Love in action

Wonderful little reminder!  Whether you're married or not, this applies in any relationship.

"Charity...seeketh not her own..."

~Breanna 

There’s a story I heard about a counselor talking to a woman who was determined to get a divorce. He advised her that before she do so, she take 30 days and treat her husband as wonderfully as she could. Say nice things to him. Be affectionate. Shower him with blessings. And then, at the end of the 30 days, she could tell him she was leaving him.

That sounded like a great idea, she thought. It would be so perfect–like a whammy he’d never expect. She’d lull him into believing everything was alright, and then she’d leave. It would be so devastating, like an extra punishment.

So she did it. She was sweet. She was affectionate. She brought him coffee.

And when 30 days was up, she went to see the counselor. He asked if she was ready to tell him, and she said, “No way! A funny thing happened this month. I think I fell in love with him again!”

As she was nice to him, he was nice to her. And they found a new balance in their marriage that was actually quite fun. But it happened because she started ACTING love out, not because she started FEELING.

Our feelings normally follow our actions, not the other way around. Try acting out love, and you may find that your heart softens.
~Sheila Gregoire

Embrace Your Marriage: A Virtual Marriage Retreat...enjoy for free from your home!

I am so excited about this series!  6 bloggers, including one of my all time favorites Lisa Jacobson, joined together to do a Marriage Retreat to encourage women in their marriages every Monday of each of the 5 weeks in the month of September.  Total there will be 30 posts this month on marriage on these 6 ladies blogs. 

Every Monday in September, each of the following blogs will be offering a word of wisdom and inspiration to encourage you in your marriage.

• Darlene Schacht of Time-WarpWife
• Courtney Joseph of WomenLivingWell
• Ashleigh Slater of AshleighSlater
• Jennifer Smith of UnveiledWife
• Sheila Gregoire of ToLoveHonorandVacuum
• Lisa Jacobson of Club31Women

And here’s what you have to look forward to!

• September 1 – Embracing Grace 
• September 8th – Embracing Change  
• September 15th – Embracing Your Differences  
• September 22nd – Embracing Unity 
• September 29th – Embracing Friendship  

To read week one posts, click on the links to the 6 bloggers websites.  :-)

Sorry that I'm getting this out late...I just read the post this morning and then read all of week one's posts.  I hope you'll be blessed and encouraged!   And for the young single gals like me...we can consider it part of our learning and preparation for our, Lord willing, future marriages.  :-)  And actually, when you look at what the heart of what these ladies are saying, the focus is really to become more Christ-like, and one of the big ways that the Lord sanctifies us is through relationships, whether it be a spouse, siblings, or even a friend.  When developing more Christ-like character is the focus, there's something for all of us to learn from it!  So I hope you find that true of these posts.  :-)  A word of caution for the singles...Shelia Gregoire of ToLoveHonorandVacuum tends to be very frank and open and not as discreet in what she shares, so you may want to be careful there.   Happy reading!

~Breanna