Day 13 - Honoring My Husband Through Excitement

Praise the Lord, the time has come for me to return home.  My trip has been eventful, rewarding, exhausting, insightful and I have been blessed by the Lord.  I had the opportunity today to visit Brussels and what a tremendous blessing it was.  It is amazing how the Lord guides you to where he wants you to be.  As I shared about my sadness and faith on yesterday, little did I know the Lord would continue to speak to me about the situation and my faith today. 

On my way to Brussels, I was excited but wished Bryan was with me.  I was missing his presence and as I  read an article in Essence there was a line that struck me to remind me of my covering.  It was "we are never alone when we walk with God."  As I walked through Brussels, I was overcome by the breathtaking beauty of the city.  I came across a woman who shared with me several stories about Brussels, but was left in astonishment when she shared it was the city of fertility.  It was so awesome to me because I know I was led their by the Lord.  I almost did not make the trip and when I got there I had no information and simply asked the Lord to lead me.  He led me to the wall inlet sculpture of fertility.  Of course I was overcome with excitement again.

So today, I honor my husband with excitement.  Excitement because I cannot wait to get home, excitement because I cannot wait to share with him all the details of my trip that we have not yet talked about, excitement to share how the Lord so blessed  me in the museum and in Brussels, excitement because I know the Lord is working things out and excitement because I get to be in my favorite place in the world, which is in Bryan's arms. 

Wives of the world in what ways are you excited to honor your husband?

Rochelle

"Faith is an excitement and an enthusiasm, a state of intellectual magnificence which we must not squander on our way through life."  George Sand

Day 12 - Honoring My Husband Through Faith

To God be the Glory! Yesterday I received some very disappointing news and it was very challenging to sit with it being away from Bryan.  Many of you know we have been in anticipation of adopting a child and we received news on yesterday that the most recent possibility was not going to happen.  My first reaction was great sadness and disappointment, however in the midst of the sadness I had to continue to hold on to God's promise.  Friends and family often tell me that they are astonished at my level of faith and Bryan tells me he relies on my faith and it has helped him increase his reliance upon the Lord.

Although I was greatly saddened on yesterday, I also knew I had to stay focused on my  faith.  Praising God when things are great is an easy thing to do, but giving him the praise when you are hurting opens up the gates of heaven.  My Pastor has often said you cannot have a true testimony if you do not have faith in the midst of the struggle or while you wait on God.

Today, I was finally able to get to one of the historic museums here in Amsterdam and it amazed me how God showed up on the walls of the museum to speak to me about our situation.  As I walked through the Rembrant exhibit I saw a painting that was a depiction of Rebecca and Isaac and in another exhibit was Abraham and Sarah.   The Lord used each of these paintings to speak into my spirit about waiting on him.  What was so awesome is the night prior after hearing the disappointing news; I spoke about both these stories in the bible as I stood in a place of faith about adoption. 

Today, I honor my husband through faith; faith that while we continue to wait on the Lord I will continue to praise God no matter what the situation.  I know that by honoring my husband through faith I am also honoring God's word.  Wives of the world, how do you honor your husband when it comes to a disappointing situation?  Do you stand in a place of faith and belief in him and the Lord or do you lose sight of what the Lord has promised?  Please share how you do or can honor your husband through faith in the Lord.

Rochelle

"...Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matt. 17:20

Day 11 - Honoring My Husband In Words

Today I am Hallelujah Happy as I count down the days to my return home.  As I think about all the possible ways to honor my husband, today I choose to honor him in words.  I decided to make a list of all the characteristics that describe the wonderful man he is and used an on line tool to create a picture out of the words.  Below is the picture of my accumulation of words.  Today, I honor my husband by sharing all the words I believe describe the wonderful man of God he is in the form of a picture.

Wives of the worls, if you were to create such a tool to describe your husband, what  words would stand out the most and would those words honor your husband?  The first word to come to mind when you think of your husband, will directly correlate to how you treat him.  Honor your husband today in words by first starting with your thoughts and translate those thoughts into your words. 

Please share in what ways you do or can honor your husband in words. 

Blessings,

Rochelle 

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ¹⁹ Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deut. 11:18-19

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Day 10 - Honoring My Husband Through Action

The count down to home is close enough for me to get excited about seeing my husband.  Three more days and I will be on a plane heading back into his arms and presence.  I truly cannot wait. 

Today I recently came across an interesting list that provided ways to honor one's husband.  I found the list quite intriguing and made the decision that I would use it to honor my husband through my actions.  The list was pretty exhaustive but the top ten were as follows:

1. Communicate with him respectfully.
2. Regard him as important and let him know he's important to you.
3. Do everything you can to at least understand his feelings—even when you disagree with him.
4. Be interested in his friends and occasionally give him time with them (if they are trust-worthy men).
5. Ask for his opinion and let him know you value what he says.
6. Tell him you both love him AND like him.
7. Let him feel your approval and affections.
8. Protect his dignity on a daily basis.
9. Be tender with him realizing he has feelings also.
10. Foster an atmosphere of laughter in your home. Look for ways to laugh togethe

Because I am at a distance I began to wonder, how can I I honor my husband in action in the midst of my absence.  It dawned on me that action does not mean it has to be in the presence of the one you love.  Sometimes the best way to honor your husband in action is in the presence of others.  So today, I honor my husband in action in the presence of others by demonstrating respect, protecting his dignity, creating an atmosphere of laughter during our calls, and asking for his opinion even with our distance.

Wives of the world in what ways do you honor your husband through action when you are not in his presence?  Do you speak highly of him?  Are your actions, in the absence of your husband, honorable to him, your marriage and to God?  Please share your story.

Rochelle

"...people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present." 2nd Corin. 10:11

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Day 9 - Honoring My Husband In the Midst of Exhaustion

I wish I could say my trip to Amsterdam was all for fun, but unfortunately it is not.  So far it has been nine 14 to 18 hour days and I am truly exhausted. Partly do to my work here and also because of my desire to stay connected to my husband during my travels by talking at the end of our long days.  However, in the midst of my exhaustion, I am determined to ensure I follow through on meeting my commitment to God, myself and my husband by honoring him everyday and sharing my story with all of you.

So if it seems to you that my stories have gotten shorter as each day has passed, it is because they have.  Not because I do not have much to say, but because I am stretched to the limit of my physical, mental and emotional capacity.  I only have room to share my love by honoring my husband in the midst of my exhaustion even though it is almost 2:00 AM in Amsterdam and I have to be up in about 5 hours. This is by no means a complaint, it is a statement of fact and an acknowledge of the importance of this assignment from God.  It is my honor, pleasure and the one thing that brings me joy each day.  I truly look forward to identifying how the Lord is using me to widen the gates of our love through this journey. 

Wives of the world, how do you handle your husband in the midst of your exhaustion?  Do you honor him or do you ignore him?  When you honor your husband, you are also honoring your marriage and by honoring your marriage, you are honoring God.  Please share your story. 

Blessings,

Rochelle

"At the moment when you feel like you have reached the point of absolute exhaustion,
inspire yourself to take one last step, and that is when you have successfully arrived to the next level.”

Author unknown

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Day 8 - Honoring My Husband Through Love

Today I honor my husband through love.  I am on one side of the world and he is on another, yet every time we speak it is almost as if I am sitting right with him.  I honor him today through love because I am missing him like crazy and want the world to know.  I honor him through love because each time we speak I can hear in his every word that he misses me as much as I miss him. I honor him through love by letting him know every chance I get through email, voicemail, texting, postcards, and voice to voice how much I miss the presence of his love.  Wives of the world, please share in what ways you honor your husband through love to let him know when you are missing his presence? 

Rochelle

"Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own."  ~Robert Heinlein

Day 7 - Honoring My Husband Through Song

Today I honor my husband by sharing the song that was sang when I walked down the aisle almost 12 years ago.  The name of the song is Someone Like You and speaks about what happens when someone you want loves you and what that does to your spirit.  One of the lines in the lyrics is ..my heart would take wings and I'd feel so alive when someone likes you loves me. 

I honor my husband today in song because my heart has taken wings because someone like him loves me.  Please share what songs reminds you of how your husband inspires your heart.

Rochelle


                         

And when the king's decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives shall give to their husbands honour, both to great and small. 

Esther 1:20

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Day 6 - Honoring My Husband Just Because

Today has abeen quite a challenge for me.  I have been working all day and because of our distance and schedules Bryan and I have not yet talked today and I am truly missing hearing his voice.  As part of my journey to honor him, I began perusing the web to see what else was out there about marriage, love, relationships etc.  I was surprised, excited and even moved by some of the positive things wives and husbands are doing to demonstrate their love to their mate.  I was also just as disappointed, saddened and had a great sense of curiosity about those sites that acknowledged a great sense of disdain for their marriage.  One site is actually called "I hate my husband."  I thought how unfortunate this person or these people are.  As the Lord says,  ...and the greatest of these is love, I can only imagine how hard it must be to be in a place of such unhappiness.  In the midst of all the challenges we have faced in our marriage, I am so happy to know that love has always been there.

Today I honor my husband just because.  Just because he is worthy of my love, honor and respect. Just because I am missing him dearly.  Just because he sent me several messages about how much he misses me and just because we still love each other.   My prayer is that those who have a great disdain for their mate,  they can somehow find their way back to the love that brought them together. 

Wives of the world, what are your just because reasons for honoring your husband?

Rochelle

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. Corin. 13:13

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Day 5 - Honoring My Husband Through Our Historical Journey

Today I honor my husband by acknowledging our victory as a people and his victories as an African American man.  Through these tough economic times, he has stayed focused and continues to keep his business viable when so many others in his industry have walked away.  I am so proud of what he has and continues to accomplish.  I lift my voice to and for him in celebration of Black History Month for all that he has accomplished, all the people he has helped, all the support he provides and his continued spirit of all things all possible through Christ.  Please share how you are honoring your husband in celebration of his accomplishments this Black History Month. The attached video speaks for itself, please take a listen,you will be truly inspired. 

Rochelle     
                              

Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!  Psalm 118:15

Day 4 - Honoring My Husband Through Commitment

On this very day, Friday, February 18, 1994 Bryan and I met at an NAACP event.  As I type this post I cannot believe it has been 18 years to the date. We have been together ever since that Friday night at the Forum in Baltimore, MD.   Ironically, we both almost did not show up for the event.  I had just moved to the Baltimore area and could not find the event.  I had to be escorted by a cop to the location.  He had tickets to another event but decided he was going to honor his commitment to the NAACP.  As God would have it, he insured we were both where we needed to be for his purpose to be fulfilled.

Today I honor and praise my husband with commitment.  We have been committed to each other since the day we met and although life has thrown us some pretty interesting curve balls, I know his heart and know he is committed to our marriage.

Being here in the Netherlands, it has been important for me to keep my commitment to him as far as our communication.  No matter what work is going on, or what I am doing at the time, I make sure that we are speaking at our agreed upon time of day.  It can sometimes be challenging because my schedule changes, however, what's most important to me at the end of the day is he feels that above all, I am putting him first in the midst of my work in Amsterdam.
 
How do you demonstrate commitment to your husband?  Does he know for sure he is your first priority second only to God?  Please share in what ways you demonstrate commitment to your husband.

Bryan, Happy meeting day anniversary! Love you much.

Rochelle

Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure...Hebrews 13:4

Day 3 - Honoring My Husband Through Support

So it is day three of my blog and yet again I am quite amazed at the challenge before me.  Today was quite the day in Amsterdam.  It was filled with a lot of activity, insight and learning's and Bryan and I had very little time to communicate.  However, as God would have it, he presented another opportunity for me to honor my husband from afar.  At the end of the day as I picked up my phone to prepare to call him, literally as I walked out my hotel door my phone rang.  I was so happy to hear his voice on the other end, I stated, oh my goodness; I just picked up the phone to call you. It was so nice to know we were on the same wavelengths across the miles.

As we proceeded to talk, after the smooches and I love you's, he let me know he was in need of some immediate attention to something for his work.  He has been trying to get an issue settled with a client that has been quite difficult.  Although I am many miles away, I was quite honored to be in a position to help him get the issue resolved.  To give you a true perspective, ladies' you know how we like to share our day when we've experienced something exciting.  I was very excited to hear his voice and wanted to share all about my day, however he was not in a position to hear me because he had a pressing need. I allowed myself to take in the information I needed to help get the situation resolved.

I later thought, I could have easily asked him to wait until I had shared all of my excitement or have gotten upset because he wanted to talk work.  This may have led to frustration on his part, hence having both of us upset, which leads to divisiveness and separation of the heart..  My goal is togetherness, which binds the heart.  So what quickly came to mind for me was God's word about I am to follow my husband's lead, in this case, in conversation.  Once I got all the information, we were in a place to have the intimate conversation about us.  When we ended the conversation, I not only felt heard, but I felt even more loved,  I knew he was truly listening to me and trying to share my experience from afar.  As he had cleared his emotional energy about work which led to a more intimate us.

In what ways have you supported your husband lately?  Ask him in what ways can you better support him and allow yourself to follow his lead and not yours.  As it is stated in Ezra, let your husband know.

                  "We will support you, so take courage and do it.” Ezra 10:4

Rochelle

Day 2 Honoring Through Encouragement

Today as I sit across the country miles away from my husband, I am truly missing him and wishing he was here.  I had no idea how challenging it would be actually demonstrate honor from afar.  Thank goodness I serve an awesome God who always shows the way.  Yesterday my husband was feeling quite discouraged.  He had just completed some work and lost his wallet.  As we chatted via email, I immediately told him to go into prayer and ask the Lord to lead him to his wallet.  He had everything in his wallet including my ATM card he was to use to transfer money for me and a few hundred dollars in cash.  I could have easily chosen to question him about his whereabouts when he lost it, ask what was he doing, ask him how could he have lost it and contribute to his discouraged spirit.  However, I chose to honor him by acknowledging his feelings, letting him know I felt his disappointment and continued to encourage him that the Lord will bring it back to him.  We did not discuss my ATM card.  It was the least of my concerns.  My main concern was to be with him and provide the necessary encouragement for his spirit.

I shared with him that he has done many of great deeds and this is his time for the Law of Reciprocity.  I shared I believed in my heart he would get it back with everything in order.  When I awoke this morning I had received a text from him stating someone had found his wallet and everything was intact.  This was of no surprise to me, because I know the God we serve. 

How do you encourage your husband when he loses something of value of yours?  Do you help lift him up or do you push him further down?  As women, we often forget, our men have feelings too.  They may not always display them or share them through words, but know they are there.  As wives we have the power to take our husband to another level emotionally.  The challenge is which level.  Honor your husband today by encouraging him emotionally.  Find something that you would not normally acknowledge and tell him how much you notice and appreciate him for it.  It will make his day.  Please share how you encouraged your husband.

Rochelle 

 And she shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth her fruit in her season; her leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever she doeth shall prosper.

Psalm 1:3

Hallelujah! "One Year of Love"

WOW! I cannot believe the day has come where the vision the Lord gave me in late 2010 is now a reality.  The plan, or I should say my plan, was to start this blog on January 1, 2011.  However, I got sick and was not able to establish it before the weight of life took over and we were 30 days into the year.  But, to God be the Glory! His time is now.  My husband and I met in February of 1993, the month of love and as the Lord would have it, I am beginning this blog almost 18 years to the date of our beginning. 

I am establishing this blog simply because I love my husband.  Initially I thought I would honor him every day and not share it with family, friends, you and the rest of the world.  But God had a different plan.  Through a strong but soft whisper, the Lord let me know he did not give this to me to keep to myself.  There are many, many marriages, good and bad that can use the Law of Lift (see bottom of blog to learn more).  My prayer is that this movement will be that lift for your marriage; for I know it will be for mine, it already has. 

Each day I will share my testimony about what I am doing or have done to honor my husband.  I invite you to join me in what will be "One Year of Love."  This is not to say my marriage or yours is not already filled with love, because it is.  This is to say, as women, we often wait for our husband's to take the initiative, or we want him to change.  My challenge to myself and to you is that this will be a year of change, starting with self.  As the concept goes, as we change, the world around us also changes.  I know this will be quite the challenge.  Especially, when life does what it does best, when one commits to doing things God’s way.  Yet, I am committed to the cause, covered by the blood and prayed up for the adventure.

I recently adopted my own personal twelve commandants, and number 6 is "Be the change you want to see."  That is my quest for this year.  To be the change I want to see when it comes to romance, loving, giving, sharing, being, praying and so on and so on.  My ultimate hope is that this movement will reach, change and impact the lives of millions of wives and marriages across the world.  Please pass it along to every married, engaged person you know.  The international divorce rate is staggering.  If this movement changes one marriage for the better then I know my work was not in vain.

This movement will be especially challenging over the next 14 days, as I have traveled across the world to the Netherlands, while my husband is at home.  My first quest, how to have him experience me honoring him from over 3,500 miles away.  Join me on tomorrow when I share more on accomplishing this great challenge from afar.  In the meantime, be blessed, give love and always remember, if you love, honor and respect your husband in a way that matters to him, he will learn to love, honor and respect you in a way that matters to you. It is the law of reciprocity.  “Be the change you want to see.”  Be blessed and let the change begin.

Rochelle