Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Wednesdays



It's Wednesday again. Wednesday's are probably my 2nd favorite day of the week. (Sunday's are top favorite because I love going to church and spending the rest of the day with Doug. It's the only day he takes off work.)

Wednesdays are "date night" days. Long, long ago, Doug and I set aside Wednesday evenings to spend together. It was one of the ways we put each other first, over the kids - and anything else. It was a simple way we could make sure we were staying on track, working on our relationship - weekly, making sure things were good between us. It was a simple and fun way to let our kids know that mama and daddy valued time with each other and that they weren't the center of our world. They knew they could only interrupt date night if someone was bleeding. A lot.

We seldom have gone anywhere for date night. We just dress up for each other a little more than usual and spend the evening together, reading a book together, watching a movie or just talking. Our kids are grown, married and have their own kids now... but we still have date night. Somewhere along the line, it became tradition and it's one we love.

This morning my wonderful husband sat down next to me as soon as I got my eyes open, grinned and asked "Is it date night, yet?"

I feel so blessed that after 30 years of marriage, my husband is still excited about dating me. And I know it's because we've worked to keep God first, marriage second, children third and everything else behind that. That's an easy thing to say, but doing it in practical ways makes the difference.

Monday, February 23, 2009




I watched a clip on marriage the other day and the man was speaking about "Our reactions are our responsibility." His words apply to life, not just marriage. No one can 'make' us be angry, or mean, or bitter or snotty. If someone does something that hurts or we don't like, what comes out of us is what was in us in the first place. His illustration was that if we step on a rose, it releases a beautiful fragrance. If we step on a skunk, it stinks... badly. It wasn't the 'stepping on' that caused the scents. The 'stepping on' only released the properties that were already there.

I get to chose whether I'll be a rose or a skunk. Although I'd prefer to just never be stepped on.