Love Dare Day 28

~Day 28~ Love makes sacrifices~

He laid down His life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers. —1 John 3: 16 HCSB

Life can be hard, what that usually means is my life is hard! I'm the first to feel it when I'm being mistreated or inconvenienced! Being quick to sulk when we feel like we are being unappreciated!  But to often we don't notice life is hard for our mate unless they are complaining about it, but instead of  genuinely caring we just think they have a bad attitude!

Love makes sacrifices. It keeps you so tuned in to what your spouse needs that you often respond without being asked. And when you don’t notice ahead of time and must be told what’s happening, love responds to the heart of the problem. Quickly and directly. Even when your mate’s stress comes out in words of personal accusation, love shows compassion rather than becoming defensive.

Sometimes this means saying “no” to what we want and saying “yes” to what our spouse needs. Setting yourself aside and making him a priority. Turning your attention to his needs and giving him your focus and support.

When was the last time you asked “How can I help?”

Love Dare Day 27

~~Day 27 ~Love encourages~~

Guard my soul and deliver me; do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You. —Psalm 25: 20

We go into marriage thinking it's going to be a bed of roses, our spouse fulfilling our every want and need! This is unrealistic, the higher our expectations the more likely your spouse will disappoint you!

Expecting our spouse to meet all our needs and make us happy puts impossible expectations on a human. Does your spouse constantly live under your microscope of inspection? Are they fearful that they will never live up to expectations?

When faced with constant disapproval and criticism – no one feels loved, or loving. Our natural reaction is to resist and rebel. And to harden our heart against the negative feelings we feel bombarding us.

Marriage is meant to be two flawed people coming together to encourage each other. 

Stop expecting your spouse to understand all your thinking!

Instead let them be inspired by your appreciation.

Focus on their strengths, and build them up with your words!

~~TODAY'S DARE~~

ELIMINATE THE POISON OF UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS IN YOUR HOME. THINK OF ONE AREA WHERE YOUR SPOUSE HAS TOLD YOU YOU’RE EXPECTING TOO MUCH, AND TELL THEM YOU’RE SORRY FOR BEING SO HARD ON THEM ABOUT IT. PROMISE THEM YOU’LL SEEK TO UNDERSTAND, AND ASSURE THEM OF YOUR UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.

When you place high expectations on your spouse that they don’t feel internally motivated to attain, what does that tell you about yourself?

What are some better ways to deal with these disconnects?

What things has your spouse recently done well that you can point out and thank them for?

Cook'n Recipe Organizer 11 Download Review + Giveaway ($80 value).

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

I've only been using Cook'n Recipe Organizer for a short time, and only have  a couple of recipe books with it yet but it seems like it is going to work really well! You can order recipe books for it and you can add your own and have them all at your fingertips!!
You can print off a shopping list, find the nutritional value, make a menu and even e-mail recipes to a friend!
I've never owned a digital recipe organizer before but it seems like I am going to like this one!!
You can check out their facebook page at  https://www.facebook.com/Recipe.Organizer
and on pinterest at  http://www.pinterest.com/cooknsoftware/
Maybe I will add to this review after I have used it  for a good amount of time!
Thank You to Tomoson for making it possible to try, and get to review this organizer!

Leave a comment on why you would like to try this organizer and to be entered for a free trial of this organizer!!

         Winner will be announced on March 1st 2014!!


I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Love Dare Day 26

DAY 26~ Love is responsible

 When you judge another, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the same things. —Romans 2: 1 HCSB

God has designed His gift of marriage with many priceless benefits. Research shows that married people are happier , healthier, live longer, make more money, and have better sex lives. They also produce healthier, happier children than people who remain single. Do you realize how much value your spouse adds to your life? It’s almost incomprehensible. But as with anything in life, the benefits we enjoy in marriage depend on how responsible we are in taking good care of it. That’s why taking personal responsibility is one of love’s greatest requests.

How about you? How are you doing with honoring what you promised at the altar? Is your marriage blooming under your care, or wilting instead? Are you making your spouse carry all the weight, or are you looking for ways to lighten their load?

Can your spouse say that you have wronged or wounded them in any way and you’ve never made it right? If so, then it’s time to humble yourself, be honest about your offenses, and repair the damage . Think of it as an act of love. God wants no unresolved issues left standing between the two of you.

TODAY'S DARE

 Take time to pray through your areas of responsibility and your areas of wrongdoing. Where you have failed, ask for God’s forgiveness, then humble yourself enough to admit them to your spouse. Do it sincerely and truthfully. Ask your spouse for forgiveness as well. No matter how they respond, make sure you cover your responsibility in love.

How did your mate react to your apology?

 What does he or she need to see in order to believe that your confession was more than just words? 

Love Dare Day 25

~~Day 25~ Love Always Forgives~~

What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ. —2 Corinthians 2: 10

This one is tough— perhaps the toughest dare in the book. But if there is to be any hope for your marriage, this is a challenge that must absolutely be taken seriously. Counselors and ministers who deal with broken couples will tell you that this is the most complex problem of all. It cannot just be considered and contemplated but must be deliberately resolved. Forgiveness has to happen, or a successful marriage won’t. 

But forgiveness doesn’t absolve anyone of blame or clear their record with God. It just clears you of having to worry about how to punish them. When you forgive another person , you’re not declaring them innocent. You’re just turning them over to God, who can be counted on to deal with them His way.

But how do you do it? You release your anger and the responsibility for judging and punishing this person to the Lord.

How do you know you’ve done it? You know it when the thought of their name or the sight of their face, rather than causing your blood to boil, causes you to feel sorry for them instead, to genuinely hope they get this turned around.

So when it’s all said and done, the romance, intimacy, and enjoyment of your marriage is greatly dependent upon your mutual commitment to allow no unforgiveness to exist between the two of you. Great marriages are not produced by people who never hurt each other, only by people who daily choose to keep “no record of wrongs” (1 Corinthians 13: 5).

TODAY'S DARE Whatever you haven’t forgiven in your mate, forgive it today. Let it go. Just as we ask Jesus to “forgive us our debts” each day, we must ask Him to help us “forgive our debtors” each day as well. Unforgiveness has been keeping you and your spouse in prison too long. Say from your heart, I choose to forgive.”

What did you forgive your spouse for today?

How long have you been carrying the weight of it?

What are the possibilities now that you’ve released this matter to God?

Love Dare Day 24

~Day 24~ Love vs. Lust~

The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. —1 John 2: 17

Despite all Gods promises to provide all we need, we want more! We constantly think if we only had such and such we would be happy! We lust after worldly things such as possessions, sexual fulfillment, power, money.

Lust is never satisfied. It only leads to longing for more.

 It’s time to expose lust for what it really is— a misguided thirst for satisfaction that only God can fulfill. Lust is like a warning light on the dashboard of your heart, alerting you to the fact that you’re not allowing God’s love to fill you. When your eyes and heart are on Him, your actions will lead you to lasting joy, not to endless cycles of regret and condemnation.

What has been enticing you and luring your eyes and heart away? What things in this world are you longing for? Can you admit that you don't need them? Then begin setting your heart back on God and partake of the feast of His Word.

~~TODAY’S DARE~~

END IT NOW. IDENTIFY EVERY OBJECT OF LUST IN YOUR LIFE, AND REMOVE IT. SINGLE OUT EVERY LIE YOU’VE SWALLOWED IN PURSUING FORBIDDEN PLEASURE AND REJECT IT. LUST CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO LIVE IN A BACK BEDROOM. IT MUST BE KILLED AND DESTROYED – TODAY – AND REPLACED WITH THE SURE PROMISES OF GOD AND A HEART FILLED WITH HIS PERFECT LOVE.

What did you identify as an area of lust?

What has this pursuit cost you over time?

How has it led you away from the person you want to be?

Write about your new commitment to seek Him— and to seek your spouse— rather than seeking after foolish desires.

LOVE DARE DAY 23

~Day 23~ Love Always Protects~

It [love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” ~ 1 Corinthians 13:7

No couple gets married as enemies. They tie the knot filled with hopes of a lifetime of love. But the high rate of divorce reveals that after a couple walks down the aisle, they are stepping into a minefield of marital obstacles that can take either of them down. Sadly, every marriage has enemies out there. 

Here, for example, are just a few of the potential attacks you need to be aware of and engaged in, constantly protecting your mate and your marriage. Responsibility, not passivity, is the key to guarding against the following issues . . .

Misplaced priorities. Any good thing has the potential to become a harmful thing if it becomes an all-consuming thing.

Unhealthy relationships. Not everyone has the material to be a good friend .

Harmful influences. Are you allowing certain habits to poison your home?

Sexual temptation. Be on guard at all times from allowing opposite-sex relationships— at work, at the gym, even at church— to draw you emotionally away from the one to whom you’ve already given your heart.

Shame. Everyone deals with some level of inferiority and weakness.

Parasites. Watch out for parasites. A parasite is anything that latches onto you or your partner and sucks the life out of your marriage.

~~TODAY’S DARE~~

REMOVE ANYTHING THAT IS HINDERING YOUR RELATIONSHIP, AND ADDICTION OR INFLUENCE THAT’S STEALING YOUR AFFECTIONS AND TURNING YOUR HEART AWAY FROM YOUR SPOUSE.

What did you throw out first ?

Are there others that need to go as well ?

What do you hope the removal of these things will do for you, your marriage, and your relationship with God?