Love Dare Day 6:

Love is not Irritable 

Sadly, I am behind on my Blog but thankfully, we are NOT behind on our Dares ;) So I am catching up from the weekend! 

Day six was all about love not being irritable.  I often see people that are so quick to get angry and offended. This day taught you reasons not to be. I think we are all guilty of becoming irritable, and I am the QUEEN of overreacting (which I am working on). It also talked about what caused irritability in a relationship. Day six was packed with great information that pertains to every single relationship. I encourage everyone to read this day..Love Dare Day 6 

Bible Verses

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

“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34 )

Favorite Quotes

"Love is hard to offend and quick to forgive." 

"When under pressure, love doesn’t turn sour.  Minor problems don’t yield major reactions.  The truth is, love does not get angry or hurt unless there is a legitimate and just reason in the sight of God."  

"If you are walking under the influence of love, you will be a joy, not a jerk."

"Life is a marathon, not a sprint.  This means you must balance, prioritize, and pace yourself.  Too often we throw caution to the wind and run full steam ahead, doing what feels right at the moment.  Soon we are gasping for air, wound up in knots, and ready to snap.  The increasing pressure can wear away at our patience and our relationship."

"Love will lead you to forgive instead of holding a grudge.  To be grateful instead of greedy.  To be content rather than rushing into more debt.  Love encourages you to be happy when someone else succeeds rather than lying wake at night in envy.  Love says “share the inheritance” rather than “fight with your relatives.”  It reminds you to prioritize your family rather than sacrifice them for a promotion at work.  In each decision, love ultimately lowers your stress and helps you release the venom that can build up inside.  It then sets up your heart to respond to your spouse with patience and encouragement rather than anger and exasperation."

Day Six Dare:

Choose today to react to tough circumstances in your marriage in loving ways instead of with irritation.  Begin by making a list of areas where you need to add margin to your schedule.  Then list any wrong motivations that you need to release from your life.

We did not do this dare, because we did not feel that it really pertained to us. But we did gain a lot of knowledge from reading.

 Love Dare Day 5:

Love is not rude

Today was all about not being rude. There are things that each me and Eric do to each other that get on our nerves, but today taught us that through love we should try our hardest to not do these things. Obviously, you will never love EVERYTHING about someone. There will be little things that just annoy the heck out of you. And no one will ever love EVERYTHING about you. It is about knowing what gets on the other persons nerves and try your hardest not to do these things. 

Bible Verses:

"He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be reckoned a curse to him". (Proverbs 27:14)

“Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife”

 (Proverbs 25:24)

Today's Dare:

Ask your spouse to tell you three

things that cause him or her to be

uncomfortable or irritated with you.

You must do so without attacking them

or justifying your behavior. This is

from their perspective only.

I guess the good thing is, me and Eric could only come up with 2 things each about each other. Obviously I am not gonna share those things ;) But it was definitely nice to talk about it, and neither one of us became offended about it. We both agreed that both of us had valid points and we agreed to work on these things!

Love Dare: Day 4

Love Dare Day 4:

Love is Thoughtful

As many of the other dares did, this one hit close to home. One of the BIGGEST issues in me and E's relationship was the fact that we were so comfortable with each other, he thought he did not have to show me he loved me, I should just know. I understand that we have been together awhile and that the whole giddy feeling will not always be there. But that feeling has been replaced with a greater feeling....love. This day clearly stated that women are alot more thoughtful then men..and it's true. There were many days I would sit there and just think of things to do for Eric that would surprise him or showed him I loved him. Men don't have that kind of mindset. I also learned through Day 4 that men DO NOT understand when women try to tell them things between the lines. I would ALWAYS do this. Hint around to what was bothering me instead of just coming out and saying it. Eric would always just bluntly say what was on his mind (which I always admired) when he did decide to talk about things. I am working so hard on saying exactly what is bothering me instead of hinting around. And he is working extremely hard on talking about what is going on instead of keeping it inside. We have already come so far and learned a lot about each other and it's only Day 4!

Favorite Quotes:

Love thinks. It’s not a mindless feeling that rides on waves of emotion and falls asleep mentally. It keeps busy in thought, knowing that loving thoughts precede loving actions.

If you don’t learn to be thoughtful, you end up regretting missed opportunities to demonstrate love. Thoughtlessness is a silent enemy to a loving relationship.

Men, for example, tend to think in headlines and say exactly what they mean. Not much is needed to understand the message. His words are more literal and shouldn’t be overanalyzed. But women think and speak between the lines. They tend to hint. A man often has to listen for what is implied if he wants to get the full meaning.

Love requires thoughtfulness—on both sides—the kind that builds bridges through the constructive combination of patience, kindness, and selflessness. Love teaches you how to meet in the middle, to respect and appreciate how your spouse uniquely thinks.

Bible Verses:

How precious also are Your thoughts to me. . . . How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. —Psalm 139:17–18

Love Dare: Day 3

The Love Dare Day 3:

Love is not selfish

Selfishness is something we are all guilty of. Whether we are selfish in a relationship or just selfish in everyday life. At one point or another we have ALL  been selfish. In a relationship selfishness is one of the main reasons for disagreement. With me and E, it definitely was. Whether it was him spending time with Manny or me wanting to spend all my time with him, we were both selfish. Once again it is a give and take thing. We both must learn to do things the other wants to do whether we enjoy it or not equally of course. Whether it is eating somewhere the other wants to or watching a movie that I don't want to watch. We both must make sacrifices. Being a only child, it is really hard for me to understand it is NOT ALL ABOUT ME. But I am working on that ;)

Quotes I love:

Almost every sinful action can be traced back to selfish motive.

Selfishness is a trait we hate in other people but can justify for ourselves.

You either make decisions out of love for others or out of love for yourself.

You can not be acting out of real love and selfishness at the same time.

Bible Verses:

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3)

"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love;
give preference to one another in honor."(Romans 12:10)

Day 3 Dare:

 Whatever you put your time, energy, and
money into will become more important
to you. It’s hard to care for something
you are not investing in. Along with
restraining from negative comments,
buy your spouse something that says,
“I was thinking of you today.”

This is so true! Eric put all his time and energy into Manny and I put all my time and energy into my cupcakes! The things that we put our energy into consumed us and slowly became more important. I would rush home to bake and he would rush home to Manny. It interfered with our relationship. We didn't pay as much attention to each other anymore. It is crazy how something can slowly take over your life.  Today Eric called me at work to just see how I was doing and how work was. It was so nice just to talk to him and see how eachothers day was. I love those little phone calls. The mean so much and can brighten my day in an instance!  

Love Dare Day 2

Day Two:

All About Kindness

Today the love dare was all about kindness. 

"Love makes you kind. And kindness makes you likable. When you’re kind, people want to be around you. They see you as being good to them and good for them."

Favorite Bible Verses From Day 2

 “Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man” (Proverbs 3:3–4)

The Bible describes a woman whose husband and children bless and praise her. Among her noble attributes are these: “She opens her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue” (Proverbs 31:26)

What is desirable in a man is his kindness. (Proverbs 19:22)

Day 2 Dare:

In addition to saying nothing
negative to your spouse again today,
do at least one unexpected gesture
as an act of kindness.  

Sometimes, I have come to learn that we get so wrapped up in the day to day routine that we forget to do those little things that mean so much. Something as simple as just calling to say hey or a good morning text. We get so comfortable that we feel as if those things aren't necessary anymore. Today was all about a random act of kindness just to say "hey I love you". Today, on my way to work, I stopped off at Eric's work and text him to come outside. I got to see him and tell him hey and I told him I loved him. Usually we just text good morning but seeing him was so much better. We also had lunch together! It was great. Something we used to do all the time and started taking for granted suddenly meant so much again. Kindness doesn't have to be a gift or bought, kindness is so much more...

The Love Dare

In case you aren't aware of this movie it is called Fireproof. It's about a struggling couple who is on the brink of divorce. Once bound by love, now all the couple does is argue. Caleb's dad gives him a book called the "Love Dare". It is a forty day journey with God and his signification other. The Love Dare, being very difficult at times, strengthened Caleb's relationship with his wife and God.  The Dare saved his marriage and taught him more about love than he ever knew. Me and Eric watched this movie together awhile back each of us had a different state of mind back then and didn't realize how important we were to each other. 

Being in a relationship is hard work. It is give and take. And love is NOT always enough. But if you truly love someone you will do whatever it takes to make it work. I was on the edge of giving up on my relationship. Sunday I was walking in Walmart and came across this...

I think when I first saw it I stood there awhile. And the first thought that crossed my mind was I HAVE to get this. Even though me and Eric aren't married, I thought it would help us get a greater understanding of love and of each other. We have vowed to read it every night together talk about the words and scriptures and the next day do the challenge. I am really excited to start this journey with E! I think every couple should do this not just couples that are struggling.

Day One

These are some of my favorite quotes from Day One!

Day one was all about patience. "Love is built on two pillars, love and patience". 

"Love will inspire you to become a patient person. When you choose to be patient, you respond in a positive way to a negative situation. You are slow to anger. You choose to have a long fuse instead of a quick temper. Rather than being restless and demanding, love helps you settle down and begin extending mercy to those around you. Patience brings an internal calm during an external storm.

"The Bible says, “He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who is quick-tempered exalts folly” (Proverbs 14:29) 

“See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another” (1 Thessalonians 5:15)

Day One Dare:

The first part of this dare is fairly

simple. Although love is communicated

in a number of ways, our words often

reflect the condition of our heart. For

the next day, resolve to demonstrate

patience and to say nothing negative

to your spouse at all. If the temptation

arises, choose not to say anything. It’s

better to hold your tongue than to say

something you’ll regret.

Patience I have learned is very important. And I must say we both nailed this dare! We had a fun day together doing a little Christmas shopping and eating lunch together! One of the best days we have had in a while!