Do you talk about your husband? I sometimes forget how much power I have! When I am away from my husband, I have some of the greatest opportunities to strengthen my marriage.
We’ve all read about the excellent husband of the excellent wife …
Prov. 31:11-12
Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
A good marriage doesn’t mean we have to be together all the time, but it means our words, when apart, are uplifting of the other. Since we know all wives talk about their “other half” (How could we NOT, since we are ONE with him?), this means EW (Excellent wife) must’ve really used the powerful potential of her words well. We know from verse 14 that she gets her food “from afar” and from verse 23 that he spends some time at the city gate with the elder crowd … so we know they spent time apart. There’s something powerful about hearing what was said “about us” when our loved one wasn’t “with us.” If you turn a few chapters back in Proverbs, the principle is illustrated in a different way.
Prov. 25:25
Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.
Doesn’t it make you feel loved and affirmed and secure and wanted when you hear “good news” from the mouth of a loved one about their heart for you? I’m not talking about insincere or made up flattery, but refreshing words of blessings when there’s an opportunity, though we are “distant” from our spouse.
Most of us will spend time apart today, and we’ll have conversations about our lives and relationships. You may have some of those online, on Facebook, through a blog, or on the phone. Whatever your route of speech, it’s an opportunity to bless your husband. So I want to ask you to do something for me, and today is the FIRST DAY.
Would you “Tell 5” with me this week? Each weekday this week, would you ask God to give you an opportunity to share “good news” about your husband with someone you talk to? You could start today by sharing a comment (at the end of this post) about something you appreciate about your man. Every day, tell one other person a bit of goodness about your guy = Tell 5. It will impact YOU in the way you think about him. It will impact the HEARER and how they think of your hubby and you. It will impact your HUSBAND as he notices your tender heart and maybe hears the good news from a distant land. Don’t be the one to tell him yourself! That would spoil it. 🙂
So will you Tell 5 with me this week? Let’s practice bringing our husbands good through the discipline of sharing “good news” about him when we have opportunity. God told Adam in Genesis 3:19 that his sin would earn him the “sweat of his brow,” so I’m pretty sure the “cold water” to the weary soul of our guys will be welcome! I’m also pretty sure it will refresh our marriages.
Can’t wait to hear what happens …
Julie,
Thank you for this post. I can't wait to "tell 5" this week! What a wonderful way to encourage my husband!
Oh, I started my blog we spoke about at She Speaks. I'd love for you to take a look when you get a chance & let me know what you think.
Mary
Love this, Julie! And looking forward to doing it!
Here's my 1st of 5: My husband has put heart & soul into making our new house, our home. He has labored hours painting and staining the deck (in the heat) and has completed so many more projects. What would I do without him, especially since I can't even put a picture up straight! He is a true blessing and wonderful man & husband.
Patricia
My 1st of 5: My husband and I just got back from our alone vacation at the Grand Canyon. He had been there before but I hadn't and had always wanted to see the splendor and beauty of the area so he took me there for a whole week! Praise #1…AND…when the picture of us together overlooking the canyon did not turn out like I thought it did when I searched for it 2 days later…knowing how disappointed I was he set up an impromptu photo shoot in Sedona for our "together" picture. Praise #2!! That's my man and my praise for Day1. Thank you for suggesting this. It's way way too easy to find faults or negatives…and they do so much damage! My outlook will be different this week!
What a great idea! I can't wait to do this!
As a husband I can say "This post was great!" I also realize it works the other way, too, and I'll Tell 5 as well.
Because I work for my husband, we spend a lot of time together. Last week, he realized how frazzled I was getting. So on Saturday, he made lunch, including homemade hotdog rolls. While I was running errands with our daughter, He made homemade chocolate hazelnut biscotti and cappucino for us for when we got home. He tries (and usually succeeds) to show me how much he loves me! 🙂
My husband Scott ran 30 miles this am, and still has the energy to take our 3-year old with him on errands this afternoon. He loves spending time with the kids!
I could say so many sweet things about my hubby… My husband, Bobby, is such a great daddy! He's very involved with all aspects of their routine, from breakfast to bedtime. My love for Bobby grows stronger each time I see him interacting with one of our children.
Thank you for posting this! My hubby deserves many kind words.
Thanks for your blog today…My husband and I have been married for 38 years this Friday. We have had our ups and downs but I am so thankful for his faithful love to me and to our children. God has really blessed me with my helpmate.
Great message! Needed to hear this!
My husband is training in Nebraska for two weeks, and a lot of the times he misses talking to our girls due to his training schedule and their school schedule but last night he told me to call him at 6:30am my time, 5:30 am his time so he could talk to our girls! He wanted me to call because I would know if it was a good time for them to talk. The reason this impressed me so much is my husband is NOT a morning person at all and he went out of his way to do this for them and for me! It really made their day hearing from him this morning!
In Christ
Joanna Rummel
Thank you, Julie, for this beautiful reminder to build up my husband to other people. The power of life and death is in the tongue, and of all people, I should seek to practice speaking life over the person with whom I am one. Your message really touched me today with its importance for my marriage.
Be blessed!
Heidi Dahl
Julie, this is something that I try to do on a regular basis. I SO agree with everything you are saying. God's Word has so much to say about how we encourage our husbands. I was so thrilled to see that your article ties right in with mine today! I am doing a three part series on "Celebrating the Great Encouragers in our Lives" as a blog hop and the encourager I am sharing about today is my husband. I would love for you to stop by and visit. I couldn't leave him out of this series as he is my number one encourager and cheerleader. We work very hard at intentionally encouraging each other on a regular basis. It makes such a difference in our marriage and in life in general. Thank you for this challenge! I am on board! Consider this the 1st of my Pick 5. You should have seen his face when he read it. He was so touched. God is SO good and gives such great guidance on these matters…wish I always remembered to follow them!
My husband is great. Like Julia's post there are so many wonderful things I could say about my husband. One of the things that I am thankful for and the thing that pops in my head first is that he will start dinner when I haven't had a chance to get it started. It's nice to have him walk in the door from a long day at work and see I have been busy and just start what needs to be done.