Recipe for a Marriage (Day 34)

February 3, 2014

     Oh it was another rough day...at home.  Alarm goes off, snow hits ground, school's called off, husbands off to work, I drink my coffee and contemplate how to spend my day.  As the day unfolds I make the decision to bake cookies.  Sugar cookies.  Iced, sprinkled, buttery, sweet, warm out of the oven, sugar cookies.  Great snowy day project.  Who doesn't love sugar cookies in February?  Or any day for that matter?  

     Marriage isn't just like baking cookies, but it definitely has a recipe.  A tried and true recipe that many don't master.  Most don't try to master.  Once they burn the batch they throw it out and just start over.  I don't want to start over.  I love the cookies I chose.  I want to relish, taste, and lovingly bake my cookies for the rest of my life.

     A new month, a new goal to set.  My next goal is to focus on my relationship with my husband.  We are soul-mates, best friends, lovers, partners, family builders.  We do everything together.  We play together, enjoy the same hobbies together, take road trips, watch t.v., do household chores, cook, everything together.  We have pet names for each other.  The kind that make others sick when they hear them pet names.  We enjoy each other, dream together, and eat together.  So what's to fix, you say?  A husband/wife relationship doesn't just happen.  It has to be worked on.  We have to want it.  We can't give up, that's the easy way out.  Who wants to give up.  My marriage is not perfect.  No one's is.  It is worth fighting for.  I want it.  Everything has room for improvement.

     I recently stumbled upon this wonderful website by Jennifer Flanders at http://lovinglifeathome.com/ for wives just like me.  I got the free printable above from her and a lot of great advise.  God driven advice.  I especially liked the post 25 Ways to Communicate Respect to Your Husband.  As well as Turn Your Thinking Around.  I am going to begin my goal by working on the 25 Ways.  I don't think it was any small coincidence that I happened upon Jennifer's blog.  There are many blogs out these days and they are not always God focused as hers is.  Thank you God for directing me to this website.  Let me begin this day and the days beyond to making my marriage the happiest and healthiest it can be. 

I Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient and kind.  Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.  It does not demand its own way.  It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.  It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices when ever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

     

Puppy Dog Dreams and Animal Meals (Day 32)

February 1, 2014

     A good scratch, a nice stretch, a larger than life yawn...now comes a hard decision, to sleep on the couch next to a warm body or sleep in the chair all to myself?  A dog's life is rough.  a short hop up on the couch, a few circles to find the just right spot, burrow down under the blanket.  Seconds pass and a soft Boston's snorting snore can be heard at my side.  What a life!  An hour from now he might get himself a bowl of food to eat and then head upstairs for a nice soak in the sun shining through the window, before heading downstairs for another short nap.

     Harley, my dog has never been fat.  He has never been on a diet.  He eats when and how much he wants.  He has never had to be on a vigorous exercise plan or have a trainer to guide him.  Never had to weigh in or check in with Weight Watchers.  He is pure unadulterated, lean muscle.  In fact his veterinarian says he is the healthiest, fittest, muscled Boston Terrier she has ever seen.

     Now I know that there are some pets that are over weight, not healthy, out of shape.  But how did they get that way?  They had human help.  Ever see a fat wild animal that didn't have human contact?  Now I mean really think about it.  They know how to take care of themselves.  Stay healthy, exercise, stay fit, eat what is healthy to them.  They do this automatic, without guidance.  So what do they know that we don't?

     I decided to start watching my dog and just try to figure this out.  First I notice that he eats twice a day a big meal.  He eats it at the same time almost every day.  Now he has a bowl of food that he can eat when ever he wants, but will always eat one bowl in the morning and one in the evening on most days.  Some days he only eats one bowl.  He asks for two snacks each day.  I know he is spoiled, but I know dog, he has asked so many times until he finally got it through my thick skull, what he wanted.  He lays around and naps when he is tired most of the day, unless his guard duty calls by some odd chance.  Once or twice a day, without warning he exercises.  He will unannounced, grab a toy and smiling wildly, with tongue hanging out, run like lightning through the house at full doggy speed.  Sometimes this lasts 10 minutes.

     Why with us is it much more complex than that?  We have to count calories, weigh our food, do so many minutes of cardio and so many minutes of weight training.  We have to check our weight on the scales, what our cholesterol; both LDL and HDL, watch our BMI and the percentage of water we have in our bodies.  Is it any wonder we struggle??  How can we make this easier?  I am not talking a quick fix, just an "Oh, I get it, do it like this, I can handle that change, kind of plan.  And then there are so many diets out there!  The low fat, no carb, whole grain carb, no fat, calorie counting, South Beach, Atkins, Flat Belly, Eat This, Not That, Biggest Looser, Weight Watchers kind of diets.  Makes your head spin.  What is effective?  What is safe, healthy, tried and true??  Plus easy, might I add?

     I think this is why so many of us struggle.  Where do we start?  What do we need, when?  Yes, I am still struggling.  No I haven't even gotten an inch, let alone a mile stone.  Where is that mile marker?  I can't even see it ahead!  Where's my map?  How do I program my GPS?  I am really struggling here...I hope tomorrow I can just get the key in the ignition and the car turned on.  Progress is so slow, so un-measureable.  Insert much needed encouragement here, please.