Dare 1: Patience and a Tamed Tongue

Dare 1 - to resolve to demonstrate patience and to say nothing negative to your spouse at all

I started this dare on November 25th and I still haven't been able to really it get down.  I have been saying LESS negative things to my husband, but I still haven't nailed saying NOTHING negative to him.  Habits are hard to break.

Rather than practicing patience with my husband and my son, I've been in the habit of letting them have it when I see a negative problem, trait, or when they do something negative that affects me.  I really don't know why I have begun to think that they deserve my wrath.  They don't.

If I can have undeserved grace from God, then they should receive undeserved grace from me.  I MUST practice patience.

Encouraging verses to achieve this goal . . .

Galatians 6:9
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

James 1:19
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

Ephesians 4:1-3
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Proverbs 21:23
Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

Proverbs 15:1
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Repeating the Dare

It has been over three years since I read the Love Dare and Dared 2 Love.  I really enjoyed going through the book in 2011 and it strengthened my marriage.  At the end of the dare, I had my Dare 2 Love blog printed in a book for my husband as a special memory.

Since it's been three years since I read The Love Dare, I've changed a lot.  I'm in a new location, I have new interests, I have new distractions, and sometimes I need that reminder to love my spouse.

Thus I begin again . . .

Dare Forty: Drum Roll Please!

After intending to finish The Love Dare in the forty days around Valentine's Day . . . I have finished The Love Dare on the 29th of November!  I don't really see the time expanse as a failure, because failing would have entailed rejecting the advice of the book and completely turning away from its list of dares.  I didn't turn away . . . I just got a bit busy.  Perhaps I will think of it as a delayed success.

I have listed on this blog forty dares and forty thoughts that accompanied those forty dares.  I have forty days that I spent specifically considering my marriage and my husband above many other things in life.  I got to have fun, such as on Valentine's Day, and I got to be a little creative, such as in the blog I Cherish You, and overall, I really think it was a great experience.

What's really great about ending the Dare on this day is that I just found out James started the dare two days ago!  Almost a year later, he's doing The Love Dare on his own.  I couldn't make him and I couldn't nag him into doing it.  Sure, I really wanted him to do it with me, but he would have done it begrudgingly before.  Being on the receiving end of The Love Dare, I'm in heaven.  Though it's tempting to make it hard on him, refer to the first dare.  I guess I'll behave myself!

Words of the final dare, "write out a renewal of your vows and place them in your home.  Perhaps, if appropriate, you could make arrangements to formally renew your wedding vows before a minister and with family present.  Make it a living testament to the value of marriage in God's eyes and the high honor of being one with your mate."

The chapter expressed how the wedding vows are the words of a covenant.  My husband and I are not in a contract that might bind with pen and paper even if the legal system might think so.  James and I are in a covenant that is upheld through God's power, not our own.  If we think we are the best couple ever and we'll never mess up, then we will mess up.  If we are anything better than ordinary then it is through God's power alone.

I appreciate any of you who have visited my blog and supported me on this endeavour.  I'm sure you thought I'd never finish!  I did!  I'm thinking about starting on another book to support our marriage, like Love & Respect or Power of a Praying Wife.  Keep checking back . . . maybe I'll blog about that too!

Dare Thirty Nine: Love Never Loses

The Thirty Ninth dare states, "Spend time in personal prayer, then write a letter of commitemnt and resolve to your spouse.  Include why you are committing to this marriage until death, and that you have purposed to love them no matter what.  Leave it in a place that your mate will find it."

Here's what I wrote:

About the Chapter . . .
Let me rephrase, true love never loses. God is love, God is the Word of God, so a marriage built on the Word of God is unshaken. We've all heard "Love never fails," but what does it really mean? What does it mean to fail? I'm looking it up, hold on . . .

To fail is:	Instead love is:
To lose strength: weaken	To gain strength: reinforce
To fade or die away	To grow and flourish
To stop functioning normally	To get better, gain familiarity
To fall short	To make it together, succeed
To be or become absent or inadequate	To be always present or sufficient
To be unsuccessful	To be successful in the relationship
To become insolvent	To be prosperous in marriage
To disappoint the expectations or trust of	To exceed the expectations or trust of
To miss performing an expected service or function for	To triumph in performing an expected service or function for
To be deficient in	To be abundant in
To leave undone: neglect	To leave nothing undone: attend and care for

Love never failing means loving them in spite of it all, no matter what.