long, gossipy, blogpost- forgiveness, love.

There are 2 things my husband does that drive me insane.. Well to be honest, the first drives me insane, the second is just annoying.  And while I'm being honest, there are surely more than two things he does that I find reason to nag... But these are the two I'll focus on today:

First:  I watch sales for weeks, clip coupons and finally select the finest ingredients to make whatever dish I'm making. I do not settle for HFCS and white sugar/flour.  I bust my butt to serve this family healthy food and stay within our budget.  When it comes to actually cooking the meal I slave away for what seems like FOREVER, chopping veggies, measuring, watching for a boil, then simmering... and cooling for the kids... etc.  And the result is a delicious mostly organic, amazing soup that I feel I could take to the fair and win a prize. 
Here's where I get mad... He leaves the plastic (PLASTIC!.... Remember, toxins FREAK ME OUT) ladle in the soup after he dishes his up.  Leaves it IN the hot pan! 
So after numerous arguments I bought a stainless steel ladle and said I didn't want to argue about it any more. 
But now...  My sweetheart has decided to remember to remove the ladle, and place it on the STOVE (the nice clean stove) after he dishes up his soup.
 
I know it's silly, & I remember this:
1.God loves Chad just as much as he loves me. 
2.God is pretty disappointed in me when I'm screaming (yes... it makes me that angry) over a plastic ladle. 
Then I move on, and don't look back. 

Secondly- My husband prefers his shirts hung up facing the left.  I just hang the shirts, and it doesn't bother me a bit which way they go (I hang over 30 shirts a week, I just want it done, I don't care if it's done "right", really).  So for years I would put them on the hanger however I grabbed them.  Then I find him changing them around to face the "right way" (um... well, left).  I have (in the distant past, before I cared about being a better wife) purposely hung shirts up the "wrong" way.. just to catch him switching the shirts and start a fight where I knew I was right.  How pathetic, huh?

This long, gossipy, blog post is to tell you two things:
1- There is usually more than one way to do things, but that doesn't make one of the ways wrong.
2-  Pick your battles, chose wisely, and know that above all, Jesus is your defender.  You don't have to make known everything you think is right.  Sometimes ( a lot of times) silence is your best defense.


So now that I know these things about my husband, I chose to LOVE them.  I love that he cares enough to remove the ladle now, and I LOVE that he cares how his clothes look in his closet.  I love him.  And when we love someone we shouldn't be so hard on them. 
My husband makes me feel safe, he provides for our family, he is an honest person, and he loves me (and I KNOW that cannot be an easy thing to do, as I even struggle with this).

For everything I dislike, I can think of several more that I DO like.

This week, I challenge you to do the same.  Love your spouses flaws, Because they probably aren't really flaws, they're just different from how you do things.  Make list of what you LOVE about your spouse, forget about the things that you don't like.

Psalm 62:6 (King James Version)
 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.

Exodus 14:14 (New King James Version)
 The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”

HOLD YOUR PEACE

PS- I do hang his shirts facing the left now, because it makes him happy, and I sure love it when he's happy :-)