Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor. --Romans 12:10
Day 3 is all about self and our love for ourselves rather than those around us. As you've read, this is an area I struggle with, and so I was definitely up for the challenge. Basically, the authors say that focusing on the happiness of your spouse will ultimately lead to your happiness. I do know that to be true, however, it is difficult to go with it when my needs are so important! See, it IS easy to be selfish.
So today, my challenge was to buy something that tells Seth I was thinking about him today. I ran quite a few errands and found time to get him two things. One was a gift card to wash his car. He loves the car wash at the Subaru dealership, so I thought this would be an easy gift to give. He's always talking about wanting to wash the car. I bought one so that he could have 5-8 washes, depending on the level of clean he wanted. His reaction - "Is that for me? Wow! Thanks! But I was planning on washing the cars by hand now that it is getting warm out. But I can still use it." I wasn't disappointed when he said that, because that is definitely his preferred method of washing - by hand so it is done well -, so I went on to the next gift.
A bag of Sweet Tarts Easter candy. On Sunday, we looked at Hy-Vee and they only had the gummy kind, not acceptable! So I knew that he was wanting those. When I was out, I looked at Target, and again, only gummy. So I made a special trip to Walgreens and there they were, chicks, ducks, and bunnies of hard Sweet Tart candy. His reaction to that one? "Awesome! Where did you find them? You are the BEST!" (kiss on the cheek)
Now you may be thinking, what an odd reaction, but let me tell you, Seth LOVES Sweet Tarts. It also taught me that listening closely (I knew that was what he really wanted) and not spending a lot of money can definitely go a long ways.
He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city. --Proverbs 16:32
Day 6 is about not being irritable. Basically, I needed to figure out what makes me irritable (like stress and selfishness) and how can I go about lowering them or fending them off before they get out of control. Sadly, this list wasn't a challenge to make, which signals to me that I can be an irritable person to live with. When examining my list, I think I'm a more fun person to be around in the summer, which, interestingly enough, Seth has made that comment a few times before. All in all, I have found a few places in my day to take some more time and relax/de-stress as well as become less selfish with.
Side note: The feeling of love in our house has definitely grown. There hasn't been a tense feeling or word since Saturday night. And it is only Day 6!
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