Marriage R.O.C.K.S. part 2

Ok, what is this world coming to?!?! I was at the grocery store the other day and as I was looking through the sushi I noticed that my left earring was tangled in my hair, so I tried to pull the hair off the earring. In the process the clasp opened and pinched my earlobe.  So there I was, one hand filled with groceries and the other hand trying to set my earlobe free. lol From my right side came a man to tell me that I shouldn't scratch my ear drum in that manner because it could be harmful.  I looked at him like WHAT?!? I told him that I was fixing my earning but thanks for the advice.  Oh WHY... WHY did i have to speak?!? off he went to tell me that he damaged his eardrum scratching it forcefully and that he ordered some suction tubes that clear out his ear wax without hurting the ear. Then he says "if you don't mind, you can give me your phone number and we can meet so that I can share some with you.  The box brought 50 tubes, more than I need." OMG!!! seriously!! don't tell me the earwax tube turned into a pick up line?? please don't!! sure enough.  I told him that my husband wouldn't approve of me giving out my number. .... He said "awww man, just my luck." UGH no respect for the wedding ring, but sadder still was the pick up line!! EAR WAX TUBES?? two words for u Mr. "match.com"  Just a little something to make you LOL.


 Now, lets get back to marriage...  I'm already getting great feedback about this series! I'm glad you are

being edified.  I'm not a professional in this field by any means... but I figure these days, anyone that makes it

passed the five year mark in a marriage should share "how they did it" LOL.  I made a decision this year to stop downplaying my marriage.  In the past when anyone admired my marriage I would feel badly and say " marriage is not easy, it takes a lot of work." Although that is 100 percent true, my motive was to not appear to be bragging or seem arrogant..  But today I respond differently, why should I feel guilty about being happy? I adore my husband, we have an amazing marriage and I'm no longer going to downplay it. LOL It's true, we have worked extremely hard to maintain our zeal, sense of excitement, joy, laughter, and communication alive; so why not share it instead of downplay it? 

Last post I wrote about my marriage R.O.C.K.S acronym, I made an important revision... Respect, Optimism, (changed) creative to-CHRIST centered, Kindness, Sincerity. Anyone can start applying these to their marriage today.... There are no excuses for not having the marriage you deserve. Both my husband and I come from parents with dysfunctional marriages that eventually ended up in divorce.  We didn't know how to do this thing?!?! We had no role models to follow after.  What made the difference was our commitment to make our marriage work.  When I say work, I don't mean "stay together for the kids" or "for the sake of the ministry" or "to have a companion to grow old with" NOOOOO I mean "to be HAPPY." My personality is like that anyway, I don't stay is any situation that makes me miserable; job, friendship, church etc.  Life is too short to live by appearances.  At the end of your days the people you were trying to look "good" for wont be around, but your life passed you by and you are stuck with the memories of an unfulfilled life. 
Make a change today! give your marriage all you've got, work harder for your marriage than for anything else you have ever worked for.  It is worth it, this is the person you spend the most time with and with whom eventually you want to spend the rest of your life with. Why not make it the best life possible? 

RESPECT 

We were all made with a yearning to be respected.  That is also true for our spouses.  Sometimes we give complete strangers more respect than we give our spouses. Think about that for a second; your spouse is your life partner, the one you share household responsibilities with, they made you into a parent, they have been by your side through good and bad times and yet you treat a complete stranger with more respect than you do them??? makes no sense, if anyone deserves respect its your spouse! 

Five ways to show your spouse respect

1. Treat them like you would want to be treated.

2. No insults or name calling.

3. Look them in the eye and truly listen when they are speaking.

4. Acknowledge that they have strengths that you don't have and respect them for it.

5. Count on and value their opinion.

Practice these five tools this week with your spouse.... Let me know how it goes ;) thanks for reading!