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I want to share some things from my heart that I believe God has shown me over my 45+ years of marriage.
God wants our marriages to be happy for a lifetime.
God gives us direction to become the wives He wants us to be.
God wants us to choose His way to live our lives.One of the meanings in Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary says treasure means Something very much valued.
I believe God has shown me 5 ways in which we ladies should treasure our husbands.
- We need to Treasure our husband's Good qualities
- Let your husband know you love and respect and appreciate him just as God made him.
- Don't major on what your husband does that you do not like or what you think are negative qualities.
- In Genesis 2:18 God says we are to be our husband's help meet (fit) for him. We are to be husband's completer not his re-creator.
Genesis 2:18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.- Be an encourager not a nagger
- Make suggestions, not demands.
- No man likes to be told what to do by a woman.
- Treat your husband as you did when you were dating.
- Be polite — Please and thank you go a long way.
- Cultivate or work on good respectful manners and love toward your husband.
- Keep in mind how your children see you interact with your spouse is often how they will interact with their spouse in the years ahead.
- Titus 2:3&4 tells the aged women to teach the younger women to love their husbands.
Titus 2:3-4 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,- Major on your husband's good qualities the ones you admired when you married him.
- We need to let God do the changing in our husband's lives just as he needs to work on our lives.
- My husband told me one time, "There is just something about a man that does not want a woman telling him what to do. It may be a very good idea, it may be the right thing. I guess it is our ego or may-be just how God made us. You tell God and let Him tell me."
Ladies I will tell you that does work.
The Holy Spirit can change our husbands when we marry them we just need to be their completer and let God be the changer.- We need to spend time praying for our husbands to make wise decisions for us and our family.
- Ladies we need to learn to practice Galatians 5:22-26
Galatians 5:22-26 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.- Learn to treat your husband like a prince and pray that he will treat you like a princess.
- We need to Treasure the Opportunities God has given us to be the best Wife and Homemaker we can be
Proverbs 14:1 Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.
Proverbs 31:10-12 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
Proverbs 31:25-27 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
(These scriptures show choices a woman can make to be the woman God wants her to be.)
- Ladies we set the Atmosphere in the home. Strive to set a Warm and Loving Atmosphere in your home. One that your husband and family can not wait to get home to. Make it a sanctuary from the world.
- Pray your heart will be right with God.
- Read God's Word
- Pray to have a Heart For God and His will in your life.
- Pray for your husband and for yourself to make wise decisions and for both of you to be safe from the temptations of this world.
- Practice
Proverbs 31:27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Colossians 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
- You do not have to have an expensive home to have a welcoming loving home.
(Don't put your family into debt for things. Pray and ask God to provide your needs.)- Keep your home clean.
- There are many time saving ideas
- Set a timer for wash days (Keep it close by you so you can hear it when it goes off)
- Keep sheets and linens in rooms where they will be used, saves steps
- Keep cleaning items in one container close to where they will be used
- Read books or other sources of ideas to help you.
- When cleaning or doing other jobs you might not want to do think of
Colossians 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
Proverbs 14:23 In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.- In your home have Good Music playing, have good books lying around Have scripture on your walls. (I don't mean all over your walls but attractively placed among your other pictures.)
- Have Some Good Books available
- The Sword Book of Treasures - by John R. Rice
- From My Heart to Yours - by Glorianne Gibbs
- Home Warming - By Emilie Barnes
- We need to learn to Treasure God' Blessings and Protection we have in following God's Order for our Home.
- Ladies - EveryDay we have choices to make.
- We can choose to find out what God says and live His way or we can find out what Satan and the world says and live that way.
- Eve chose to disobey God and we ladies are paying a price today.
- God said in, Genesis 3:16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
- In the New Testament God laid out His plan for us ladies
Colossians 3:18-20 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
Ephesians 5:21-23 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Our families are to be a picture of Christ and the church. Satan wants to destroy our families just as he wants to destroy Christ's Church and our own local church.
Colossians 3:24-25 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.Again in these scriptures we see choices we can make.
We can see God's order for our families very clearly in His Word.
- HUSBAND as the Head of the Home.
- WIFE as the Completer of the Husband
- CHILDREN in subjection to the parents and ultimately they will learn to be in subjection to Almighty God.
- Because God loves us He designed His plan for us so that we would know how to be Happy and content. Work on centering your own life on the Lord. A home out of God's order will not be a happy home.
- Satan has his plan too. For many years now he has through the world tried to destroy the husband and wife relationship through T.V. shows, movies, magazines, ect. The man is always the dumb one and the women or children are the smart ones.
- You may have a much higher education than your husband but remember what God says in Proverbs 14:1a - Every wise woman buildeth her house…:- Always remember real wisdom comes from God not Satan and the world.
- Satan through the world teaches, "Do your own thing" then you will be happy. I want to say Satan is a liar. Satan teaches me,me,me and in contrast God teaches
Jesus
Others.
You
If you want real JOY in your life please don't fall into Satan's trap by usurping God's plan and doing your own thing. Speaking from experience I'd say it is far better trying to live God's way. It brings more blessings and far less heartache.- We need to learn to Treasure our Time with our Husbands
- Make it a point to look nice for your husband.
- If you are cleaning change just before he comes home
- Fix your hair for him
- Let him know he is special to you.
- Make time for just the two of you.
- Put your children to bed early (age appropriate) Spend some time discussing your day or doing something together. (Just the two of you)
- Have a date night for just the two of you or with adult friends. Someone in our church recently heard a pastor tell the men in his church to, "Date your wife" Sounds like a plan to me.
- Go for a walk together
- Watch a good movie
- Play a game
- Go bowling
- Go buy an ice cream or go out to dinner (does not have to be expensive.)
- Find out what you enjoy doing together and do it.
- Prepare now for your future years together. When you have an empty nest it will be fun to be just you two. (And you can still enjoy the children coming to visit)
- Work to build a friendship and a closeness that will last during the difficult times. When hard times come, and they do, learn to depend on God together.
- Treasure every day God gives you together.
- You never know when you might loose your husband to death or a medical problem.
- NEVER GO TO BED ANGRY - always talk things out and resolve them before you go to sleep.
- Satan can always make things seem much worse by morning.
- One of you may not be alive the next morning.
- Make your bedroom a private place for you and your husband.
- Keep your room especially clean
- Keep your room free of clutter . Don't make that your storage room for crafts or chore items.
- Make the room appealing to both of you. Don't have it so feminine that your husband feels uncomfortable. (Ask his opinion about the decorations)
- Keep this an area where just the two of you can talk, be romantic or intimate or just be alone away from all the distractions. Your Special Place Together.
- We need to learn to Treasure the privilege we have to pray for our Husband.
- Pray daily for your husband.
- Ask God to guide and direct him.
- Ask God to guide and direct us to be the help that God wants us to be.
- We can learn to claim God's Promises
Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
James 1:5-6 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
Matthew 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.- We need to learn to pray for God's will and to be content and happy in His will and not our own.
Prepared for a Ladies Conference by Sharon Bliss
