Loving Your Wife

As I begin to write this blog entry, let me say that this topic has troubled me for quite some time. In my line of work, I often hear men complain about spending time with their wives. A significant number of the men I encounter want to spend more time away from their wives than with them. I just do not get it. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with spending some time with the guys once in a while. However, the way I see it, it is usually the wives who only get the time once in a while. I by no means claim to be perfect. Nor do I claim that I always treat my wife according to God's plan. However, I look forward to every minute that I get to spend with her. To me, this is the way it is supposed to be. It is my honest belief that God intended for every man to consider his wife as his best friend, and who better to spend your free time with than your best friend? To look at spending time with your wife as a burden? How would things be if Christ only loved the church once in a while? Pretty sad in my opinion.

When you take your marriage vows you promise to God and all of the people in attendance that you will love this woman. Scripture commands husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Ephesians 6:25 - 27 "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without blemish." I don't know about you, but I feel those are some pretty powerful words. The way I see it, He made much more of a sacrifice than we could ever dream of having to make, although husbands should be willing to lay down their lives for their wives.

As husbands it is our responsibility to protect our wives. This means much more than protecting in a physical sense. It also means that we must protect them spiritually, or more so to make sure they are spiritually led. For example: Let's say you decide to watch a movie with your wife. You choose Rambo which is full of violence and vulgarity. Is this something you want your wife to see? Or maybe you go the sports route and decide to watch Any Given Sunday which contains the language and nudity. Again is this something you want your wife to see? (We as Christian men should choose better also, but that is another topic for another blog post.) Gentlemen, we need to be mindful of what we permit our wives to be subjected to.

I mentioned that as husbands it is our responsibility to spiritually lead our wives. I will be the first to tell you I fail quite often in this category. I do pray with my wife before we go to bed. I also say a blessing for her as well. I pray for her many times during the day. Where I fail is that I do not read scripture with her on a regular basis. We, as husbands, need to be in constant prayer for our wives. We need to read scripture with them and to them. We need to instruct them and council them when they need it. I challenge all Christian men (myself included) to step up and lead your wives in this important aspect of your marriage.

Another thing that we as husbands can do is give our wives a break. What I mean is help out where you can. Help with dishes, laundry, cooking, taking care of the kids, and so on. Now this is not as hard as it may seem. You will make a great impression by simply cleaning up after yourself. Put dishes in the sink, rinse them off, put them in the dishwasher. Put your laundry away. Put dirty laundry in the basket again. You get the picture. These little thing will help lighten your wife's work load. One thing I try to do at least once a year is to give my wife a complete day off. I take the kids to work with me (I know this may not be possible for everyone but you could take them out on your day off) so she can sleep in as long as she wants. I cook dinner when I get home so she does not have to do anything but relax that day. I again am not claiming to be perfect in this area. Sometimes the little things we do make a big difference.

Lastly, but certainly not least, make sure your wife knows that you love her. Not only by telling her, which you should do often, but by showing her. Treat her with respect. Tell her how much you appreciate what she does for your family; the cooking, cleaning, laundry, parenting, and the list goes on. Honor her in your every move. Open the door for her. Help her with her coat. Hold the umbrella for her(Yes, you will get wet.That's okay, you won't melt). Again, these things may seem like no big deal, but look around when you go to the store, restaurants, and church.
Count how many men you see holding doors or opening them for their wives. Then count how many you see walking ahead of their wives, running ahead of them in the rain, and so on. I am sure the latter number will be higher. What a sad truth that is. I don't think that is what is implied when you read 'Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church.' Do you?


Remember gentlemen, we have been given a command! Love your wife as Christ loved His church, and also remember we are part of that church that He loves. Let's stand up and love our wives as God intends for us to.

AMEN

A Little Bit About Myself

Well I figure I need to let all of the blogging world a little about myself. As I mentioned I have been happily married to my best friend for almost 18 years. Together we have 4 beautiful children. My loving wife courageously home schools the kids. I give her a lot of credit as it is a very tough job. People often ask me if my wife works and I tell them she may not receive a paycheck but she works harder than I do.

I am in sales for a living and enjoy interacting with people. I have always felt that I can get along with anyone, which comes in handy in the sales world, as I meet all different types of people.

I consider myself a family man as I like to spend my free time with my family. I enjoy all sports with football being my favorite. I run 6 days a week to keep myself in shape. I also enjoy gardening. This is something that I have been doing for the past 2 years. I enjoy working up the soil, planting, weeding, and best of all harvesting. It is a great feeling when you sit down at the dinner table and knowing that the vegetables came from your hard work.

As for my Christian life, I have been a Christian for over 12 years. I was raised in the church but the Lord did call me fully to Himself until after I was married. I do however know that the Lord has been working in my life since I was born. I strive to please God in all aspects of my life.

Well that gives you a little about who I am. I have some ideas of future posts that will include the following topics: Loving your wife as Christ loves His church, working as a Christian in a sinful world, raising Godly children, paralleling gardening with your Christian walk, training for a marathon. This is a goal of mine before I turn 40 and I am currently 39 ;-). Well those topics will keep me busy for a while. I do have some other ideas, however the aforementioned are what is currently on my heart.

grammar quiz results

Your Language Arts Grade: 100%

Way to go! You know not to trust the MS Grammar Check and you know "no" from "know." Now, go forth and spread the good word (or at least, the proper use of apostrophes).

Are You Gooder at Grammar?
Make a Quiz

Opening Post

Hello. I felt that I needed to join the blog community. Seeing as my wife, daughter, and son all have blogs I felt it was time for me to start one of my own. I will most likely not post as often as they do, however I will keep updated as often as I can.

Where to begin? I have been married to my best friend for nearly 18 years. I have titled my blog Happy Husband for a reason. I truly am a happy husband. The Lord has blessed me with the perfect mate, and we share a wonderful life together. We have 4 children; 2 boys, and 2 girls.

My life goal is to honor the Lord in all that I do. Although I fall short of this goal daily I continue to pray for God's assistance in everything that I do.

I am committed, along with my wife, to raise our children in a Godly manner and to prepare them for life and to be Godly spouses.