Simple exchanges and words of affirmation between a husband and wife.
Counting the ways we love each other.
He said: I think you are beautiful and I love you.
She said: Thank you for working so hard to provide for our family.
He said: Thank you for being such a good mom to our children.
She said: I am so proud of you for making that hard decision with work this week!
He said: Have I told you today that I love you?
She said: I just prayed for you…and I love you. Have a good day!
He said: Thank you for the wonderful meal. I love your cooking.
She said: I miss you honey, can we take time out to talk and watch a movie tonight?
He said: Thank you for doing my laundry, I really appreciate it.
She said: I appreciate you helping me with the dishes every night.
He said: When can we have a date night?
These are some of the text messages or verbal exchanges that happened just this week between my husband and I.
So why do I share these with you? There have been some hard times in my marriage. Maybe you are like me, and some days are rough and it’s difficult to find nice things to say. Over time my husband and I have acquired this habit of affirming one another as much as possible. Even on rough days when we don’t FEEL like it. As you can see it is a quick one sentence here and there, but simple exchanges that can make all the difference for us.
Being intentional with our words is the secret to our marriage staying healthy and vibrant.
I can be having a difficult day with my kids, and my husband can send me a text message that says he thinks I am beautiful and that he loves me, and I am immediately lifted. Maybe my husband is in the middle of a difficult job at work and I can text him to say I just prayed for you, and he is blessed by the covering of prayer.
This is a simple way to minister to our spouse.
In the Bible it says to serve one another in love. These small love notes, text messages, and words of affirmation can go far to restore and build up a marriage.
There have been times where these messages were one sided between my husband and I. Where one of us just wasn’t doing well, and the other person is there to say something to uplift or mend a misunderstanding. Again an opportunity to minster and serve.
How about you?
Do you need to give your marriage a good dose of encouragement?
I wanted to inspire you to try this out today. Why not take the time to write or say something uplifting each day to your husband? Surprise him with a sweet text message, or a sticky note in his sock drawer. Don’t tell him what you are up to and see if he notices the difference!
Taking time to love your spouse and counting the ways you care for each other–it really can make all the difference!
I am linking up to Time Warp Wife for Titus Tuesday.
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LOVE this post! Such simple gestures really do make a huge difference. Short, encouraging words go a long way with our hubby’s – they so need that reminder that they are honored and loved.
Yes this is key and a lesson I have had to learn over time! Thanks for stopping by Jennifer!
This is a wonderful reminder. I’m sending my guy an e-mail RIGHT now.
Oh yay Katrina! I know he will be blessed. It’s kind of fun to come up with new things to write! Have fun. : )
Generally, after unkind words are spoken and apologies are exchanged and forgiveness is given, I move on quickly. But, last night I was awake a lot and this morning it felt awkward. Your post was just what I needed. Isn’t it wonderful to know that God knows what’s needed, and the precise timing too?
Thanks Denise. {hugs}
Oh Diane, I hear you! We have been there too. I have been awake before as well. I have to push myself to move beyond the awkward and speak words of encouragement when I don’t feel like it! Blessings to you!
Denise, this is a beautiful reminder to nurture this most precious earthly relationship! Thank you!
Yes- it is easy to forget. Thanks for your encouragement Kasey!
What a wonderful post!! WE all need a reminder to pay attention to our mates. Life gets so busy and although we don’t mean to ignore them, we sometimes do. Thanks so much.
Thanks for stopping by Leah. Yes we all get so busy. Taking time out for a moment is essential. I will be seeing you soon at your Bible study in Feb – I just signed up! Can’t wait to get to know you through that study.
I love the idea of ministering to your husband through marriage!
Thanks for the post,
Ann
Thank you Ann for stopping by. Blessings to you!
Thanks for reminding me to text “I love you”. I can be a little “all business” sometimes, texts are usually about info and answers for me.
But the occasional “I love you, I miss you, How is your day going?” etc change my whole day.
Yeah its kind of amazing how we can just be all business with texts. Its fun to get creative and mix it up!
After 36 years of marriage, my husband and I always say we love each other each morning before he goes to work, and on the one morning he leaves extra early, he leaves me a love note! It’s just a quick little note, but I save it all day. Your text messages to your husband remind me that my husband’s love language is to be thanked for things he has done around the house or to be reminded of what a great grandpa he is, so I try to remember to tell him these things, too.
THank you for sharing this post!
Laurie
How ironic that I saw this post, this week instead of nagging my husband about the things he DIDNT do, I wrote him a poem of gratitude and sent it to his work email:
Thank you for making me eggs,
and for having such nice legs.
Thank you for moving the office around
A fun new place of work I have found!
Thank you for cleaning the car
It looks better than a yummy chocolate bar!
Thank you for working so hard
It makes me look like a lard.
I love you and I am grateful for ALL YOU DO.
God bless you my dear husband.
Denise, I started text messaging my husband several months ago. I really don’t text message anyone else, because I’ve really come to enjoy just making it a habit between my husband and me. (We’ll see how long that lasts, what with leaps in technology and all.) Thanks for these reminders – examples – of how I can keep doing that with my husband. He often can’t answer his phone at work, but he can take a quick glance at his phone to read a text message.
And you know – it’s refreshing to see these text messages as you wrote them. They’re so simple and don’t have the crazy symbols and acronymns. Just genuine.