Day 145 Honoring My Husband by Being Resourceful

This weekend Bryan and I had plans to go to Ocean City, MD for the weekend.  We had both been looking forward to it and we had planned out our travel schedule and discussed some of the activities we were going to enjoy.  This morning I could hear the excitement in Bryan's voice as we discussed what to bring.  We were intended to bring along my niece and our exchange student from Spain. 

Unfortunately, Bryan received a phone call from the person who owns the house we were to be staying and apparently there was some sort of mix up with the dates on their in and the property was doubled booked so we lost out.  Talk about something that takes the wind out of your sails, we were all quite disappointed.  As soon as I got home I went into Plan B mode, searching for alternative accommodations or even possibly an alternative location. 

Today I am honoring my husband with resourcefulness by seeking to find a way to keep our plans alive with a few modifications.  I found a few possibilities for us to decide upon on tomorrow so I am sure we will be able to move forward with enjoying the water this weekend.  Bryan suggested I contact the owner of the house we were originally scheduled to stay and let her know of our disappointment in her mismanagement of the schedule however I believe all things happen for a reason and this just means the Lord has a blessing awaiting us at our final destination.

Wives of the world in what ways do you or can you honor your husband's by being resourceful?  How can you help keep his spirits high today by finding an alternative to something gone awry?  The greatest part about someone else causing your plans to change is the awareness that there are no coincidences. If something has fallen through it just means God has another door opened that has something more fitting for your needs, desires and wants than what you may have planned.  I cannot wait to see what God has in store.  Please share your stories with us; as we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Change brings opportunity." Nido Qubein

Day 144 Honoring My Husband With A Strategy

My work is all about helping organizations, specifically churches to develop strategies to be more effective.  It is truly my passion and my life's work.  In most cases I am very intentional about developing a strategic plan to accomplish what needs to happen.  Bryan and I recently had a conversation about acknowledgement and appreciation and how our love languages are different in this arena.

It caused me to ponder on how I can be more deliberate in meeting his Love Language in this regards.  Then it dawned on me, I need a strategy.  We tend to show love in the manner that we like to receive it.  Bryan and I have found this true of each other. However, often times our spouse needs something different than we do.  So today I am honoring my husband with a strategy by putting a plan in place to ensure I am showing my appreciation and acknowledgement in a way that meets his Love Language instead of mine.

Wives of the world in what ways can you honor your husband with a strategy?  Is there something that does not come naturally and a strategy would be extremely helpful in getting you to a place of habit?  It is amazing to me how something that seems so natural and appropriate to and for me is so wrong and unnatural for my husband. I guess this is why the Lord puts two opposites together so we can grow in areas beyond our comfort zone. Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Change is not a destination just as hope is not a strategy." Rudy Giuliani

Day 143 Honoring My Husband With Obedience

Praise be to God, I am back in business and able to fully share how I the Lord is leading me to honor my husband each and every day.  It has been an interested couple of days trying to post what I could from my blackberry, nonetheless I am glad to be back on the board.

Today I am honoring my husband with obedience.  I have been spending the last several weeks preparing for an upcoming session I have to facilitate at my church this coming weekend for our new ministry leaders.  One of the lessons is about limits and boundaries, something I have been quite challenged with regarding my work in ministry.  Today I am honoring my husband with obedience by taking a look at how I can better establish boundaries to ensure I am living a more balanced life.

My counterpart that is helping me with the program made an interesting observation.  He noted that we were both being chastised by our spouses for the time we are putting into the project and the impact it is having at home.  He noted how we are seemingly becoming casualties of the very lessons we are trying to teach our church leaders.  This was quite the eye opener for me.  So today I am honoring my husband by being obedient to his request and to the lessons from John Maxwell about being a good leader at home, work and in ministry.

Wives of the world in what ways are you or can you be more obedient to your husband's?  Are you challenged with staying balanced and keeping all the balls in the air while home is taking a back seat? What can you do today to be more obedient to your husband?  Please share your stories with us we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Obedience is greater than sacrifice."

Day 142 Honoring My Husband With Signage

Hello mcommitted raders, please forgive the technical difficulties. Please stay tuned and hopefully on tomorrow I will be able to post the full update. In the meantime continue to honor your husband's by being the change you want to see.
Rochelle

Day 141 Honoring My Husband

Day 140 Honoring My Husband With Independence

                 Happy Independence Day America! 

What a wonderful country we live in.  Some may say for those of us  that are African American we are celebrating independence of our country and independence for the freedom journey of our race.  With all the challenges, obstacles, legal barriers we have overcome, it is nice to see where the Lord has brought us as a race and as a country.  Today I am honoring my husband with a celebration of independence. 

We were watching a movie on yesterday and a couple was getting married.  One of the men yelled out to the groom to walk slowly because he was taking his last few steps of freedom as he and his bride were entering their new home.  I found his comment funny yet interesting.  I found his choice of words intriguing, your last steps of freedom.  I began to wonder if this is the reason why so many men and women are fearful of getting married because they see it as giving up their freedom as opposed to gaining a life partner. 

I never felt that getting married was giving up my freedom.  That sounds like marriage is more a destination of bondage Vs a place of comfort, peace, love and togetherness.  When Bryan and I first got married he used to go on trips with some of his friends and several of my friends could not understand why I was so okay with it.  I was okay with it because I trusted God, my husband and our union.  I was okay with it because I was and am free.  Our guidelines have been from the beginning to always demonstrate respect to each other and our marriage.  I did not need to ask or tell my husband what he should or should not be doing because I believed in my heart he would always do right by our commitment.  By treating each other as respectable adults we always felt a sense of freedom in our marriage which ultimately brought us closer together.

For me, freedom is what comes with being a child of God,.  Freedom is the benefit of Jesus joy.  When we love the Lord with all our heart, he frees us of bondage of ourselves and others.  I believe when we are free in our spirit our spirit allows others to be free as well.  Today I am honoring my husband with independence for the freedom we have allowed each other to enjoy in our marriage.  This does not mean we have not had our challenges however it does mean that we don't try to hold each other captive by placing boundaries that are really a reflection of a lack of trust, and when we do we can call each other on it until that person gets things settled in their heart, whatever that might look like.

Wives of the world in what ways do you or can you honor your husband with independence?  Does your husband feel that he can go and hang out with his friends one evening or is this something you have forbidden in your marriage?  Does your husband feel a sense of freedom or is your marriage a place of bondage?  If you do not know, check it out with your husband and be prepared to deal with his truth.  Please share your stories and any enlightenment with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"True independence and freedom can only exist in doing what's right."

Day 139 Honoring My Husband With Scripture



The word of God is our
confirmation of peace.

 Yesterday I was very tired so for the first time in years I was in bed by 9PM and at 5:00AM this morning my body said that's enough sleep, time to rise.  So I had a good early start this morning.  When I got up Bryan also woke up and decided to get some work done.  About an hour into the early morning he shared how frustrated and filled with anxiety he was because of an upcoming court case. 

One of his prior tenants has falsely accused him of removing her property.  Fortunately, he has the other tenants, neighbors and police documentation to the contrary.  Nonetheless he was anxious because you just never know how a judge is going to rule.  In church today my Pastor preached about anxiety.  Unfortunately Bryan decided to go to another church so I texted him to let him know that Bishop Thomas was preaching about him today.  He preached out of Phil. 4 which is all about the Lord telling us not to be anxious for anything.  Today I am honoring my husband with scripture because it is the one thing that helps bring things back into perspective.  When you know the Lord has got your back the only recourse is to lean on his word when anxiety rises.

My Pastor spoke about how whenever we have anxiety it is because that is an area we need to grow in our faith.  This really gave me reason to praise because I know the Lord is working to grow Bryan's faith and I know this will be a testimony about God's goodness in the end and how it helped Bryan go to the next layer in the mustard seed of faith.  As the word says, "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."  I just LOVE the confirmation the word of the Lord brings to light!

Wives of the world in what ways do your or can you honor your husband's with scripture?  How can you use scripture to help him get through a tough day or week?  Yesterday I spoke about standing in the gap, today I felt I was truly standing in the gap in terms of praying for my husband that the peace of the Lord would be upon him and that he would meditate upon God's promises of peace and victory in this situation.  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.  Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Phil. 4:4-9

Day 138 Honoring My Husband By Standing in the Gap

Today I had the opportunity to meet several of my husband's family members I had never met before.  The family hosted a last minute family gathering and it was a pretty nice turnout given the time frame.  Saturday is typically a work day for Bryan so he let me know about the cookout and asked if I could get there before him to bring what he committed to contributing.

Our exchange student Maria arrived today so I picked her up and headed to the cookout.  Fortunately the location was on the same driving route for me to go home from the Philadelphia Airport.  As I drove around looking for a place to purchase some drinks, I thought about the role of being a wife and honoring one's husband and it dawned on me that there are so many things a wife is called to do that is honoring of her husband.  Even if it is as simple as standing in the gap when your mate cannot be there.  The question becomes in what way do we hold this great honor.

Today I honored my husband by standing in the gap and being the face of our partnership until he was able to arrive.  As I introduced myself to several people and said hello to those familiar faces I was reminded of my post from Day 78, Honoring My Husband With Representation.  I realized that not only was I standing in the gap, but I was also a representation of him to his family.  As I reflected upon this revelation it dawned on me how pleased and honored I was to serve in this capacity.  From a Christian perspective when we speak about standing in the gap for someone we are serving in intercessory prayer warriors for them.  It also dawned upon me how grateful I am of who the Lord has made both of us to be.  Neither of us have a concern about the other standing in the gap nor representing the other.  Today I am honored to honor my husband by standing in the gap. 

Wives of the world in what ways can you or do you honor your husband's by standing in the gap?  Would he be concerned about the impact if he asked you to take his place at an event or gathering or would he be overjoyed and proud because he knows he can count on you to represent  your partnership according to God?  In what ways can you honor your husband by standing in the gap this month?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

“I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap.."

Ezekiel 22:30

Day 137 Honoring My Husband By Reading Between the Lines

When we listen for the words in
between the lines we hear the real
 heart of the story.

Today for some reason I felt like it was Saturday.  I overslept and missed a meeting, fortunately it was not critical but it is so unlike me.  As I prepared for the day my phone was ringing nonstop and for a minute I was so perplexed because I just could not understand why I was getting so many calls on a Saturday.  But then reality set in or I guess I truly woke up and realized today is Friday, and then it all came together.  Once that revelation set in I had to get busy with the order of the day, making the necessary calls, meetings, running errands etc.

While taking care of the business of the day Bryan calls me and begins to tell me why he is frustrated with me.  As I listened, initially I was a little confused and then it hit me.  The story being told is typically not the story that  needs to be told.  So today I am honoring  my husband by reading between the lines.  Since last week we have been going and going, I had a ton of school work, business work and home work with all the activities and he has been busy with getting things in order with his business.  Ironically yesterday I wrote about "just showing up" today I absolutely have to show up because I could hear the real message my husband was sharing when I listened for the 'gold", read between the lines and heard the heart of the message being delivered.  Today I am honoring my husband by reading between the lines and hearing what his heart is really saying.  He misses his wife and I need to show back up.

Wives of the world how can  you or do you honor your husband's by reading between the lines?  Are you able to hear your husband's heart when he speaks, even if it feels like he is coming down on you or do you ignore the message because of  the delivery?  I once heard a relationship specialist share that when a man shares something about what he does or does not like, listen, because those are his emotions.  He may never use the word feelings or emotions but if you listen to the message behind the words what you will find are emotions and feelings coming from his heart.  What message is your husband telling you about his heart when you read between the lines?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Reading is a means of thinking with another person's mind; it forces you to stretch your own." 

 Charles Scribner

Day 136 Honoring My Husband by Just Showing Up

Today I am honoring my husband by showing up.  I had a meeting in Baltimore City today and Bryan had another meeting on tomorrow morning.  Meanwhile I did an all nighter last night, I cannot believe I even have the capacity to do such a thing anymore but I did.  Normally I would drive to the city for my meeting drive all the way back home and then return the next day.  Today I am honoring my husband by just showing up and taking him up on the request to stay in Baltimore tonight instead of going back home.    

In the book I am reading, Improv Wisdom, one of the principles is “Just Show Up.”  The author, Patricia Ryan Madson shares that Woody Allen says showing up is 80% of the success.  She suggests creating a ritual of showing up by identifying a habit you wish you had.  My habit will be showing up in the bedroom.  I have been so busy that I typically go to bed later than Bryan so by the time I get to bed he is well asleep and makes me well aware of going to bed after him.  Now of course it is not about going to bed but being in bed that becomes the problem.  Today I am honoring my husband by making a habit of showing up in the bedroom before my husband goes to sleep and will continue to do so in a new way that matters.

Wives of the world in what way can you honor your husband by showing up?  Is there any area where you have been absence in your marriage?  Is there a habit or ritual of showing up you can begin that will be honoring of your husband, you and your marriage?  Please share your story with us; we would love to hear from your stories.

Blessings,

Rochelle

Day 135 Honoring My Husband by Just Being

All I could muster on yesterday was to simply honor my husband by just being.  I had a major assignment to complete and spent all day and night working on it.  Honoring my husband was in my heart but not in my reach beyond just thinking about him and the concept of honoring him.  So I simply honored him with my being, in my heart and in my thoughts.   The Law of Attraction says we attract to us what we think and believe so I know I am sending good messages to him through the universe from my spirit.

Wives of the world how do you honor your husband with your being and in your thoughts when time, opportunity and life gets in the way of honoring him with action.  Please share your stories; we would love to hear from you. 

Blessings,

Rochelle

Day 134 Honoring My Husband With Servanthood

Today was a long and tiring day.  Bryan and I saw each other this morning and again late this evening.  I am so tired after a long day of working, teaching and driving.  Today I honored my husband with servanthood in the midst of my exhausion I wanted to make sure he still felt like I cared.  Sometimes a sandwich is more than a sandwich.

Wives of the world how do you or can you honor your husbands with servanthood?  When looking up servanthood in the dictionary it states an employee or assistant especially in a household.  Well today I guess I fit that definition.  Ladies, please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

Day 133 Honoring My Husband Through Negotiations

Last year we had an exchange student stay with us for a month.  She was from Spain and was a blessing to our home.  She and I so connected that she is coming back for a month this year on her own.  She and I have been emailing each other counting down the days.  She calls me her Maryland Mom and she will be here on this upcoming Saturday.  I'm pretty excited to see her.

However Bryan on the other hand its just another thing to do.  I have decided to take her to Niagara Falls this summer with my sister and niece.  Bryan figured it would be more cost effective because we would not need two rooms for accommodations.  Since she will not be in school this year the challenge will be how to keep a 16 year old engaged for 30 days.  That being said, I am honoring my husband through negotiating.  Her name is Maria and she will be celebrating  her birthday during her stay.  Last year we took her on the boat for her birthday and she was so overwhelmed with joy.  This year I will be teaching class the evening of her birthday and I am negotiating with Bryan to take her out for her birthday.  I am also negotiating with  him for the weekend excursions.  Bryan would much rather stay home and hang out on the boat than take a trip with a 16 year old.

Today I am honoring my husband through negotiations by trying to work through how he can support me in keeping a 16 year old engaged for the month.  If you have any grand ideas, I would love to hear them.

Wives of the world in what ways do you honor your husband's through negotiations?  Do you try to negotiate things with him or do you just demand they are according to your path?  It is always easier to get more bees with honey.  Are you serving honey or sour milk in your requests?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"A smile is the secret to a successful negotiation."

Day 132 Honoring My Husband by Honoring His Family

Today we hosted the graduation party for my sister-in-law two sons.  They recently graduated from high school.  With all we had going on Bryan and I hosted the party with well over 150 people.  I had a paper to complete so I had to turn my house over to the family.  The kids really had a great time, there was music, activities and lots of teenagers.  Today I honored my husband by honoring his family and opening our home for them to celebrate the success of the graduates. 

Wives of the world how can you or do you  honor your husband by honoring his family? Please share your stories with us: we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."
-- Desmond Tutu

Day 131 Honoring My Husband With A Secret

http://www.husbandsgetlucky.com/
Purchase the ebook for $4.99

I came across an interesting book while perusing a blog I have been following.  On the blog was a give away for a new eBook called The Husband's Guide to Getting Lucky.  I thought what a cool title and I'm intrigued about what it may entail.  My interest was further peaked when I realized that the proceeds will go towards a mission trip to Cambodia. I was all in at that point.

Today I am honoring my husband with a secret.  The secret I hope he'll find hidden in this cute little booklet.
I have to admit there is a bit of selfishness in honoring him in this respect, for when he figures out the secret whatever it is I hope to also benefit.  What a wonderful win/win.  I love it when things work out that way.  At the end of the day if he does not get any great insight at least the person going to Cambodia will be just that much closer to getting there.

Wives of the world I hope you are encouraged to honor your husband's with a secret by passing along this booklet.  Just the idea of supporting someone to spread the gospel in another country is an awesome way to give back.  Please share your stories with us about honoring your husband with a secret; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"The secret to humor is surprise." Aristotle

Day 130 Honoring My Husband With A Sense of Urgency

Praise be to God for water!

Today we continued the saga of being waterless in our home.  Of course it could not happen at a worse time.  Both Bryan and I had previous engagements today and someone needed to be home to wait for the plumber to repair our well.  I was scheduled to teach a session at my church and Bryan had a court date scheduled.  I attempted to see if I could schedule the plumber in the afternoon once my class was done but Bryan was concerned we would miss our window of opportunity for the Friday work day and run into paying weekend rates.

At the end of the day I had to honor my husband's sense of urgency and be the one to stay home.  Praise be to God, the great news is we now have running water!  I really have such an appreciation for this luxury we have in America; as I know there are so many countries that do not have running water and cannot just call a plumber to get it working.  My heart goes out to anyone in such a predicament.  Today I honored my husband with a sense of urgency by re-prioritizing to ensure we would have water in our home and not have to worry about how we were going to take a shower and even more critical what to do about Sunday's party.  Praise God he never ceases to amaze.  He may not come when you want him but he is always right on time.

Wives of the world in what ways do you or can you honor your husband's with a sense of urgency?  What was your response when you had a commitment but the priorities of home and life had to take precedence?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value."

     

Day 129 Honoring My Husband for his Responsiveness

Today I am honoring my husband for his incredible ability to help me get grounded when I am feeling overwhelmed.  Today was one of those days, we have a problem with our well so we have been without water for two days, I just realized I have another paper due this weekend because I got the date wrong, I am facilitating a session at my church's women's conference on Friday and Saturday and we are hosting a graduation party for our nephews who invited over 250 people to our home, which is not ready for a party because we have no water to do regular housekeeping.  To say that I was a tad bit overwhelmed today is an understatement. I remember thinking and saying a little prayer Lord I really need your help.

I called Bryan just to share my feelings and he immediately went into fix it mode.  Typically I really do not want a fix I just want him to listen, but today I needed someone to help me work through how to conquer what I was facing.  I was pleased, comforted, relieved and so appreciative of his quick problem solving mode.  Within in five minutes he had delegated some of the work that needed to be done to get ready for the party and suggested some things to work through balancing my commitments.  I ended the call much better than I started and felt such a great sense of relief.  This is why today I am honoring my husband for his responsiveness to my needs.  He was so on it and it so worked. 

Wives of the world how can you or do you honor your husband for his responsiveness?  How do you let him know when his natural ability to solve problems has worked miracles for you?  So many times we just want  our men to listen, but there are times when their advice and support are invaluable.  How can you honor your husband today for his responsiveness?  Please share your stories with us we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Nothing penetrates the human heart as does a personal, fervant prayer and its heaven-sent response." Thomas S. Monson

Day 128 Honoring My Husband By Valuing Our Differences

Sometimes it takes the square and the
circle together to make the perfect shape.

On day 126 I mentioned how Bryan and I are very different in our approach to many things.  He is very black and white and I see gray.  I give everyone the benefit of the doubt and he trust just about no one, I see the glass half full, and he sees it half empty.  I make decisions from my heart and he is all business and bottom line.  These differences are typically handled very well because we tend to balance each other out however they can also be very challenging.

One of the ways we are very different is when it comes to money.  I tend to manage to the penny and he is very frugal (putting it nicely); if I lend someone money I feel blessed if I get it back and if he lends someone money he feels they are obligated to give it back.  If someone commits to paying me for something I tend to trusts that they will and he will too until the day they committed has past.  Financial differences and expectations can be a huge source of marital discourse and fortunately for us we have found a good middle ground, but not without our difficulties.  Today I found myself having to really value, understand and appreciate our differences when it comes to finances. 

I am in a situation where someone owes me money, I am being pretty patient about it and Bryan is quite frustrated.  I believe the situation will work out as needed and he believes the person is trying to take advantage of me, my time and skills.  I really had to sit with his perspective and recognize that because we come from such different places there truly is value in both our views.  The key for me is to find that good and healthy balance where I am not being too lenient and he is not being too hard or where I am standing my ground and he is allowing some latitude.  In the end, I know the Lord has placed us together so that we can support each other with the opposite perspective so that we are both making fully informed decisions. 

Today I am honoring my husband by valuing our differences when it comes to finance.  I am so appreciative of him giving me his perspective so I am not so lopsided when it comes to holding others accountable.  Our differences I believe is what keeps our scale balanced.

Wives of the world in what ways can you or do you honor your husband by valuing your differences when it comes to finances?  I have learned that in just about every situation there is his truth, her truth and the truth.  It does not make either right or wrong just a different way of viewing the situation.  When we can find that happy medium that takes into account both perspectives, that's when the bells ring together to make beautiful music.  What type of music are you making when it comes to your husband differences?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Our greatest strength as a human race is our ability to acknowledge our differences, our greatest weakness is our failur to embrace them." Judith Henderson

Day 127 Honoring My Husband Buck Naked

Buck Naked Marriage: by Dr Corey Allan.
http://www.simplemarriage.com/

Today I came across an interested tool to help marriages thrive.  It is called Buck Naked Marriage by Dr. Cory Allan.  At first glance I thought it was going to be about clearing the internal clutter to allow our authentic selves to emerge in our marriage.  However after reading the details I learned that it is more about focusing on the bare essentials of marriage like money, kids, and family.

I know these things are very important to work on and I love the concept of being buck naked in marriage.  I personally like the idea of stripping ourselves of the mask sometimes worn to protect the self image we may have created.  Today I am honoring my husband by being buck naked and ensuring that I am always showing my authentic self by owning my stuff, speaking from the heart, sharing what needs to be said in love and exposing what needs to be seen or shared for a greater us.

Wives of the world in what ways can you honor your husband's with either concept of being Buck Naked?  How can you ensure you are always showing your authentic self? What can you do to focus on the bare essentials in your marriage?  Whichever you choose be sure it is the nakedness most needed in your situation?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you. 

Blessings,

Rochelle

"A happy marriage is a long conversation that always seems too short."  ~Andre Mauroi

Day 126 Honoring My Husband's Skills

What the challenge today has been with technology.  My apologies to my daily readers about the delay in completing my post for yesterday.  I wish there was a back up to the back up, back up.  If that makes any sense.  Well enjoy my journey from yesterday and stay tuned later for today's journey.  Rochelle

Bryan and I have very different personality types.  He is very black and white and I see gray, he does not mix business and pleasure and I think there should be a balance of the two in any working relationship.  If someone owes him money, he typically is not concerned about their personal situation and I typically am.  We are just very different in our approach; however there is a great benefit to how we complement each other.

Bryan is the ultimate negotiator and I would say I am okay but it depends on the situation.  I have a tendency to allow my heart to get in the way of my decisions which can be very beneficial at times and damaging at others.  I recently had a situation where I needed the ultimate negotiation skills because my heart was very much engaged.  So I referred to Bryan and he was able to provide some coaching that enabled a win/win solution.  Today I honored my husband by referring to his intellectual skills and our differences.  It was quite helpful and I felt honored that he has such an ability to see black and white because although I do not prefer that approach there are times when it truly is needed.

Wives of the world in what ways do you or can you honor your husband's skills?  Does he know what aspects of his personality that is different than yours are of true value to you and your family?  How can you honor his differences and skills today?  Please share your stories with us; we would love to hear from you.

Blessings,

Rochelle

"Differences are what make the world a greater and more interesting place to explore."