A sweet friend of ours watched our children for us so that Laura and I could have a date night. We love date nights. I was buying our tickets to a movie and the nice young lady asked me if I had a rewards card. Well, I did not. I said no mam, I don't and then a thought just hit my brain. This was unplanned; completely spontaneous. Spontaneous is a bit dangerous for me because I can say things I regret later at times. I jumped in on this one. I told her I did not have a rewards card and then said, "Do you want to know a big reward that I do have." She said, "What." I said something along the lines of, "One of my greatest rewards is my wife right here. I am married to one of the sweetest ladies in the whole world." This lady who appeared to be around 20 years old said, "Awww, ya'll are so sweet." She seemed tickled that I would brag on my wife like that. She told me that was way better than the rewards card she offered me and I heartily agreed. I then told her that I married way above my head and was proud of it. I did notice that Laura did not dispute that assertion at all; not even a little bit. Well, I guess one should not dispute truth.
Laura thought pulling the fire alarm would be a fun first
It is good to brag on your family. Too often people complain about family members, speak critical of family members, and point out family members' faults to others. There is no real positive side to doing those kinds of things. Part of loving someone is speaking well of them. It is good to speak well of someone to that person, but there is something powerful about bragging to someone else about people that you care about. It can build security in some powerful ways.
I would encourage you to brag on your family to other people in their presence. This can be especially powerful in bragging on your children. If your son gets 3 hits in a baseball game and strikes out once and someone asks you how he did; brag on him. Don't talk about the strikeout. Talk about how he ripped those hits into the outfield. Brag on your daughters. Look for something they have done well and let them know you are proud of them. Talk about how your children and spouse are fun, interesting, courteous, hard working, earn good grades, kind, or a whole host of other things. It will make a difference. It might just sustain them through some tough times.
God the Father bragged on His Son, Jesus. In Matthew 3:17 says, "And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'"
Also, it feels kind of fun to be told that you and your wife are sweet by a 20 year old.
Grateful for those who share the abundant life with me
Barry
3 things I thank God for today
1. Cold milk
2. Jesus' baptism
3. Moths
No comments:
Post a Comment