Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

Becoming The Good Samaritan Wife

Do y’all remember the parable of the Good Samaritan?  Anytime I think of Bible stories like this one, that I heard as a child, I can help but replay it in my head in flannelgraph form.  This is a story told by Jesus to illustrate a point.  Let’s read the story:

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
Luke 10:30-35

As much as we like to think of our men as superheros, they aren’t immune to the attacks of the world.  They are the first line of defense for our family.  They get attacked and hurt.  They struggle and fall.  Their circumstances make them feel alone, just the way the enemy wants them to feel.

Attacks can look different for each man.  It could be financial problems, pornography addiction, health issues, alcohol or drug addiction, unfaithfulness or losing their way from Christ.  Every single one of these issues can leave husbands feeling alone, worthless and not knowing where to turn.

When your husband is the one hurting, laying alongside the road, do you rush to help him?  Or do you walk past, thinking “he needs to get over it”, “I just don’t have time” or “it’s not my problem, he did it to himself”.  It’s so easy to get caught up in our own selfish world, becoming just like the priest and Levite, and not wanting to stop and take the time to help our husbands.

Ladies, it’s time to become the Good Samaritan wife.

As we can see from the verses above, the Good Samaritan felt for him.  He bandaged his wounds, look him to an inn and took care of him.  Are you willing to do that?

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.
Genesis 2:18

As wives, we are each called to be our husband’s helpmate.  It doesn’t say we should only help him when things are running smoothly.  Being a helpmate is about so so so much more than that!  It is about helping to lift him when he falls. It is about lightening my husband’s load so that he’s free to carry the burden of leading and providing for our family. It’s about being a listening ear when needed. It’s about being his cheerleader. It’s about being whatever he needs us to be.

Pray. Pray about the situation. Pray about your reaction. Pray for wisdom and words. Stand in the gap for your husband while he’s hurting.

Love him. Show him mercy, love and compassion. Be understanding. Remember that we are all sinners. Shower him with grace and forgiveness.
Encourage. Encourage him with your words and actions. Tell him you love him. Show him physically how much you love him. Thank him. Let him know that you are his biggest cheerleader.

Listen. Let him talk and listen, like actually for real listen. Don’t just nod your head and say “mmhmm”. I may have been guilty of that a time or two. 

Heal.  Remember we are helpmates.  We should want to promote healing, not stir the pot.  Don’t feed into anger.  Instead, look for the positives and point your husband’s heart to the cross.

20 Budget Friendly Date Ideas

I love going on dates with my husband, whether they are little mini-dates we catch here and there or a full day together. I love that feeling of just reconnecting with him and being able to give him my full attention without interruption. I think it’s so important to take time out of our busy lives to solely focus on each other. It keeps our marriage alive.

Romance doesn’t have to be expensive to be great! Here is a list of free or nearly free ideas to make your dating a pure pleasure:

  • Have a winter picnic. Put a blanket on the living room floor, grab the pillows off the couch, turn the TV off (or to the fireplace channel), turn the music on and light candles.  Feed each other chocolate covered strawberries.  Take time and enjoy each other.
  • Wake your love up early. Have coffee and donuts then head outside to watch the sunrise together.
  • Take a spontaneous drive without having any destination in mind. Turn the music up, sing together, hold hands and enjoy the ride. Make a love song “mix tape” to enjoy during your drive.  This one is one of my favs!
  • Get a movie or 2, popcorn (movie theater if you like), boxes of candy, favorite drinks, and curl up on the couch together to watch a movie. Wait until the kids are sleeping or send them to grandma’s house for the night if you can.
  • Buy a pizza and play board games together.  We love Scattergories.  And when you gamble kisses, it makes losing not so bad.
  • Celebrate your married romance by spending the day in bed together watching TV.  Only get out of bed to grab snacks then hop right back in.
  • Go to the drive-in, pack snacks and a blanket and get cozy in the back seat.
  • Go shooting together, something we love to do.  I mean, hello, seeing your guy handle a gun is pretty hot.  Just remember, safety first!  
  • Have a spa day by pampering each other with massages, candles and music.
  • Sleep in, snuggling together, before heading out to a local coffee shop to start the day off slow together. Take time to hang out for an hour and catch up!
  • Relive your first date.
  • Write a love letter to each other, exchanging them after a candle light dinner.
  • Volunteer together at a shelter.
  • Park somewhere with a pretty sunset, and talk – learn how to become better friends, and laugh a lot. Sometimes it just feels good to get out of the house and look at God’s creation with your best friend.
  • Have a “remember when” night. Reminisce about your dating days, when you fell in love and recall some of your best memories.  Look through old photo albums together and listen to music from back in the day.
  • Take dance lessons. The sexier the better. Salsa anyone?
  • Go shopping and walk through the mall, holding hands of course!
  • Go off the grid for the weekend- no cell phones, no TV, no computers. You’ll be amazed at what you do for entertainment.
  • Head to the ATM and get out $20. Drive around to some local yard sales and see what you end up with! There are tons on the weekends!  Or you could each take $10 and have a little competition.  Winner gets a massage!
  • Fill the bed of the truck up with pillows + blankets, head out in a field and hop in the back to count your lucky stars.  Don’t forget to take some yummy nibbles along.  Have you ever saw a shooting star?  It’s super romantic and you’ll be entertained for hours trying to recognize the stars and looking for them.

10 Ways To Be His Best Friend

Friendship in marriage is truly a beautiful thing to share together. We all have that song in our hearts. The longing to be “best friends”. The melody takes us back to our best friends, the boys and girls we hung out with when we were little – innocent times, free times, fun times. These were when we shared our secrets and our dreams with our bestie. The Lord puts that song in our hearts when we’re married, the desire to be best friends with our spouse. It’s up to us to read the lyrics God wrote for friendship and learn how to apply it in our marriage.

Building friendship in marriage takes a lot of work and time. We have to realize that straight away and commit to it. If it’s something you truly want, the hard work and commitment won’t feel like a big deal at all. I think one important thing is choosing to spend time together rather than apart. Whether it’s taking a quick trip for ice cream or sitting beside him watching football, time together is precious.

So, are you still friends with your spouse?  Do you love spending time together?  Are you best friends?

Be gentle with one another. When Joe’s parents were sick, he spent a lot of time away from home and with them. It would have been super easy for me to let myself get irritated that he wasn’t here. Not only would that have been super selfish but it deffo would not have been what God wanted me to do. God wanted me to comfort Joe, hold him and lift him up in prayer. And that was a time in our marriage when we grew closer together.

Have fun together!  One thing I can say about Joe and I is we can have fun {and laugh ridiculous amounts} doing anything!  We need to make sure we do the fun together too!  Fun is a key ingredient to a successful friendship. No one wants to spend time with a Debbie Downer.  Laugh. And laugh. And laugh some more.

Listen. Friends enjoy talking to each other, but beyond just talking, their ultimate desire is to listen and implement the desires of their partner. Friends learn how their partner thinks by listening to what their partner has to say. Repeating what your partner said to make sure you understand is a great way to build listening skills. You would be surprised when you do this exercise how what men say and what we hear differs.

See what you still have in common. Chances are you will find out you still have quite a few things in common. Find out what the common interests are and explore them together. Joe and I love truck pulls, watching big brother and random road trips.

Put them first! Don’t just let your spouse be a best friend. Make them your most important friend! Your relationship with your spouse should come before any other relationship in your life, short of your relationship with the Lord.

Find out what makes your spouses heart happy.  Find out what makes them smile and what their interests are and explore them together. It might be football, gardening, photography, art or hunting. This is one that takes sacrifice. When I was first married there wasn’t anything I hated more than sports on TV. It didn’t interest me a single bit. But, I have a husband who loves football (the Green Bay Packers to be specific) and a son who plays football sooooo there are lots of sports-ish things going on here. And ya know what, I love sitting beside my husband in the bleachers on a Friday night watching my son play football. I’m trying with everything I have to learn more about the game (this is the sacrifice part) so that I can participate in a convo with my husband while we are watching the game. Turns out my million questions like “what was that”, “why did they do that” and “what does that mean” is more of an irritation.


Make them feel good about themselves! Would you call someone who only makes you feel worthless and insecure your friend? Certainly not. Tell them about their best qualities. Celebrate their wins!
Remember forgiveness + grace. Even the best of friends have a bad day. Sometimes they say hurtful things or disappoint us. Offer the grace in those moments that you’d want in return. If you want a friendship that lasts, a marriage that endures, you must forgive both big & small.
Love them anyway. Isn’t that what best friends are for? Sometimes I’m sassy and hard to love, but thank God my husband loves me anyway!
Never stop dating. My husband and I turn any alone time together into a mini-date. Whether it is running to the grocery store or a quick little ride on the 4-wheeler together. Snuggle in, hold hands and make that time together count.