Day 10

Only the 5th day of October and I’ve already missed 1 day…Go figure, I never claimed to be a great blogger, and I think I’ve even stated a few million times how horrible my memory is…Oh well, we press on…

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Behold you are handsome, my beloved! Yes, pleasant! (Song of Solomon 1:16a)

We all crave appreciation. We want to know that we are valued and loved. Early love letters probably reflected our admiration, but if we're not careful, our spouse will forget why we were drawn to him. If you still have any of your old love letters, re-read them for
clues to deepen your current level of appreciation for your spouse.

When we spend time criticizing our husbands, we lose time that could be spent admiring them. As you consider various ways to encourage your husband, ask, "How can I admire him?"

Does your husband know that you think he is attractive? What was one of the characteristics in your husband that first drew you to him? Was it a physical
characteristic, or something else?

Was it his gentle, compassionate eyes? Kindness or concern for others? An easy-going confidence? A steadiness that comes from trusting in the Lord? Strength of character in a culture that lacks integrity? Do you see at least a glimpse of that characteristic in him today? Whatever it is, tell him!

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My husband is pretty much the same man I met and married, just a tad bit more mature, only a tad ;)

I can’t pinpoint what exactly it was that made me fall in love with him. But he was just so sweet, and understanding, and not judgmental about my past. He accepted me for who I am, imperfections and ALL!

And he’s still so sweet and understanding, and still doesn’t judge me for my past.

And in turn, I do the same.

Day 9

Be swift to hear, slow to speak. (James 1:19b)

We are often so busy speaking that we don't take time to listen. We are so quick to offer a comment—negative or positive—that we don't really "hear" our husband's heart. Remember: we have two ears and only one mouth. We need to listen more!

As you continue in your 30-day challenge, not speaking negatively and focusing on positive encouragement, hear the Lord's admonition today: "Be swift to hear."

If listening is a real problem for you, play a game with yourself. See if you can listen to your husband for one whole day, only speaking when asked a question. If your husband notices the difference, explain that you are learning to listen more—not only to God, but also to him.

One easy way to express admiration for your husband is to ask a question about something he enjoys, and then listen to his response. If it's an area of personal familiarity, keep asking questions until you learn something you didn't know, then tell him, "Wow, I didn't know that!"

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This is something that is kind of hard to do now, since we hardly ever talk face to face (or skype) and we usually just email back and forth. I know I should listen more when we do speak in person, and I’d like to think that I do listen a good amount of the time.

When we do email, I ask questions of things he’s said. And most of the time, my responses are just “I love you” and “I miss you” because I really do love and miss him so much. But we get a lot solved in our emails from time to time too. And it’s kind of nice to have things written down, so I can go back and look at them later, because he’ll tell me he wants something, and then I forget, but since we wrote it down in an email, all I have to do is just scroll through and find it. Because we all know how horrible MY memory is.

I do think I’ve done really well with not speaking negative towards my husband, there might have been a few times when telling a story I’ve said something, but most of the stuff I say is positive, because I’m just SO blessed with such an amazing man! It’s truly hard for me to believe that someone like him loves me, little ole imperfect me.

Day 8

But who can find a faithful man? (Prov. 20:6b)

Faithfulness is a wonderful but rare quality today, especially in regard to marriage. Do you understand how important this quality is? Your challenge is to continue to root out all negative speaking, and plant seeds of encouragement instead. You may be amazed
at what will grow.

Contemporary culture often entices men to be unfaithful to their wedding vows and spiritual
commitments. Appreciate your husband's faithfulness—how he is loyal to you. Let him know that you are glad he has "stick-to-it-iveness" in your marriage. Appreciate
his faithfulness to God. (If you have an unfaithful husband, this is a difficult area for you. Pray, speak the truth in love, remain faithful yourself, and discover ways to encourage faithfulness in your mate. The Bible says that husbands may "be won by the conduct of their
wives" [1 Pet. 3:1]. You may also want to seek counsel from a mature, godly individual or
couple.)

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I am SO blessed to have a faithful husband. I’ve been in several relationships where the man was unfaithful, and that is just such a toxic relationship and a toxic way of life. I am just so glad to be out of those relationships and married to a man who is 100% faithful to me.

Thank you hubby for being faithful to me! I love you!

Day 7

I was going to start over the 30 Day Husband Challenge, but I’m just going to start where I left off. It’d probably end up being REALLY repetitive, so I’ll just go from Day 7 to the end!

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Day Seven
Do not overwork to be rich; because of your own understanding, cease! . . . for riches certainly
make themselves wings. (Prov. 23:4-5b)

That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth, that I may fill their treasuries. (Prov. 8:21)

Money is the root of much marital discord. Ask yourself, "Am I being negative toward my husband in the area of finances?" Determine not to speak evil of your husband in this area. Discover ways to encourage and help him instead.

Does your husband handle finances wisely? Does he make good financial investments, based on biblical principles? Does he have a budget? Does he make wise decisions about purchases—checking many sources before he buys? Is he a good steward of his money before the Lord? Let him know how much you appreciate his strengths in financial matters.

If he is weak in this area, encourage any good decisions that he does make. Perhaps you can help him, if he's open to the idea, by organizing financial files or providing other practical assistance. Or, if he wants you to handle the finances, ask for his input before
you make decisions that will affect him.

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This is one area where we struggle, but since he’s been deployed, we’ve gotten caught up on bills, and haven’t been late or skipped payments on ANY of our bills. We are slowly seeing the light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to some of our debts.

We have a budget, but we’re both really bad at sticking to it, which is something I’m working on, and I’d hope he is working on.

He is VERY good at researching things at different stores and sites before buying something though. Where I am just a go buy something I want/need and not care what brand it is or what reviews it’s gotten.

Since he left I have been in charge of the finances, and we’ve done a really good job about talking to each other about big purchases. If there is something big he wants, he asks me if we can afford it, and if I say we need to wait to buy it he will, and I put the money aside, so he can get what he wants.