Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

Words She Needs to Hear {to the men}

Yesterday I did a post called Words He Needs to Hear, about showing our husband our respect through our words of affirmation. Since then I’ve been thinking how important it is for us, as wives, to hear those same words of affirmation from our husbands. While normally my blog posts are directed towards wives, today this is for husbands. So wives, call your husband in the room and let him have a little look at today’s blog.

As women, we often have the feeling that life is ridiculously fast. We have to wear a million different hats as life comes at us with the speed of a thousand gazelles and the chaos of a concert at the state fair. Add to this the voices everywhere around us saying we aren’t enough. We get wrapped up in the lies the world loves to throw at us. They love to target women. Wives often go through their day to day life having a feeling that they just don’t measure up.

How can you help? I have a sneaking suspicion that your words of affirmation…words of beauty, truth and love…could help drown out those voices. Every wife wants to hear those words but more importantly, they need to hear them.  And they need to hear them from you, the one their heart desires!

Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. 
Ephesians 5:33

Help her defeat the lies of the world today guys…

♥ You’re beautiful. I love you just the way you are.

♥ God wanted me to be happy…that’s why He made you my wife.

♥ Thank you for loving me.

♥ I’m glad you’re my best friend.

♥ So the kids are in bed…wink wink

♥ Our kids sure are blessed to have a Mama like you.

♥ I’m a rich man because you are my wife.

♥ You’ll always have my heart.

♥ I’m sorry.

♥ I love the home that you’ve created.

♥ I’m a better man because of you.

♥ You’re worth it.

♥ Thank you for being my helper!

♥ You are a beautiful person, inside and out.

♥ I am such a blessed man thanks to you!

♥ I love spending time with you.

♥ Yeow, you look fabulous in that outfit!

♥ Your heart is safe with me.

♥ Thank you for cooking such a great dinner!

♥ I want to grow old with you.

Words He Needs to Hear

As wives, we have incredible power in the lives of our husbands.  We honestly have the power to either build them up or tear them down.

As wives, we love to feel loved and be romanced.  But for our husbands, they love to feel respected and to know we believe in them. God created men with a need to have respect from their mate. What better way to show them respect than through affirmation!  Our men need to know that they are enough and exactly what we desire. We need to tell them how much we appreciate them!

Each time you give your husband a loving word of affirmation, you are valuing him. He will feel treasured, adored, loved and he will thrive. But something even more amazing happens – when you verbally appreciate your spouse with sincerity, his value goes up in your eyes, too. You see him the way you are describing him and he becomes more and more valuable to you. It is a win-win situation. With more words of affirmation, love grows. Um, hello smokin’ hot marriage! When his woman is behind him, he will be able to take on the world.  Side-note:  I would bet when you shower him with praise, affirmation and kind words…you’ll get the same in return!

And ladies, I encourage you to praise him in front of your kids. First of all, remember your kids are learning what marriage looks like by watching you. They sure do need to see that their Mama appreciates and respects their Dad. It means backing him up when he’s made a decision (even if I don’t agree), it means not making a decision without talking to him first and it means speaking good about him even when he isn’t around. We need to teach our littles to appreciate how hard their Dads work to support and lead our households!

Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. 
Ephesians 5:33
Let’s help him take on the world today girls…

♥ Thank you for loving me.

♥ I’m am so glad to have you as my husband.

♥ I trust you.

♥ I am such a different woman because of you.

♥ Thank you for being such a great husband.

♥ I’m sorry, will you forgive me?

♥ Thank you for leading our home!

♥ I’m glad you’re my best friend.

♥ Hey, the kids are in bed early. Interested? 😉

♥ You are such a great Dad.

♥ Sooooo glad you are MY man.

♥ I absolutely adore your heart.

♥ I love spending time with you.

♥ Thanks so much for doing that for me.

♥ I am more in love with you than ever.

♥ I love holding your hand.

♥ Our kids sure are blessed to have a Dad like you.

♥ You still take my breath away.

♥ You are exactly what I asked God for.

♥ I love you sooooo much!

Embarrass Your Littles

Kids love seeing their parents get affectionate, whether they admit it or not. Sure, you might hear shouts of “gross”, “ewwwwww” or “get a room”. But deep down, they don’t hate it nearly as much as they let on. Normally, the shouts are said with a smile on their face.

I think it’s great for kids to see Mom and Dad putting their relationship first. Most of the time, especially in today’s society, the opposite happens. Parents are making their kids a priority and at the end of the day, they just don’t have any time left for each other.

It’s so important that our kids can watch us giving our spouse love and respect. That they can see we are still pursuing our spouses heart. The byproduct is that my kids see their parents dating. When children see their parents giving each other time, affection, and respect it is a reassurance of our love and makes them feel secure.

Our kids are watching us. They are learning to be comfortable with affection and to be affectionate with their own partner in the long run. Kiss your husband, dance with him and hold his hand. Pursue his heart. Show them your romance. What an absolutely perfect place for them to learn about love!

Here is one of my fav stories…

A few years ago the kids and I went to visit my Grandma in the nursing home. We were there during lunch and sat in the dining room with her. There were many tables in the room with people scattered around them. One table in particular caught my attention. The entire table was empty except for an elderly man and woman, sitting right beside each other on one side. I thought it was totally cute and figured they were married. Grandma told me they weren’t married, they were just “dating”. Which made it even cuter.

On the drive home, the kids and I were talking about that couple and how cute it is that they are “dating” when they are probably in their 80’s or older. And Jade made a statement that not only made me laugh but also made me stop and think that maybe, just maybe, her Dad and I ARE showing them what marriage should look like.

Jade said…”When I’m old, I hope my husband still slaps my butt when I walk past him”

Now I’m not saying by any means that Joe and I are inappropriate BUT we are a very affectionate family. I love you is a daily statement in our household between all of us. Hugs and kisses are never, ever spared. And yes, there might be an occasional butt slap when I walk past him.

We are not only telling our kids what a happy, healthy marriage looks like, we are showing them. Go ahead, embarrass your littles. Show them you’re healthy marriage. Pursue your husbands heart and plant a big ole’ smooch on him today.