sorry for my absence. i don't know who actually reads this, but i thought i would apologize anyway. :) i just returned from a two week trip to europe with my husband. it was pretty much perfect timing and just what we needed to get our marriage a little more on track. it was nice not to have any outside elements interfering with our marriage. for example, no work, no play practice, no angry customers, etc. the only thing that interfered with our time together was our own selfishness. selfishness is still a daily battle for me, and i have a feeling that it always will be! but, when those moments that my selfish heart comes out as ugly as ever, i have to make a choice. will i indulge myself or will i look to the One who has died for my selfishness? i don't have to do it on my own. what an amazing thought that i never grasped until i entered grad school. i wasted so much of my life doing it on my own. but, that's a topic for another day. :)
so, back to the love dare which is the best way to conquer my selfishness! when we first start dating, thoughtfulness comes sooooo naturally. girls, i don't know if you have ever said to your husbands, "remember the letters you used to write me? remember the gifts you used to give me?" those letters were SAPPY, right? :) then, you get married and things changed. thoughtfulness is easier for women, i think. it's more natural for us. my biggest problem isn't the ACT of being thoughtful. that comes quite naturally for me. my problem is being thoughtful, expecting nothing in return. which leads us back to being selfless. my problem is reading through this dare on being thoughtful and continually thinking, "ooh, i wish my husband would read this too." selfishness rears its ugly head again! sigh.
do something thoughtful for your loved one today. that may be easy. so do it, expecting no response. you may not get a "oh, honey thanks so much for all you do. thanks for thinking of me! i want to be thoughtful like you are." :) actually, i'm almost certain you won't get that utopian response. but, think - how do we respond to Christ? aren't there days we treat Him even worse than we get treated? yet. YET. He still unconditionally loves us. what a thoughtless God we serve, expecting nothing in return. thank you, Jesus!
Dare #4 "Contact your spouse sometime during the business of the day. Have no agenda other than asking how he or she is doing and if there is anything you could do for them."
