BLESINGS

Have you Blessed your Spouse Today?!

I know in my series it would be to write about cherishing our spouses but I just had an epiphany. This past Sunday I visited my parent's church (since I'm away from my hometown visiting family) and there was a gentleman, young at heart but was in his 80's who volunteers at the "Healing Room" in Spokane where they pray for people and then see God's hands at work at healing them. (I've heard amazing things about that place). Anyways, the epiphany struck me when after we were done chatting right before he left to go sit down with his wife he spoke a blessing over me... what I really started contemplating was what if as fellow believers in Christ and a part of the church if we spoke blessings over everyone we talked to before we left chatting with them. How would that really effect our lives, their lives and bring us together in unity...


Now lets take this epiphany a step further... what if we spoke a blessing over our spouses everyday before they left for work? Think about this for a moment: How would speaking a blessing over our spouses impact our relationship with them and how much would our love for each other grow? Our focus would be on positive things for them and how we would focus on how we could be a blessing to them instead of filling our minds of negative thoughts and complaints about them. Oh, I think how different would my marriage be if I did this every day for my husband?!

I have the most amazing husband ever and he is a true treasure from God. If I blessed him everyday for the rest of our lives he would feel like the true treasure God has made him.

*"Tommy Cruz, my beloved, you are the head & not the tail, you have the favor & anointing of God upon your life, you are blessed in the city & in the country, you are blessed in your coming & in your going, I am blessed because I married to you. Thank you for being my most amazing husband!" I LOVE YOU!!!

I will love, HONOR, & cherish

How do we HONOR our spouse throughout our lifetime together in Marriage?

Honor is: dignity, high regard or great respect given, enjoyed, given glory or a good reputation, to give credit to, a keen sense of right and wrong, done or given as a token, acts of respect, respect greatly, regard highly, esteem, treat deference and courtesy, to do or give something in honor, to accept, to accept as valid.

So when we tell our spouse we are going to "love, HONOR, & cherish" them we are stating to them that whether or not they deserve to be honored we are going to honor them. That's why love is a commitment we have to stick to. B/C we all know that after awhile of being married that our spouse may not always deserve to be honored but we gave them our word at the alter we are going to honor them...(plus if we really think about it how many of us deserve to be honored all the time) I know for me that I have some not so beautiful days and I don't deserve the love, honoring, and cherishing my husband gives me....thank God for His grace that flows threw my amazing husband.=} I think Romans 12:9-21 speaks so well on loving & honoring others even when they don't deserve it.

"love must be sincere. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share w/ God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn w/ those who mourn. Live in harmony w/ one another. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace w/ everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written "it is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord. On the contrary: If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head" Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil w/ good."

If we don't allow evil to overcome us in thoughts and actions but instead do good for our spouse and honoring them then I believe God will honor our marriage & bless it tremendously, beyond our wildest dreams...more then we could ever imagine possible for our relationships. May this bring you hope for your marriage and a challenge in the same way it has for me to honor your spouse in front of others and in front of them even when you don't feel like it or they don't deserve it...just remember how many times we don't deserve to be loved yet how much our spouse does love us even at times they may not show it... So, let's have the courage and strength to be the first to step out and HONOR our spouses setting the standard for our marriages & our relationship.