 309 Honoring My Husband With An Extension

 Hello Wives,                                                                                                         

Forging forward in my quest to love like Christ.

I cannot believe it has been almost a month since my last post.  I started this year saying it is my year of   expectations and have been simply blown away at how the Lord has been showing up in our lives and blessing us in small and large ways.  You may recall my struggle about continuing the blog, should I or should I not and the Lord showed up in several ways last month allowing me to know that not only should I but it is very much needed.  That being said, I am back. 

Today I am honoring my husband with an extension, the extension of this blog for however long I feel led by the spirit to continue it.  Last year I learned so much about myself, my husband and our marriage that I am excited about what the Lord will do this year.  I began the year with the Daniel Fast and to my surprise got sick in the middle of it.  I'm still praying about all the messages yet I know one is to take better care of myself.  I was so sick that I passed it along to Bryan. Fortunately it did not hit him as hard as it hit me, but enough to slow him down a bit.  One great lesson, when God tells you to slow down and we don't listen, he will do it for us.  I am honoring my husbad with an extension by leveraging the power of personal growth I gained last year and using it as a bridge of learning for this year as I forge forward with this journey. 

Someone shared with me once that they prefer to operate on automatic because it is easy and they did not like having to be intentional about how they showed up in their marriage.  This peaked my curiosity in terms of what are the consequences of operating on automatic Vs being intentional.  I know for me personally when I am on automatic I operate with my flesh instead of from the spirit.  Depending upon the situation, it could be very damaging because although I know Christ lives in me, I am not Christ and I may react in an un-Christ like manner.  My hope is that my lessons from last year will help me to continue to be intentional about how I show up in my marriage so I am being the wife Christ would have me to be and not the wife my flesh would  have me to be.  Join me on this journey of being intentional about honoring your husband and your marriage while we all learn how to be more like Christ.

I hope you continue to join me in this journey of honoring your husband by extending the learning journey.  Please share your stories with us and pass the word along to others; we would love to learn from all those with experience out there.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand..." 2nd Corin 10:15



Day 308 Honoring My Husband With Expectations Part II

I started this message some time ago and since that time I have been challenged with the opportunity to complete it.  As I prayed about it, it was revealed to me that my assignment was to honor my husband for the entire year of 2011 and although I started in February I did spend 2011 honoring my husband.  I have since been pondering so what's next.  Do I continue to complete the 365 days, have I been procrastinating because I know it will be over in a blink, or is God telling me my assignment is complete.  Either way I am feeling a sense of completeness and incompleteness at the same time.  That being said, I have decided to complete the 365 days and to determine at that point, what's next.  I thank you for your patience as I worked through my dilemma.

On day 308 I honored my husband by continuing with the theme of expectations.  I have proclaimed 2012 to be my year of expectation and I am amazed at how the Lord has already begun to show up and show out.  I also recognize that I did not fully claim all of what I am expecting this year and so Part II of honoring my husband with expectations is making it plain about what we are expecting.

1.  First and foremost I am expecting God to continue blessing us with a peace beyond our own understanding through all situations. 
2.  We are expecting God to open doors in my business beyond my wildest expectations.
3.  We are expecting God to turn up the heat in Bryan's business allowing him to experience the growth he anticipate.
4.  We are expecting God to honor our love by blessing us with his bundle of joy.
5.  We are expecting God to be with us in all that we do and say so that our lights shine wherever we go.
5. We are expecting God to bless us financially so that our giving is matched or exceeds when I was employed.
6.  We are expecting God to surround us with the love of real and authentic friends.  Those that can and will share in our blessings and are a blessing to us as well.
7.  We are expecting God to use our church, New Psalmist Baptist Church to have a major impact on the city of Baltimore in a multicultural way.
8.  We are expecting to be used by God in a way that impacts and grows his kingdom.
9.  We are expecting God to increase our knowledge of him and his supernatural abilities beyond our current state.
10.  We are expecting God to increase our love, grow our marriage, improve our family relationships and continue to cover and protect our hearts and home.

The Lord says we do not have because we have not asked.  I have learned from experience that speaking things into existence is a sure way to know the Lord has heard our cry.  Please feel free to join me in experiencing a year of expectations from the Lord.  I am excited and on fire about what he is and will do throughout the year.  I have already seen several small examples so I cannot wait to see how he tackles the big things.  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Yet you do not have because you do not ask." James 4:2

Day 307 Honoring My Husband With Expectation

May 2012 be filled with Gods love,
peace, joy and blessings beyond your
wildest expectations.

Happy New Year! 

This morning I woke up truly on fire for the Lord.  Bryan and I attend church on New Years eve and last night we had a tremendous time in church.  On today I had to usher so we stayed closer to the church to minimize our travel time.  I could not sleep half the night.  I woke up at 4 AM and could not go back to sleep.  I felt the Lord ministering to me as I laid awake.  I decided to get up and go to church early because I was so filled and wanted to praise the Lord for all he has done and is doing and will be doing in 2012.

To my surprise my Pastor preached about how much the Lord loves praise and how important it is for us to be on fire for the Lord.  It was such a confirmation of what I was experiencing.  At the end of the service last night I sent out emails to all my family and friends to wish them a Happy New Year.  I shared with them that this year is my year of expectation.  Each year I identify a theme for myself for the year and on my calendar I had already noted that 2012 would be my year of learning.  I was a little surprised when I read it given I just spent 2 1/2 years of learning and I could not remember why I had decided on that theme for this year.  The only thing I could think of was a goal I established for the year which is to become fully fluent in Spanish as I was some years ago. 

I decided to pray about what this year should be about for me and the Lord spoke as clear as day.  This is your year of expectation.  Today I am honoring Bryan with expectations because the Lord has been ministering to my spirit for the past two months about 2012 and what he is going to do in both our businesses, in our family and our marriage.  I am honoring  him in expectation by praising God with a pre-praise for what's to come.   As I've said before, I don't know how or when, but I know who and I believe he will do exactly what he said and even beyond our expectations in every way.  So what exactly am I expecting.  Many say the best way to not be disappointed is to expect nothing. Well I say simply expect the move of God, follow his lead and no matter what happens it will be great because God is great.  So I am simply expecting God to move in a mighty and masterful way as only he can and wherever he moves I will be following.

Last month our church had revival and one of the Pastors preached about having faith that is so strong you believe in the supernatural.  Anyone that knows me know that I am a woman of great faith and as my Pastor preached today about turning up the fire from a simmer to a boil, I have turned up my faith and my praise to a rapid boil in celebration of Gods goodness for yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Wives of the world how can you or do you honor your husband with expectations?  What has the Lord promised you he would do that you are holding for you and your husband?  What is the theme for your life or marriage for this year?  How can you honor him with expectation on today?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

My soul, wait silently for God alone, For my expectation is from Him. Psalm 62:5

"Today expect something good to happen to you no matter what occurred yesterday." Sarah Breathnach

Day 306 Honoring My Husband's Leadership

Bryan has been in the real estate investment business for 20 years.  During hurricane Irene one of our properties was damaged because a huge tree fell over.  Fortunately the damage to the actual property was minor however the tree expanded beyond property lines on to our neighbors property because it was so large.  This is a property that requires inspection and to pass the inspection we had to ensure all the debris from the tree was removed from the back yard. 

We found workers that do yard work and trash removal.  Bryan instructed me to ensure the guys cleared the lot of the wood as well as the leaves and debris.  When they proceeded to lift the logs they stated they were too heavy.  I explained this to Bryan and he stated if they cannot remove the logs, we don't need them.  To give you perspective, the circumference of the tree trunk was between 90 to 100 inches and they were cut in fairly large pieces.  As the workers were preparing to clean the fallen leaves, Bryan lifted one of the logs and stated if two men could not lift them they were not worth paying.  I realized at this time that my husband and I have a very different levels of compassion when it comes to workers.  So I did as he instructed and explained to them the expectation and wouldn't you know it they got it done with a little help from a few other guys. 

I was reminded of a leadership quote I heard a while ago, "People will rise up to the expectation you create."  I remembered that when there is something on the line, people will rise to the occassion whether they like it or not.  Today I honored my husband's leadership by following through on his request to push and ensure the workers earned their pay for the work we needed completed.  I know if it were not for Bryan it would have cost us a lot more money to complete the same job.  I am always grateful when my husband reminds me of great lessons in leadership.

Wives of the world how can you or do you honor your husband's leadership?  Please share your stories with us as we would love to hear and learn from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Leadership: the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Day 305 Honoring My Husband With A Proclamation

I cannot believe I have only 60 more days to go in my year of honoring my husband.  It has been quite the journey thus far.  This month  I have been committed to the sole role of being a wife.  My apologies to you all because I just realized I had not sent out or posted my survey for you all to share your perspective on what it means to be a wife.  I will surely follow-up on that in the New Year because I am more curious than ever now.

The month of December is rapidly coming to an end and I have to confess that I am not too crazy about serving in the sole capacity of being a wife.  One of my greatest concerns was the expectation Bryan would have while I served in just this role.  Today I am honoring my husband with a proclamation.  I don't like it very much.  I have spent a good portion of the time getting my house back in order because I let so many things fall by the wayside while I was in school.  I am really happy about that because I like order.  I am honoring my husband with a proclamation because I have so much respect for those who are housewives and love spending the majority of their time taking care of their husband, home and children.  I have come to realize it is a lot of work and I don't even have any children.  I have also realized the expectation about what is possible in a day can be quite unrealistic from one's spouse.   

I know part of it for me is that I have to stay busy and as Bryan so dutifully noted one evening, I am busy because I have chosen to be busy this month.  I have cleaned and organized areas in my home that probably would have never been touched if I was focusing on my work as usual.  I do have to admit that part of the reason why I do not like it very much is because Bryan's schedule did not change so I have spent most of my time alone and missing him.  I believe if he worked a normal schedule which afforded us the opportunity to have dinner together on a regular bases I would have enjoyed it more.  Nonetheless I am proclaiming my excitement for the month of January when I will be focusing on my business as well as home.  I think I will like having the balance a little better.

Wives of the world how can you honor your husband with a proclamation?  Is there something you have discovered about yourself or your role that you like or dislike?  How can you honor your husband by proclaiming this new found knowledge on today?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

Day 304 Honoring My Husband With Today's Prayer

Earthly angels brings joy into our lives.

Yesterday was a challenge for me because several things reminded me of my cousin who just past.  I found myself angry which is not an emotion I typically feel or express.  I usually stay in a place of curiosity, wanting to understand more, wanting to see God's glory in the situation.  I typically stay in a place of peace and allow my joy to guide me.  Yesterday I found myself angry, fighting to find my joy, asking God why and was not too concerned about the good that will come out of the situation.  I found myself snapping at Bryan for something quite small which was a clear indicator to me that I was going through.

Bryan is a HUGE football fan.  Our TV stays tuned to NFL today or ESPN pretty much day and night when he is home.  On last night NFL today showed a story about one of my favorite jazz singers, Wayman Tisdale.  He passed away in 2009 from bone cancer.  I found myself intrigued not only by the story of his music but of his life and more so his character.  They talked about how he used to spread joy wherever he went, how he was always smiling and how so many people loved him the moment they met him.  I immediately thought, that sounds like West.  In that moment of watching Tisdale's story God revealed to me that he was ready, just as West was ready.  He touched all the lives he needed to touch, he changed the atmosphere of everywhere he went, people felt like they were ministered to and touched by an angel in their presence.  Today I am able to seek the glory God will bring as a result of us losing West.  I know it will be grand and I know God will be revealed in a mighty big way.

Today I am honoring my husband with a prayer I came across called Prayer for Today.  I am honoring him with this prayer because it is my prayer as I mourn the loss of my cousin.

Prayer for Today

Lord make me an instrument of Thy peace.  Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light, and where there is sadness, joy.

O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive it, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.

Amen

Wives of the world how can you honor your husband with today's prayer?  What prayer could soothe your spirit and lift up his and others on this day?  How can you honor your husband with prayer on today?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Earthly angels are like little peeks of God's heavenly love." RAS

Day 303 Honoring My Husband With Administrative Support

It was such an honor and joy to celebrate the birth of Jesus with our families.  We split the time between  Bryan's family in Maryland and mine in Pennsylvania.  It was a lot of driving but worth every minute. To recuperate we spent the morning relaxing with my nieces and nephews, enjoying movies and eating left overs.  I felt very special the entire trip because Bryan drove both days and topped it off with dinner this evening.  It was like a really nice weekend get away.

While we were in Pennsylvania I agreed to help Bryan with his work because we stayed with my family longer than planned and he had somethings to complete for tomorrow.  Today I supported my husband with administrative support because it was the least I could do to show my appreciation for the extended date weekend and unexpected dinner.  Although Bryan has a degree in computer science he has allowed his technology skills go to the wayside.  So it is often much more efficient for me to support him with Internet research and typing.

Wives of the world how do you honor your husband with administrative support?  What skills do you posses that are of value to your husband?  What things are on his plate that you could accomplish in less than half the time?  I like to think about it as an opportunity to ensure we get more time to spend together when I am able to help him complete his work in a more timely manner.  How can you honor your husband with administrative support on today?

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Our gifts and talents are not just for our personal gain; they are to be used to support and help others in God's kingdom."

Day 302 Honoring My Husband With Jesus Joy

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Merry Christmas everyone, I hope your holiday is filled with lots of love, peace and Jesus joy.

I awoke so excited today about celebrating the birth of Jesus.  I could not wait to get to church to celebrate the birth of the one reason I have peace, joy and life everlasting.  I was surprised myself at how much love I could literally feel in my heart for the appreciation of being chosen and saved by Jesus.  It feels like a true Pentecost moment. Today I honored my husband with Jesus joy because I was and am filled with so much love.

I am honoring him with Jesus joy because when my heart is filled with Jesus joy I feel like my love for him increases exponentially.  The small stuff just does not seem to matter when your heart is filled with the love of the Lord.  Life takes on a different meaning and forgiveness seems to live in the air.   I love that this time of year it seems everyone has just a bit more joy and happiness to share. 

Wives of the world how can you or do your honor your husband with Jesus joy?  As you celebrate the day please remember the reason for the season.  What do you do to share the love of Christ?  Do you demonstrate your love by teaching your children, family and friends the importance of this day.  Let your festivities go beyond giving of gifts and let it include the giving of the love of the Lord.  Tell someone what Jesus has done for you and how he has changed your life.  Remember the greatest gift in life is free; its called salvation.  How can you honor your husband with Jesus joy on today?  Please share your stories with us we would love to hear and learn from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"For the joy of the Lord is your strength" Nehemiah 8:10

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son." John 3:16

Day 301 Honoring My Husband's Support

This past week has been quite emotionally challenging to say the least and today was a very difficult day for my family.  We had the funeral services for my cousin West who was 27 years old.  He was the kind of person that loved life in a major way.  His smile and presence so filled a room it was impossible not to notice him.  Everyone who met him loved him and he would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need.  The evidence of how much he loved and was loved was demonstrated by the overflow of people in attendance at the service.  There were so many people that the Pastor had to stop the viewing to begin the service.  As he heard several family members and friends share about how West loved life, his family and people in general, he decided to stop the services and allow those that were standing outside to have an opportunity for closure by allowing the continuation of the viewing.  He had also gotten notification that the line of people stretched `half a mile around the corner of the church.

We have a very large family and we were overwhelmed by the number of friends that came to show their support and respects during this time.  We were utterly amazed at how the church was filled beyond capacity and that there were close to 100 cars in the processional to the burial grounds. 

I had to travel to New Jersey for the services and was honored that Bryan made it a point to ensure he was their to show his respects and support.  Today I am honoring his support.  He had a commitment he needed to meet yet took the time to drive me to New Jersey, attend the wake service and return home to meet his commitment all within a 12 hour period.  I stayed in New Jersey to spend more time with my family.

I made a conscious choice on yesterday to fore go my posting because all I could do these past couple of days is honor my husband through my mourning.  This evening when I arrived home I believe I was and still am filled with so much emotional energy that I could not sleep and then remembered I needed to complete my post for today.  Today I am honoring my husband's support in the midst of my mourning and the celebration of the life and short time we had with my cousin.

Wives of the world how can you or do you honor your husband's support?  How do you honor him when he goes above and beyond the call of duty to support you?  Any time God decides to take one of his children it is a reminder of how little time we really have with our loved ones.  I wonder if we calculated the amount of time we waste getting angry, upset and frustrated with our husband's how much would it equate to over the course of a year.  Would it be 24 hours or 24 days or would it be into the months? I wonder if we took that same time to show love, grace and give space; how much more enjoyable life would be for us all.  Maybe your husband did not drive you across state lines after working all day, but maybe he helped the kids with homework when it was your turn but you were tired, or maybe he did a chore that he normally does not, or maybe he just listened when you needed it most.  Whatever it is, how can you honor his support on today?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you?

Blessings,

Rochelle

"The support of a spouse are the manifestation of God's footprints." RAS

Day 300 Honoring My Husband's Regression

Yesterday I had an interesting experience.  I got up and went about my routine as normal, did my bible  study, exercised, had breakfast and then proceeded to take a shower and realized the water was not working.  Turns out our well had failed and we had to have it replaced.  This is the second time this year we have had a water failure and ironically it was almost six months ago the last time it happened.  My hope is that this is the last one we will experience for quite a while.

The plumber shared that once it was repaired, although we could take a shower we could not drink or wash clothes other than whites because of the significant amount of chloride he used to flush the well.  It did not dawn on me until today that this also meant I could not use it for cooking which meant I had to throw my menu out the window.  As I pondered on what I could cook that we would both enjoy and required little to no water it dawned on me how Bryan loves beans and franks.  He says it reminds him of his childhood.  Today I honored my husband's regression.

I honored his regression into childhood by cooking one of his favorite and very, very easy meals.  It is not something I enjoy preparing because I love the creative aspect of cooking.  I decided to spice up the beans to give them more flavor and they were a huge hit and quite tasty. 

Wives of the world how can you or do you honor your husband's regression?  We all regress at one point or another for something.  What does your husband regress about?  How can you honor his regression on today?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

 "The best part about great childhood memories, is that we can relive them in our minds

 any time we choose."  RAS

Day 299 Honoring My Husband's Taste

Today continues to be quite challenging emotionally as our family deals with the loss of my cousin.  When I am feeling stressed I clean.  Today I decided to work on our recreation room.  In the midst of it I decided I wanted to make several changes.  I had forgotten I had agreed that the rec room was Bryan's area to decorate so when I shared with him my plans he reminded me that it was his area.  Today I honored my husband's taste by negotiated with him a compromise for the decor.  Fortunately we were able to come to an agreement and I look forward to the changes. 

Wives of the world how do you honor your husband's tastes? A while ago I shared that one of the ways to honor our husband's is to allow them to have their space in the home.  I had forgotten that this may stretch beyond their chair and office but into other shared spaces.  As I honor Bryan's taste in colors and decor I found myself being creative in working with what I have to create what I hope to be one of our masterpieces.  How can you honor your husband's taste on today?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you?

Blessings,

Rochelle

"And the two shall become one includes combining each other's taste." RAS 

Day 298 Honoring My Husband Through My Mourning

Today was a very tough day for me and my family.  We experienced the loss of my young cousin.  I was a little surprised at my reaction and level of emotions so all I could muster for this post is simply I am honoring my husband today through my mourning.  I am learning how challenging it can be to honor someone when your heart is heavy with grief.

Wives of the world how do you honor your husband when you are mourning?  Please share your stories, any insight and leanings with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

Day 297 Honoring My Husband With Planning

I have a love relationship with this time of year.  It is my favorite time of year in that I love celebrating the birth of Christ, blessing family members with gifts of love, and the cheerfulness of the season that is spread throughout.  I also love the wonderful displays of Christ in the decorations.  I pay attention to the colors that are used in the displays and I wonder how many people are intentional in their choices.  I wonder how many people know that white lights represents the purity of Christ and red lights represents the blood of Christ and that green lights represents evergreen or eternal life.  Or that
collectively the lights signify hope, happiness and safety and they represent the fact that Jesus is the light of the world in the midst of profound darkness.  I wonder how many people when hanging candy canes know that the story, true or not is believed to be that the three stripes represent the Holy Trinity. 

What I love about this season is that it is the birth of our savior Jesus and intentional or not, many people adorn their homes with the purity, blood and eternal life of Christ.  They fill their homes with the Holy Trinity and top their trees with an angel or some other representation of nativity.  Many people will say God bless you only during this time of year.  Today I am honoring my husband with planning in preparation for the celebration of Christmas. 

As I ponder on all the things I love about Christmas, I am also preparing for our annual holiday party.  Bryan and I began something that has become a tradition in our family and circle of friends.  Today I am honoring him by planning the event and also planning what his role will be to prepare for the engagement.  It has been quite the feast and this year we plan to add other aspects of enjoyment for our guests.  In all my planning there is one thing I do not  have to concern myself with and that is what color lights will I use for decorations.  I love the significance, look and experience of surrounding our home with lights that signify the purity and safety of Christ.  So in my preparation and honoring of  Bryan with planning he always know white lights are at the top of the list.

Wives of the world how can you or do you honor your husband with planning?  Is there a ritual you have that in the midst of all that needs to be planned, there are some things you and your family can count on to be constant from year to year? When I take the time to plan out what needs to be done and when it needs to happen; I can always count on Bryan to follow up.  He loves having a heads up and knowing in advance what he needs to be prepared to do.   How can you honor your husband with planning on today?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear and learn from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

Day 296 Honoring My Husband's Absence

Today I took part in the celebration of my eldest uncle 75th birthday party.  It was so awesome to see him, his wife and siblings enjoying the festivities.  Bryan was not able to accompany me to the event so all evening members of my family kept asking about him.  Initially my response was simply he could not make it. 

After answering that question several times it dawned on me that there was a level of disappointment by some of my family members that he could not make it.  Bryan has a very good relationship with most of my immediate and extended family.  I could tell my uncle was a little disappointed when I shared with him Bryan could not make it; so I decided to provide a more in depth explanation.  Once I began sharing the reason Bryan could not make it I realized in the moment that I was honoring him in his absence by making others aware of his current challenge.  Today I honored my husband's absence by helping others to understand his current situation.  This allowed folks to realize that he did not simply choose not to come and that it was a more strategic decision to address an important issue.

Wives of the world in what way can you honor your husband's absence?  I later realized that I could have been disappointed and complained to my family why Bryan was not there but instead was able to make lemonade out of lemons.  How can you honor your husband's absence today?

Blessings,

Rochelle

Day 295 Honoring My Husband's Work Ethics

The journey to feeling valued
 for men and woman is to be
 honored by being served.

Today was an exciting day for me because I completed almost all of my Christmas shopping.  Yet it was almost ruined by my extended trip home.  It was a long, fulfilling yet tiring day and I was looking forward to getting home to relax my legs.  Bryan and I chatted and I shared with him that I had forgotten to take out what I had planned to cook for dinner.   He simply stated "It doesn't matter I will grab whatever we have, I'm sure I can throw something together." 

My first thought was that of relief but then I quickly remembered that he had quite an early start this morning and I know it was a very busy day for him.  Having a good dinner to Bryan is just as meaningful to him, as it is for me when he drives me around.  With that in mind I decided I wanted to honor my husband's work ethics by not providing a dinner he would just be okay with but one that he would truly enjoy.  In my quest to accomplish this task I found my directionally challenged self off the path home and ended up adding an additional 30 minutes to my trip. This was with my GPS best friend. Normally when I get off my directional path I consider myself  to be exploring however, this evening I was a little perturbed because I wanted to get home to cook this great meal.

I am one that believes in the power of energy.  I began to think about the negative energy I was carrying and thought I did not want that to be a part of the meal I was planning to prepare.  I decided to choose to change my thoughts which changed how I was feeling and began to enjoy my extended journey.  As I began to enjoy my exploring I realized I was in a path of some very beautiful Christmas decorations, which I love.  My trip turned into an exploration of how the community expressed their celebration of Christ's birth.  When I arrived home and cooked I know it was filled with Jesus joy and good positive energy because that is what I was feeling and what we feel goes into what we do. 

Wives of the world how can you honor your husband's work ethics?  What is something you do that makes him feel special?  Many people say that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I think those that believe this is only partially correct.  I believe the path is not his stomach it is the feeling of being honored through the process of being served that they love.  The food is simply the vehicle to the journey.  How can you honor your husband's work ethics today?

Blessings,

Rochelle

"For even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 

Day 294 Honoring My Husband With Sweet Treats

Today I am grateful that we serve a Lord that is so forgiving and gives us grace and mercy with the big and small things.  Yesterday I was quite busy and did not realize until today that I actually missed publishing my post.  As I sat down to prepare for this days post I was feeling pretty guilty until the Lord spoke.  What I realized was that all though I may miss a consecutive day it does not mean I have lost sight of my journey; it simply means the next day continues the sequence.  I also realized that this actually benefits my husband because the number of days of honoring him will be well beyond 365 because of the few days I have missed.  I am just thanking God for giving me grace.

Today I honored my husband with sweet treats.  I took a trip to Hershey and had the opportunity to shop in their company store.  I was like a kid in a candy store.  Bryan's favorite chocolate bar is Reese's so I stocked up on them for him. I could not believe the variety of Reese's they had in the store and I was sure to buy his favorite and things I did not think he had ever tried. He was quite grateful when I presented them to him.  I was fortunate enough to purchase enough chocolate to make gift baskets for my nieces and nephews for Christmas.   I look forward to seeing their faces when they get the goodies, as I am sure they will be filled with smiles as Bryan's was this evening. 

Later in the evening he remembered that I had received a package in the mail from one of my very best friends from Chicago.  She sent me a large can of my favorite popcorn. Garrett's caramel and cheese mix.  If you have never tasted Garrett's popcorn, do not die and go to heaven without trying it.  It is the absolute best popcorn I have ever tasted; you can go to http://www.garrettpopcorn.com/ to purchase a bag or tin and do not blame me when you become addicted.  My first thought when I opened the box was, how cool ii is when the Lord reciprocates our giving. I honored Bryan with sweet treats and in return received my favorite sweet treat on the same day.  I do not believe in coincidences and know it was only a blessing from God. 

Wives of the world how do you or can you honor your husband with sweet treats?  Today was a reminder to me that it is always better to give than to receive and when we do how God always returns our giving twofold.  How can you honor your husband with sweet treats today?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.
Blessings,

Rochelle

"Nothing says I love you like your favorite sweet treat." RAS

Day 293 Honoring My Husband With Remodeling



Your own work space allows you to
feel more at home.

 When we purchased our home several years ago the plan was that my office would be on the main floor and Bryan's would be on the lower level.  He started working on it about 8 years ago but never finished.  About three years ago I decided I wanted a theatre room so I had to move all our storage items from one room to what was supposed to be Bryan's office.  I had committed to it being a temporary fix until I could figure out the best location for the items. 

Well in my quest to serve in the capacity of full time wife, one of the duties on my to do list was to get his office in order.  He has several files for all three of his entities and often uses my office for his work, which I am not to crazy about because we have different housekeeping standards.  Today I honored my husband with remodeling. I spent several hours removing all the old items and finally had the time to take the time to sort through everything.  To my amazement there were quite a bit of items the only home I need to find was the nearest Goodwill store.  I could not believe how much stuff we had transported from our old house that we have absolutely no need for today yet I am very pleased to clear the clutter.

Although the room is ready for a total remodel it will require some more work before I can paint and move the furniture.  Nonetheless based on the amount of time I spent preparing it for its new look I think it is warranted to honor him today with remodeling.  The remainder of the work will be the easy part.

Wives of the world how have you or can you honor your husband with remodeling?  Is there a place he has been wanting in the home just for him but time, resources and opportunity has not presented itself.  My brother is the best carpenter I know so I reached out to him to get instructions on how to take care some of the finishing work and he volunteered to come down from New Jersey for a day this week to help me surprise Bryan with his new office.  I could not be happier.  This will be another one of those great win, win situations.  I get to do some decorating, Bryan will have his own office and I will have mine back and all to myself.  Life will be grand.  How can you honor your husband with remodeling on today?  Sometimes a simple change in a room layout can make all the difference in the world.  Please remember to share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Nothing says home like having  your own space in it." RAS