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