The Love Dare....Intro, Days 1 & 2

I'm not sure if anyone remembers the movie "Fireproof" with Kirk Cameron.  It was a heart wrenching movie and I highly recommend it (as a matter of fact, I do have a copy if anyone wants to borrow it).  In the movie, the character is having trouble in his marriage.  His dad gives him a book, The Love Dare.  He reads this book and completes each dare, to make his marriage better, stronger, and to also deepen his relationsip with God.   I won't give away the ending, so with that said, my dear friend lent me her copy of "The Love Dare" workbook.

I read the introduction and read for Day 1.  It took all that I had not to read ahead and skim the entire book.  I plan on taking it day by day.  Because the book is not mine to write in, I'm going to blog about it, taking notes on what I've learned, what I've done and the results I see.  I'm also putting a twist on this, because it's more geared towards husbands and wives.  My husband and I have a pretty solid relationship and marriage.  Things are really good (but hey, who can't use some improvement).   So, I thought long and hard, and prayed and decided to go along with these dares in the book, extending them not only to my husband, but to my children as well.  Days 1 & 2 worked out well.

Day one:  Patience.

"Few of us do patience very well, and none of us do it  naturally.  But wise men and women will persue it as an essential ingredient to their marriage relationships.  That's a good starting point to demonstrate true love." 

Isn't that the truth?  Patience is very hard and I pray for it several times a day every single day.  I have amazing patience with the husband, the kids, not so much.  Here is the million dollar question:

How did I demonstrate patience?  When something spilled all over the floor, I asked for help in cleaning it up instead of raising my voice saying "Come on really??"  I spoke in a calm manner, I didn't stomp around when frustrated or angry.  I kept my anger and frustration contained, so it couldn't be seen by the children.

What result did I see?  Peacefullness in the house.  There was little to no fighting between the kids.  Everyone was calmer and more patient with each other.

Day 2:  Kindness

"Kindess has 4 basic core ingredients:  Gentleness, Helpfulness, Willingness and Initiative....You will never learn to love until you learn to demonstrate kindness."

You know the saying "You hurt the ones you love the most".  So true, yet so sad.   You see, I have no problem being kind and helpful to others, but sometimes, when things are so chaotic and everything is going wrong at home, the kindness goes out the window.  There is that saying "Charity begins at home".  Another so true.  A good tree will produce good fruit.  I am the tree, my children are the fruit.  My goal is to yield good fruit that will yield more good fruit and so on.

How was I kind?  It was tough, but again, along with the patience, I didn't raise my voice, I spoke with enthusiasm, I gave extra hugs and kisses.  I brought in the patience from the day before and the kindness just followed.

What was the result?  Again, another day with much peace, love and kindness extending to other members of the family.  The kids got along, they played nicely and hardly fought (only 1 incident)!!   I noticed them doing sweet little kind things for one another all day long. 

So far so good!!  This Love Dare is great.  I'm learning some great new things and I'm being held accountable for my actions.  I made a promise to myself and to God that I was going to change me, change how I react to situations, change how I think about things, change the dynamic of my family, all my changing myself.  I want a deeper relationship with Christ, and with His Holy Mother.  I know, with their help, The Love Dare will be a success and the lessons will be something I will carry with me for the rest of my life.