A Heart That Loves - Part 2

What can you and I do to show our husbands affectionate, indulgent, friendship love?  Whisper a prayer for your husband as you consider the following ways that will complete the list of suggestions from the last post.

Prepare for Your Husband Daily. 

Preparing for your husband's homecoming each day shows him that he's a priority and communicates your heart of love.

Prepare the House. Take a few minutes before your husband is due home to pick up. The goal is not perfection, but instead an impression of order and neatness.

Prepare Your Appearance. If company were coming, you would do a little something to freshen up, wouldn't you?  Well, your husband is your Number One human priority and is far more important than company, so he should get the most special treatment of all.

Prepare Your Greeting. You probably know approximately when your husband will get home from work each day, so warm his welcome as you wait and watch for him.

Please your husband. 

If your husband is the king of the castle, you will surely delight in pleasing him. And pleasing him means paying careful attention to his wants, his likes, and his dislikes -- and this takes a little doing.

Protect your time with your husband. 

You make your husband your Number One human priority when you protect your time with him instead of treating him as a built-in babysitter and darting out the door to shop when he gets home.

Physically love your husband. 

A fundamental principle for marriage is "rendering affection" to one's mate.

Positively respond to your husband. 

Your simple but positive response means no power struggle, no hurt feelings, no bitter words, no raised voices -- and a much better start and finish to our day.

Praise your husband. 

A primary "never" in your life is never speak critically or negatively about your husband to anyone. Instead, blessing your husband in public, and in private, is one of the best ways to sow seeds of love for him in your heart.

Pray always. 

We began with prayer, and we end with prayer. A woman after God's own heart is a woman who prays. When does prayer make a difference?  

...Take every opportunity throughout the day to ask God to enable you to be the kind of loving and supportive wife He want you to be!

A Heart That Loves - Part 1

Titus 2:4, "That they [the older women] admonish the young women to love their husbands."

As we consider the most exciting insight about being a wife, we must discover the meaning of the word "love" as it's used in Titus 2:4.  

God loves (agapeo) you and me unconditionally, regardless of our shortcomings, and certainly we wives are to love our husbands with that kind of unconditional love. But when God instructs us to "love" our husbands in this verse, the word is phileo, meaning friendship love -- a love that cherishes, enjoys, and likes our husbands! Each of us is to value our husband and build a friendship with him. We should see our husband as our best friend and want to be with him more than with any other person.

Yes, But How?

How can a wife nurture a heart of love, a heart prepared to support her husband in practical ways "until death us do part"?

1. Decide to make your husband your Number One human relationship. Our relationship with our husband is meant to be more important than the relationships we enjoy with our parents, friends, a good neighbor, a brother or sister, a best friend, and even our children -- and the way we use our time should reflect that ranking.

2. Begin to chose your husband over all other human relationships. Again, this includes your children. We must avoid over-investing in children and under-investing in the marriage.

3.  Ask of your lifestyle, "Am I spoiling my husband rotten?" This is what loving your husband is really all about -- spoiling him rotten.

Here are two ways to "spoil" your husband and some creative suggestions to help you follow through:

Pray for Your Husband Daily.  

James 5:16, "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." As you invest your time, your heart, and your life in prayer for him, you'll find arguments decreasing and mellowing.  

Create a page for him in your journal, and write his name at the top! List aspects of his life you want to faithfully hold up to God -- his relationship with God, his spiritual growth both at home and in the church, his schedule for each day, and so on.

Plan for Your Husband Daily.  

It's a fact. Nothing just happens -- including a great marriage. Make some plans that will help you show your husband -- and the watching world -- that he is your highest human priority.

One idea is to plan a special dinner that he likes! Make a point of learning all of his "favorites" and then treat him like the king of the castle that he is.

Lord Jesus, thank you for the love that You have placed in my heart for my husband and help me share it with him today. Thank you in advance for the grace to obey your promptings. Amen.