Day 75 Honoring My Husband By Keeping the Dream Alive

Wow! Day 75 and I am still holding on.  I cannot say it has been easy but it has not been difficult. The Lord is growing, teaching, stretching and moving me into new territory each and every day.  Today I was able to support my husband by helping him take care of one of his properties.  He has a property that has two huge and I mean huge Magnolia trees.  There were leaves and branches everywhere from the recent rain and thunderstorms as well as from the Fall.  As I began this task I started to think about all the things I needed to be doing for school, however I stopped and said a quick prayer asking the Lord to help me to just enjoy the present moment.  Once I got into it, I actually enjoyed the work.  It was like working out for a cause. 

As I have said several times before I am so happy the Lord has given this assignment to me.  Today I am honoring my husband by keeping the dream of this blog alive and following God's directions.  I hope in the near future my silent viewers will feel compelled to come out of the closet and let the world know you are with us.  I also hope you feel compelled to share your stories, thoughts and insights as I truly hope this to be a venue for women to learn how to honor their husband's and I realize the power of one mind times many.  So jump in any time ladies.

Wives of the world how do you honor your husband's by keeping a dream or commitment  you have made alive?  In what ways have you stayed the long haul in tough and not so tough times?  I know many of you are Christians and as Christians we often say one of our values is commitment and dependability yet we do not always keep our promises when it gets difficult.  Let this be the year you keep all your commitments no matter how challenging they are and please share your secrets with us.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"It takes a lot of courage to show your dreams to someone else." Erma Bombeck

Day 74 Honoring My Husband With Initiative

Today I am honoring my husband with initiative.  A little more than a week ago I mentioned I was honoring my husband with a request.  So I started the day by setting the stage and sent him a very provocative text.  I later followed up by preparing the evening for what I hoped would come.  He seemed excited about the possibility that I had put forth my request. 

Well we all know things do not always go as planned.  When Bryan came home that evening after dinner he went to his favorite place on the couch and you would not believe what happened.  If you guessed he fell asleep, you are correct.  He fell asleep. I could not believe it but then I had to remember the day he told me he had and had to forgive him.  So whatever happened to my request, it got put on hold for a day or so.

So today, I did not want to set an expectation for myself or him so I decided to keep my plans to myself.  I am honoring my husband today with the blessing of initiative.  Instead of waiting on him, I will be making the moves on him.  So ladies, I have to cut this one short, it is late and past our bedtime and I want to make sure he does not fall asleep on me this time.

Wives of the world in what ways do you honor your husband's with initiative?  Men love to know that they are desired just as much as we do, they just don't ever tell us they do.  How can you show your husband that you desire him just as much as he desires you by honoring him with initiative?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to get some great ideas from you. 

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Taking initiative is love in action."

Day 73 Honoring My Husband With the Gift of Time

Today I would like to lift a prayer to all the families that experienced loss of their homes, belongings and any family members due to the devastating tornadoes experienced in the south on yesterday and today.  My heart goes out to you all.  To my friend and any secret followers in North Carolina, my heart goes out to you and my prayers are lifted that you find peace and comfort in the arms of the Lord during this time. My hope is that you were not negatively impacted. 

I once saw a quote that said "the years are short but the days are long" and I find this to be very true.  I cannot believe it has been 73 days since I began this blog.  The one thing I have come to recognize is that if we do not choose to use the time the Lord has given us wisely, it will surely pass us by and any dreams we had will be just that, dreams we had. 

My husband is a very hard working man and I am very proud of all that he has accomplished.  There was a time that he loved his work and the rush of the challenges he faced every day.  I think it really used to provide him a natural lift of his spirits on a daily bases.  However, over the past few years he has experienced one trial and tribulation after another.  So much so that he really does not love his work like he used to.  But today I realized all the craziness of his business is finally having a positive side to it.

Today my husband did something he has been saying he would do for quite some time; hire somebody else to do the work;  and not just do the work but lead the project.  He came home and asked if we could manage having someone else take care of renovating one of the properties we just purchased because he really want to enjoy the summer and not give up all his time to the business.  I thought, Hallelujah!  Finally, finally he is really going to change how he use his time and take more time for himself and us. 

Because of this I am honoring my husband today and for the rest of the year when possible with the gift of time by making it possible to hire someone to take care of this new property.  What is interesting about this is that was the plan from the beginning.  I am honoring him with the gift of time while at the same time providing employment for some one else.  I just love it when things work out as a win/win across the board.  Everybody wins in this scenario.

Wives of the world in what ways can you honor your husband with the gift of time?  Is there something you can do to afford your hard working husband time to enjoy life just a little bit more?  If he's able to enjoy life just a little more, so will you because he will be spending some of that time with you.  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"We don't have eternity to realize our dreams, we only have the time we are here."

Day 72 Honoring My Husband With Simplicity

The past few months have been quite the culinary challenge for me as I mentioned in an earlier blog.  I am not the greatest cook but it seems of late I have been more challenged than usual.  I just cannot seem to get it together in the kitchen of late.  I am not sure if it is because I have been pretty busy with school, my business and church activities, but whatever it is I am praying it will pass sooner rather than later. 

Because of this challenging time, today I am honoring my husband with simplicity.  He typically prefers simple meals.  I am the one who likes to always dress things up and go all out with my cooking and presentation.  Today and probably for the next week or so I am honoring my husband with simplicity in the kitchen.  The timing could not be any better, the warm weather allows for ease of cooking on the grill, which always tastes good.  Today was a simple chicken salad and soup, tomorrow will bring something just as quick, easy and in the grand scheme of things simple yet tasty.  I'm not sure what is going on or maybe God is trying to send me a message, whatever it is, I hope I get it sooner rather than later. 

I thought by being more intentionally focused on healthy meals it would bring some ease to the situation, but I think it may have escalated it instead of bringing it to a simmer.  I am still committed to ensuring I am intentional about our meals to honor God and our bodies by what goes in them, and I do want it to taste good.  I also want to please my husband, so this has been quite the downer for me and I'm seeking all the help and advice I can get; including calling on the name of Jesus.

Wives of the world, how do you handle it when your culinary skills are not what they used to be?  What are some of the easy meals you prepare that are easy, simple yet tasty?  I have a baker's rack filled with cookbooks; time to search through the one that says Quick Healthy and Delicious Cooking.   Maybe that's what I'm missing; someone else's creative thinking in the kitchen.  Please share your stories with us; this wife can use some help.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."  Leonardo DaVinci

Day 71 Honoring My Husband With Humor

Today I am honoring my husband with humor.  My husband is the ultimate comedian; sometimes I think he missed his true calling.  Whenever I am feeling down I can always count on him to lift my spirits.  So today I am honoring my husband with humor just because I like to laugh and I know he loves a good laugh as well.

He made several comments today about my attire today and then proceeded to admire someone on TV.  I could not help but make a joke about it as I know his comments to me where his way of providing a compliment without saying so.  I just love it when we can laugh at each other and even more so when we can laugh at ourselves.

Wives of the world, in what way can you or do you honor your husband with humor?  Life is truly too short to take everything seriously.  It takes more than twice as many muscles to  frown than it does to smile, so today chose not to exercise your frown muscles and enjoy using your smile muscles.  The more you smile the more you want to smile.  It is the one thing that can change your mood instantaneously if you allow it to.  Honor your husband today with humor and please share your stories with us; we would love to learn from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

 "A sense of humor is a major defense against minor troubles." Mignon McLaughlin

Day 70 Honoring My Husband With Empathy

Today I am honoring my husband with empathy.  Just about every day of the week he gets up and leaves the house pretty early in the morning and gets home close to sun down each evening.  My husband prefers to spend time at home alone in front of the TV; however his work requires him to be in the public all day.  If any of  you work in the public you know how people can be.  He has some good tenants but he also has some challenges tenants as well as the issues he has to deal with on a regular basis with Baltimore City, vendors, his workers and all other types of people he has to deal with. Sometimes they just wear him down.

Today I am honoring my husband with empathy.  Mainly because my heart goes out to him because of all the crap he has to deal with on a daily basis.  He sometimes says to me I have no idea what he has to face each day and actually he is correct, I do not and cannot imagine the challenges he face as a 6'7" African American man with dreads in his hair.  I know that sometimes at the gate he is judged by his appearance rather than his character or what's in his heart.  I empathize with him today in the hopes that it will lift the load just a little as he prepares to face the day tomorrow.

Wives of the world in what ways do you empathize with your husband's and the things they have to face each day?  In today's economic times it wears very heavy on a man's heart to make sure he is taking care of his family and typically those on the outside really don't care.  They just want what they want and take, take; take from our spouses leaving very little energy for them to bring home.  Our presence can make all the difference in the world when they arrive home.  So today, honor your husband with some empathy.  Don't nag him about what he has not done around the house or the promise he may have broken about something that  needed to be repaired.  Charge it to his head and not his heart, for his heart is with you so be that source of comfort for him when he comes home from a rough day's work.  Please share your stories with us on how you can or do honor your husband with empathy. 

Blessings,

Rochelle

"The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy".Author unknown

Day 69 Honoring My Husband Through A Signal

It is amazing to me how easy it is to mistakenly impact your mate in a negative manner.  A couple of weeks ago Bryan and I agreed that we would give each other a signal to let the other know when we have crossed the line after an incident where I felt he had done so.  This line could be if he felt I was not honoring him in the manner I have committed and for me if I felt he was negatively impacting me.

Today I am honoring my husband through a signal because Bryan had to give me the signal to let me know I was crossing the line.  I was sharing a story about the early days of our marriage.  To me it was not a big deal, however to him it was sort of a big deal and he felt I was breaking our contract.  I am so grateful for our agreement to give each other a clue in the moment so we can change the course of our behavior immediately as to not have a negative impact on each other. 

What became very clear to me is that what may seem minor and minimal to me may be significant to him and vice versa.  The lesson in all of this is to get agreement to publicly share a story about your marriage beforehand or ask for permission in the moment.  The other lesson is the value of having at time of occurrence feedback.  I think if we had not made the agreement to give each other a signal, our conversation later in the evening could have been very colorful.  When we commit our lives to someone it is our role to uplift them at all times and we may not always know when the other person feels we may not be doing  just that.  What's most important is that we are uplifting them in a manner that is most important to them and not to us.  I find it very interesting when I think something might be a sensitive manner and he feels it is no big deal. 
Wives of the world how do you or can you honor your husband through a signal?  How can you and your husband give each other a sign in public when either one of you unintentionally crosses the line?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to learn from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"A signal is comprehended if it serves to make us notice the object or situation it bespeaks." Susanne Langer

Day 68 Honoring My Husband With Reassurance

Things do not always go as planned.  When we schedule time to do something it always takes longer than anticipated.  When we believe the Lord is guiding us to go in one direction for a particular reason we later realize that we were way off track and he had another plan.

Bryan and I recently purchased some property.  The deals were so good we thought it best not to turn away.  However the time, cost and resources required to get it to a place to reap the benefits has gone okay but certainly not as planned. 

Today I am honoring my husband with reassurance.  Although things are taking longer than anticipated, I know the Lord we serve and I know he can do all things.  We have pretty much exhausted the allocated funds for the repairs yet we have people waiting in the wings to rent the properties.  Bryan and I are different in that he tends to worry more about how things are going to get done and I simply say a prayer turn it over to the Lord and wait for him to take action.  Today I am honoring my husband with reassurance that just like every other time we had to lean on the Lord for direction, this time will be no different.  And of course as the Lord would have it he provided the necessary wisdom to develop a strategy that will move things along.  I just so love the Lord.  He has not failed me yet and I know he never will.

Wives of the world, in what ways do you honor your husband with reassurance when he may be stressing about something? 

Blessings,

Rochelle

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

        

Day 67 Honoring My Husband By Seeking Help

Hello wives of the world, today I am honoring my husband by seeking help from those of you who have a few more years in than my husband and I do or from those of you that are full of wisdom.  My husband has his own business and I left my full time work to pursue my business about a year ago.  My husband and I seem to have this continuing source of contention in our marriage as it relates to the concept of help.

He would like me to help with his business, however whenever I ask him what does that look like he gives me an assignment or says something like I don't know maybe you can do this or do that.  My dilemma is, I would like to help, yet I feel like my hands are tied because I do not know the ins and out of his business.  At the same time, I am building my business, have clients to serve, I am in school and have the responsibility of taking care of the home.  I believe the source of contention is that our definition or understanding of the concept of help is different.

Wives of the world, my request for help is, I would really like to know from you all in what ways do you provide help to your husband's in his work?  In what ways do you demonstrate support either emotionally, physically or otherwise while maintaining the things you need to manage like your work, the home, school if it applies and taking care of the family for those of you with children?  Please share your stories; I can really use some insight in this arena. 

Blessings,

Rochelle

The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”        Genesis 2:18

Day 66 Honoring My Husband With A Request

I had a very interesting conversation on yesterday with a few women at my workout facility.  The conversation was about our husband's and specifically meeting their needs in the bedroom.  One of the woman shared how her husband recently started keeping track of their sessions (the name I adopted from a friend) on a calendar in their bedroom to keep track of how they are doing in that department. 

I found that quite interesting and thought well that could be a cool way to monitor the sexometer (this is my new term).  I also shared a challenge a Pastor made to the married couples in his congregation.  He challenged them to be in session for seven days in a row, not consistently but at least once a day for 7 days.  I also found this idea intriguing but exhausting at the same time.  His premise was that at the end of the 7 days your marriage would be forever changed. 

Today I am honoring my husband with a request for session.  Mainly because I want to but also because I know it will make both him and me happy and it is something I think I need to do more often.  I don't know that I will ever get back to the frequency of our early marital days but I do think I can start one request at a time.  The Lord speaks to us wives about session in 1st Corinthians; it states "The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife. Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer."

Wives of the world, in what way do you honor your husband with a request, specifically a request to be in session?  In what creative ways do you let him know it is your desire to fulfill the Lords words in 1st Corinthians?  Do you or your husband keep a calendar of your sessions?  How do you feel about the challenge to be in session for 7 consecutive days?  Please, please, please share your stories with us in regards to this topic.  After being married a few years I believe most of us are seeking creative ways to make our request known.  So if you have any great secrets that work, please share.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband." 1st Corin. 7:4

Day 65 Honoring My Husband With God's Word

The Lord blessed us with a beautiful day today.  I believe he was giving us a glimpse of what's to come this summer. As I drove through the lovely countryside we live in I noticed how the trees are beginning to bloom.  There were nice buds all over the place and along with the buds were the branches that have been naturally pruned over the winter season.  I realized it is a season of transition.

As I admired God's wonderful work I could not help but think that this is the same process the Lord is taking me through on this journey with the blog.  He is pruning me and I am definitely in transition.  I know I will eventually fully bloom into the woman he would have me to be.  That being said today I am honoring my husband through God's word. 

In John 15 Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."  I love this scripture because each time I feel like the Lord is teaching me a lesson about what he wants me to change, this scripture reminds about the why, so that I will be more fruitful.  It goes on to say, "If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."

Today I am honoring my husband with God's word by holding true to the lessons the Lord is teaching me through this process.  As I drove through the countryside and had the realization about being in transition, my pruning process and the blog, I got really excited about the possibility of what I will look like in full bloom.  This scripture reminds me that just as long as I stay steadfast in God's word and stick to my assignment I will be fruitful.  I just love the thought of it.

Today I am honoring my husband with God's word because I truly want to become the woman God wants me to be.  If I am the woman God wants me to be, how can I not be the woman my husband needs me to be.  I am honoring him with God's word because as I go through the pruning process I know the Lord is going to teach me about all sorts of things including more insight about what it means to truly submit according to his word.  Today is day 65 and my prayer is that I never lose sight of my assignment and that I am able to remember each and every lesson the Lord is teaching me.

Wives of the world, in what ways can you honor your husband with God's word?  How do you hold yourself accountable to the direction the Lord is giving in terms of your husband and marriage?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." John 15: 10-11

Day 64 Honoring My Husband Through Submission

Hello wives of the world.  I think I have been avoiding this one since day one of starting the blog.  I am not really sure why, maybe because I am not totally sure about exactly what it means.  A colleague sent me a scripture referring to submission about day five and I said I would hold it until I heard from the Lord about it.  Well today I was in a meeting with one of my clients and the topic about submission came up and then on the way home I was listening to 95.1 Focus on the Family and yes they also brought up the topic of wives submitting to their husbands. 

It is not that I am against submitting to my husband, in fact I believe I do submit to him even when I do not agree, yet there is something about that word.  Today I am making the conscious choice to honor my husband through submission and although I am not totally clear on exactly all of what it means, I am committed to doing the research to find out.  In the meantime, I will leave you with the following scripture.

1st Peter 3
 ¹ Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, ² when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. ³ Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. ⁴ Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. ⁵ For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, ⁶ like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

Wives of the world, please weigh in on this one as I would really love to learn more about your perspective on honoring my husband through submission?  Today I am starting with honoring him through submission by doing something he asked me to do and putting off what I already had scheduled.  I figured that is a great start and I am truly curious about learning more about doing this God's way.  Please share your stories, insights and words of wisdom about this one.  I am sure we can all learn a thing or two about submitting to our husbands. 

Blessings,

Rochelle

Day 63 Honoring My Husband With Joyfulness

I absolutely love it when I have a productive day and today was one of those days.  I got an early start, met with two clients, completed a project I was working on and closed out the day with another project meeting.  I love it when things work out that way.  So today I am honoring my husband with joyfulness to spread and share some good cheer. 

Bryan and I had to meet up near the accountant's office to send off our taxes.  I could tell he was a bit down because of several mishaps earlier in the day when trying to get his truck registered.  I tell you it seems my husband just cannot get a break but I always remember, no matter what happens, it can always be worse so I continue to praise the Lord anyhow.  To help keep his spirits up I sent him a text thanking him.  No matter what he has going on he always seem to amaze me at how much of the little things he remembers. 

Today I am honoring him with joyfulness to bring a smile to his face.  Joyfulness because I know when I share how much I appreciate him, it's like sending a smile through the phone and joyfulness because I just simply wanted to lift his spirits.  Joyfulness because I know a smile can change one's entire attitude and bring strength and inner joy.

Wives of the world, in what ways can you honor your husband's with joyfulness?  How do you send him a smile via technology when being there is not an option?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to learn from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy." Job 8:21

Day 62 Honoring My Husband in Honor of his Birthday

Today is Bryan's birthday so I am honoring him in honor of him going over the hump to the other side of the 40's where you are closer to 50 than 40.  Love you much honey and may the Lord continue to bless you and us with many, many more years of celebrating your birthday!


Another free greeting by Smilebox 

It was a great day filled with Jesus joy, family fun, God's favor and great dessert.  Bryan loves the Cheesecake factory so we decided to celebrate his birthday at the one in the Baltimore Harbor with his family.  When we arrived we were told it was a 4 1/2 hour wait.  I am not kidding you, 4 1/2 hour wait to have dinner.  My niece was the one to inquire and this is what they told her.  They also said it made no sense to give her a sensor because the timeframe was too long.  I could not believe my ears and sat there with my mouth open as I tried to digest a restaurant communicating it will be a 4 1/2 hour wait to have dinner. 

I was so shocked that I had to hear it for myself. I also knew Bryan really wanted to have dinner there so I said a little prayer, "Lord please work this out!" and proceeded to the desk.  I met a lovely young lady and as I inquired about the 4 1/2 hour wait, she agreed and said "yes, I know it sounds crazy but we have a lot of large groups today and our best estimate is 4 1/2 hours."  As I stood there having a brief conversation about the dilemma for Bryan's birthday, a woman walked up with her sensor going off.  She thought that all three of the tables she was waiting on were ready.  When she was told only one of them was ready, she got frustrated and said well just cancel all three tables.  I simply said thank you Jesus. 

I asked the attendant if it would be possible for our party of 9 to have her table.  Of course I included a slight plea and added that it was Bryan's birthday and this was one of his favorite places to eat.  To make a long story short, we were given the table the woman had turned away.  All I could say was thank you Jesus, for I knew it was nobody but him that had imparted much favor for us to have dinner at our preferred location with only about a 10 minute wait.  I could not help but be grateful, praiseful and absolutely thankful for this blessing.  Needless to say, the family was stunned when I returned to tell them we had a table and asked, how did you do that.  We had a great time and made sure we thanked the manager that agreed to allow us to go ahead of the several other groups that had arrived before us and were still waiting in line. 

The lesson in all of this, never and I mean absolutely never, ever count things out when you call on the name of Jesus.  Last week in church during communion service we sang a song that has a chorus that says, Jesus, something happens when I call your name, Jesus.  Well today was yet another piece of evidence that something definitely happens when I call upon his name.  He moves mountains and makes what seem impossible, possible.

Wives of the world, in what ways do you honor your husband for his birthday?  How do you handle a situation that seems like a lost cause?  Do you get frustrated or do you call on the name of Jesus so he can make something happen?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count.  It's the life in your years, so make each one count." 

Day 61 Honoring My Husband With Company

Today was one of God's glorious days.  It was a cold, rainy day yet I could not help but notice how God takes the time to make sure we have life's most necessary ingredient, water.  My grandmother once told me that when it is raining the angels are having a joyous cry.  Well today was quite the joyous day for the angels.  How beautiful is that!

Bryan and I emerged today feeling better than we have in a week.  He had a few things on his plate to take care of around and about the city and I had school work to attend to, so when he asked me to accompany him on running his errands I thought that should be pretty cool. Tomorrow is his birthday and I hoped we would be able to spend some of the day beginning the celebration, however after running the errands we were both pretty wiped out and thought it best to head back home and take advantage of the rainy day by spending the rest of it in bed to continue our healing.

Today I honored my husband with company.  He was able to get his work done and I was able to get my reading done along the way.  He was happy not to be riding all over town alone in the rain and I was happy to be of good company to him and him for me.   Along the way, we had an interesting conversation about marriage and how it is all about change.  Bryan said to me that if he wakes up in the morning and I am still there it's another good day and he looks forward to the next one.  I could not help but laugh at his simple yet heartfelt way of taking things one day at a time.  We had several good laughs throughout the day and felt blessed to have the opportunity to just be. I don't often tell him how much I enjoy his humor but I do.  I love it when he makes me laugh.  Once again the Lord gave us just what was needed a little time to enjoy each other's company.

Wives of the world, in what ways do you honor your husband by being company for him?  In what ways do you honor him with company?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"The best company to have is the kind that makes you laugh." R.A. Simmons

Day 60 Honoring My Husband Through Rejoicing

Yeh! The taxes are done, we are both feeling better, not totally back to normal but certainly not in bed with fever and body aches; so today I am honoring my husband through rejoicing.  Rejoicing because, in the midst of our sickness we buckled down and got things done.  I am also honoring my husband through rejoicing because today is day 60.  Sixty days of honoring my husband, which also means 60 days of honoring God, by adhering to the assignment.

I mentioned on day 1 that it takes 50 days to develop a habit. You may be asking, is this now a habit for me?  Well the answer is I'm not sure.  I do know that it is definitely in the forefront of my mind on a daily basis and I am very conscious about it.  If I have thoughts that may not be what I believe the Lord would say are honorable of my husband, I quickly ask for forgiveness and change my thinking.  I believe I have developed the habit of consciousness about honoring my husband.  I would like to get to a place of being unconsciously competent where I do not have to think about it, it is just second nature.  I guess that's why the Lord gave me the assignment for 365 days and not 60, because I still have a ways to go.

In the meantime, I will continue to rejoice the 60 days of honoring my husband thus far by continuing to be conscious about my actions, thoughts and deeds as it refers to him and our marriage.

Wives of the world, in what ways do or can you honor your husband through rejoicing?  How do you rejoice in joint accomplishments?  How do you rejoice abaout your marriage?  In what ways can you honor your husband through rejoicing today?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear and learn from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the LORD your God has blessed you. Deut. 12:7

Day 59 - Honoring My Husband With Attentiveness

Today I am honoring my husband with attentiveness.  We are both sick and unfortunately for Bryan I passed it along to him.  I was pretty sick last weekend and spent two days in bed and he has been in bed much earlier than normal the past few days.  So today I honored my husband with attentiveness so we both can get better.  This meant a trip to the supermarket to stock up on medicinal items, liquid nourishment, some good comfort and healing soup and topped off with just some plain wifely love.

My hope is that by tomorrow we are both feeling much better.  As my heart aches for him because since I am coming out of it, I know how bad he feels and I feel even worse knowing I passed it along.  This is different for us because normally he does not catch my cold.  I believe this is God's way of telling us both to slow the heck down and truly smell the roses.  Sometimes the Lord just makes sure you spend quality time with him and each other.

I am off to continue my attentiveness so that tomorrow we emerge two healthy, happy beings because we have both been quite the mess.  You can imagine the amount of tissue and OJ we have gone through.

Wives of the world, in what ways do you honor your husband with attentiveness?  How do you help him get back to a healthy state when his body is aching and flu has taken over his mind and body?  How can you honor him with attentiveness today, even if he is not sick, but just because?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to learn from you. 

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Attentiveness is the quality of holding all our senses and faculties to the present moment, that is, being "all there"." Author unknown

Day 58 Honoring My Husband With Assistance

Today I am honoring my husband with assistance.  You all may not believe this but we are still diligently working to get these taxes done and submitted to the accountant by Friday so they can be filed on Monday.  We are deep in details and overloaded, not my favorite place to be.  I also need to make sure all my information is in order for my business.  We now have three LLC's and our own personal taxes to complete.  I am so glad I am not the accountant.  It requires a lot of due diligence on our part; we have to make sure all Bryan's information is captured properly from the $12.00 restaurant phone bill to the $5,000 docking fee and well over $20,000 in expenses from Home Depot for all the properties.  It is quite the feat.

Today I am honoring my husband with assistance to ensure we make it happen and all things are in order so we get the proper amount of write offs.  I am honoring him with assistance on three fronts.  He is still not feeling well but fortunately he is back to his normal self today.  I am honoring him with assistance administratively, medically and with his work.  Thank you Lord for giving me the capacity and capability to assist as needed. 

Wives of the world in what ways do you honor your husband's with assistance?  How do you help lighten the load for him with task that may be overwhelmingly tedious?  In what ways can you honor him with assistance today?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to learn from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"There is no more noble occupation in the world than to assist another human being." Alan Loy McGinnis

Day 57 Honoring My Husband Through

Today I am honoring my husband through. Don't worry I did not leave off a word. Today was one of those days and as I prayed and asked the Lord to carry me through and asked for guidance in honoring my husband today, he simply replied, honor him through so that is exactly what I am doing. I have had a cold that past few days and Bryan has now caught my cold. Yesterday he got some bad news and today he woke up on the wrong side of the bed on top of not feeling well. Not a very good combination for anyone. Unfortunately for me I got to hear the brunt of his wrath and as I listened and prayed for wisdom, words and giudance from the Lord he simply said to love him through it.  Than he reminded me of the words of Jesus, Lord forgive them for they know not what they do.

So today, I am honoring my husband by loving him through.  I am loving him through his temporary loss of sanity because I know it was his head and not his heart.  I am loving him through by just allowing him to be as he needs to be to battle his illness and the tribulations of running a business.  As I know he was not feeling well and at the same time feeling overwhelmed at the tasks he had before him. I believe the Lord is growing my spirit in unconditional love and I welcome the sprout I received today.

Wives of the world, in what ways do you honor your husband through? How do you demonstrate unconditional love when it is tough for you to do so? Please share your stories with us; we would love to learn from you?

Blessings,

Rochelle

The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love.... Numbers 14:18

Day 56 Honoring My Husband With Inspiration

Today I am honoring my husband with inspiration.  My husband is very talented.  He was one of the top basketball players in Baltimore in the 80's with the likes of Mugsy Bogue's, Reggie Williams, Reggie Lewis, and Duane Ferrell.  He also played against some of the greatest like Charles Barkley, Rick Smits, Johnny Newman and David Robinson.  He was not only talented on the court; he was just as talented in music, his first love.  He actually wanted piano lessons when he was young but his Mom bought him a drum set instead.  So what did he do, he turned lemons into lemonade and became a great drummer. 

He was one of the youngest drummers playing in the Baltimore circuit in the late 70's.  He went on to play in the college band and began his own band that played around town in the Pittsburgh circuit; however sports took over as priority and music became the sleeper inside.  Over the past few years he has mentioned on and off about playing in a band again.  I can see the excitement in his eyes every time he sees a set of drums, a bass or watches someone play the piano.  Although he never had lessons, he learned to play the piano by ear.

Today I am honoring my husband with inspiration.  Inspiration about him pursuing his first love and beginning a band to once again hit the Baltimore circuit.  I believe everyone should tap into that inner love that brings a spark to their spirit and since I know that is what playing music does for him, I am honoring him by inspiring him to pursue this passion.  I will be the first in line to hear him play.

Wives of the world, in what ways do you honor your husband with inspiration?  How do you or can you encourage him to follow his inner passion and pursue a love he's allowed to fall asleep?  How can you honor your husband with inspiration today?  Please share our stories with us; we would love to learn from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Make a difference in the world today, inspire someone to realize their dream." R.A. Simmons

Day 55 Honoring My Husband With Collaboration

Today I am honoring my husband with collaboration.  We are narrowing down to the wire as far as tax time and like many of you there is this mad rush to get everything necessary in order.  Well believe it or not we are still processing information to prepare our paperwork for tax preparation.  Today I am honoring my husband with collaboration as we determine how to divide and conquer the remaining issues for this process.

I am more of a detailed person than Bryan; however he knows the intricacies of his businesses.  He goes and identifies what needs to go where and I do the spreadsheets.  It works.  I just wish it was as easy as I make it sound to get to this conclusion.  It was quite the colorful conversation to get settled on my most appropriate assignments.  Nonetheless it is work that needs to be done and within the next few days. 

Because of this, I am honoring my husband today with collaboration so that we can work collaboratively together to complete this arduous task.  I am honoring him with collaboration so we can get our taxes completed and turned in to the accountant with ample time for processing and submission to our great Uncle Sam. 

Wives of the world, in what ways do you collaborate with your husband when the assignment of task might not be as easy as you would both like?  In what ways can you honor him with collaboration in the things he likes and does not like to do?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to learn from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean." - Ryunosuke Satoro

Day 54 Honoring My Husband With Togetherness

Today I am honoring my husband with togetherness.  Togetherness because even when we are apart I can feel his presence as if we were together.  I took a trip today to visit family in the Poconos.  Bryan was not able to accompany me and I missed him dearly, even with the short time apart.  Prior to my leaving I came down with a cold and spent yesterday in bed so we were together but not really. So today I am honoring him with togetherness because I look forward to us having real time together throughout the day tomorrow.

Blessings,

Rochelle

And the two fo them went on together. Genesis 22:8

Day 53 Honoring My Husband With Advancement

Today I am honoring my husband with advancement. We had an event today that required my presence but did not require Bryan's.  As things continued to unfold a work associated tried to accuse Bryan of something I knew was not likely to be true.  We spent several hours trying to get to the bottom of the mix up and when the dust cleared we realized it was actually the same associate that was the actual culprit of the error that could have cost us several hundred dollars. 

Throughout the entire process I continued to pray and ask the Lord for wisdom, for I knew what was happening was an injustice and needed to be corrected.  The Lord spoke and directed me to ask the questions that led to the discovery of the truth.  Once we realized what happened, I begin to praise the Lord with thanks.  Today I am honoring my husband with advancement.  Advancement by lifting up his name when someone is trying to bring it shame.  Advancemnent by holding on to what I know to be the truth in regards to him.  Advancement because I know it is what the Lord would have us to do, lift our husbands name in elevation. 

Wives of the world, in what ways do you honor your husband with advancement?  How do you lift up his name in truth when someone is trying to bring it down in shame?  In what ways can you honor your husband with advancement today?  Please share your story with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

Day 52 Honoring My Husband With Focus

Today I am honoring my husband with focus.  I am usually a pretty good cook.  There are some things that I cook very well and others just okay, however of late I have been having this spell of my food being just okay.  I am not sure what the heck is going on but I know it's a big deal when I notice it.  It is one thing for someone else to think your food is not okay, it is an entirely different thing when you recognize it for yourself. 

So today I am honoring my husband with focus in the kitchen.  Focus because I figure there must be something keeping my normally great taste buds afar so I am committed to bringing my mind back into the kitchen at dinner time.  Focus because I too choose my very well foods over and above my just okay meals any day.

Wives of the world, in what ways do you honor your husband with focus?  In what area have you experienced a downward turn and you know it is not the norm for you?  In what ways can you honor your husband with focus today?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

oarholna

Day 51 Honoring My Husband With Visitation

I once had a colleague who used to always talk about visiting with his wife and daughter.  I used to think it was the oddest thing and wondered how that is different than simply spending time with your loved ones.  Today it actually dawned on me that when you go to visit someone you are in their domain.  Your time and attention is typically focused on them, the conversation and truly just being in that space of enjoying the time together.  The distractions of life are minimized or non-existent. 

Today I am honoring my husband with visitation. I am honoring my husband with visitation because I have been away from home all day and getting myself in the mental state that I am visiting puts another dyanmic on our time together.  Just being in the space for as little as 15 - 30 minutes can make all the difference in the world.

Wives of the world, in what ways can  you honor your husband through visitation?  In what ways can you visit with him like you visit with your best girlfriend, Mom or family friend?  How can you honor your husband with visitation today?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit." Job 10:12

Day 50 Honoring My Husband With Good Health



An Apple A Day Keeps the Doctor Away

 Today I am honoring my husband with good health.  I typically cook healthy foods for dinner but then I don't  always balance it with a healthy breakfast.  I love breakfast food, waffles, eggs, pancakes, sausage; all those things that are not so healthy.   Bryan is out and about all day and will normally grab lunch on the go which is also typically not so healthy.  Today I am honoring my husband with good health by making the commitment to cook healthy foods for all the meals.

The Lord reminded me that preparing meals for the family is a major responsibility.  To a degree we have the life of our family in our hands.  If the saying you are what you eat is true, then our families become what we feed them and if we fill their bodies with foods that are unhealthy or not full of healthy nutrients we are partly responsible if they develop illnesses due to unhealthy eating habits.  I want to make sure I do my part to keep my husband and me around.

I know when Bryan reads this he is probably going to say, "what the heck is she talking about", because I do tend to cook pretty healthy; but I also fill the cubbards with potatoe chips, cookies, ice cream and other unhealthy late night snacks.  Today I am making the commitment to change that pattern and to honor our marriage, each other and the Lord by honoring our temple.

Wives of the world, how do you honor your husband and family with good health?  What can you change about your cooking or shopping patterns to ensure you are helping your husband to honor his temple?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

  Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.  Luke 5:31  

Day 49 Honoring My Husband With Acknowledgement

Wow! What happened to yesterday?  I somehow got caught up in the work of the day and lost sight of time and everything else.  Well today, I am honoring God and my husband with the acknowledgement of my blunder.  It is late, I am tired and tomorrow the Lord will bless me with the reinstallation of my memory.  I know our blunders are often the Lord's blessings, so I'll just wait on him.

Wives of the world, how do you honor your husband when you just simply lose sight of time and the day passing you by? 

Blessings,

Rochelle

Day 48 - Honoring My Husband With A Word Of Thanks

Today I am honoring my husband with a word of thanks for a wonderful celebration of our love.  We went to the Berks Jazz Festival and I had a wonderful time.  I absolutely love, love, love jazz and Bryan just likes jazz; so I am so thankful that he took the time to offer me the opportunity to enjoy several of my favorite artists as well as some local talent in Reading, PA.

The Lord never ceases to amaze me at what he can do.  We had a little mix-up with our seating at one of the shows. We purchased VIP tickets but turns out the VIP section was not so VIP.   I was quite disappointed. We made note of our complaint and shared it was a special night for us.   Our choices were to really make a big deal about it, leave and give up our tickets altogether or bear the brunt of the horrendous seats we had.  We were told it was a sold out show.  To give you perspective, the normal seats at the event, were nicely cushioned seats, kind of like the movies.  Our so called VIP seats were metal folding chairs strategically placed along a wall. We decided to buckle down and bear the brunt of the seats we had, at least we had a clear view to the stage.  We knew the volunteer workers were only messengers and had nothing to do with the mix up. 

About 15 minutes into the show, one of the workers approached us to tell us they were moving us to different seats.  As God would  have it we moved to seats that were better positioned than the ones we thought we purchased.   They placed us dead center a few rows from the stage and we saw a great show.  God is so good. I am honoring my husband with thanks because he was the one to put a bug in their ear.  He asked the question, "If someone does not show up for their seats, could we move?"  They responded, we do not have the authority to tell you to do that.  Praise God, we know someone that has all authority and always has the last word.  We were so grateful for the favor of the Lord.

Wives of the world, how can you honor your husband with thanks for always thinking ahead?  In what ways has he tried to make lemonade out of lemons?  Please share your story with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. Chron. 29:13

Day 47 - Honoring My Husband With Thankfulness of Heart

Today I am honoring my husband with thankfulness of heart.  Today is the day that we celebrate 12 years of tying the knot and commiting before God and the world that we will be together and love each other forever.  I am honoring my husband with thankfulness because I am truly thankful that the Lord has blessed me with such a guy as him.  Sometimes he may drive me crazy but most times he makes me laugh and does whatever he can to increase my happiness.  Today I am honoring my husband with thankfulness of heart for 12 years of loving me.

                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Digital greeting card generated with Smilebox

Wive of the world, today may or may not be your anniversary, either way, how can you honor your husband with thankfulness of heart?  In what ways can you show him how thankful you are for all he does to keep your marriage alive?  How can you honor him with thankfulness today?

Blessings,

Rochelle

“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.  Have you used one to say ‘thank you?" William A. Ward

Click on comments below to share your story with us, we would love to hear from you.

Day 46 Honoring My Husband With Anticipation

Today I am honoring my husband with anticipation.  One more day, YEH!  Some of you may be wondering why I am so excited and over joyed to celebrate our anniversary.  Well allow me to share with you why I am honored to honor my husband with excitement, preparation, readiness and anticipation for our anniversary.  My husband is the kind of man that loves to surprise me and make me happy, especially on special occasions like anniversaries, birthdays, and Valentine's Day.  He puts quite a bit of thought into what he will do for me and for us.  Honoring him is my way of saying thank you, thank you for caring enough to spend time thinking about what I might like, thank you for spending time to pick out just the right thing or plan an event, or totally blow me away with something unexpected.

Today I am honoring my husband with anticipation, because although we have a trip planned, I know he has something wonderful in store.  He always does.  Over the years he has surprised me with a limo ride to and from my favorite restaurant over 70 miles away, had me pack my bags and take me on a surprise trip, taken me to see my favorite singer, someone he does not even like, surprised me with an incredible anniversary diamond ring, surprised me with a truck as a 2nd vehicle so I would not get stuck in the snow, and the list goes on and on and on.  So now you see, I would not be honoring God for giving me such a great guy, if I did not honor my husband with excitement, preparation, readiness and anticipation for the celebration of our love and years together. 

Wives of the world, in what ways do you honor your husband with anticipation?  You may say your husband has not done all or any of the things I shared or maybe he has done all those things and more. Either way I would bet you he has done his very best with what the Lord has provided to make you happy.  That being said, in what ways can you honor your husband with anticipation today?  Even if it is in anticipation of spending the day together on Saturday, let your husband know how much you are looking forward to being with him.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Demonstrating anticipation is appreciation and love in action." 

Rochelle Arnold-Simmons