Dementia for 2

I am so excited that day 5 is over for me! I am actually looking forward to some of the other hard days I have not been able to do because of my sluggishness on this day.

Here are the next 3 dares. I can testify to the fact that your relationship will be better if you can do the days that are hard as well as the days that are easy for you.

Day 17 - Determine to guard your mate's secrets and pray for them. (Proverbs 17:9 - He who covers over an offense promotes love,but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.)

Day 18 - Prepare a special dinner at home and focus this time on getting to know your spouse better. (Proverbs 3:13 - Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding,)

Day 19 - Ask God to show you where you stand with him, and ask for the strength and grace to settle your eternal destination. (I John 4:7 - Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.)

I feel the need to elaborate a little on at least 2 of these dares. On day 17 you are reminded to guard your mate's secrets. Women are told in the Word to respect their husbands. When we get angry, we need to vocalize our frustration. More times than not, we don't think of how our husbands would feel about our choice of venting partner. Paul Shepherd taught me that part of respecting your husband is to let him know that you need this outside venting but that you still want to respect him when this happens. So together you decide who you are to vent with. I know this sounds out there but if you think about it would you want your husband talking to his co-workers about your problems at home? If he is reluctant to help you make the choice, you really need to stress to him how important this is for you and why and maybe give a few choices of some of your friends to pick from. Once I was able to think of this as respecting my husband and not him telling me who I can talk to, it made the decision to talk with him about this much easier.

On day 19 you are asked to speak with God about where you are with Him. We are always telling our spouses how much we love them, how we don't know what we would do without them, how we never want to be without them,etc. On this day you are asked to really think about where you will be for all eternity. I know there are people who simply don't believe in God. I would challenge you to ask yourself why you don't believe. Is it really God's fault for your life? Or is it your own decision making that is at fault? If you are not a believer and your spouse is, do you really want to spend eternity separated from God and them? I don't want to get all "churchy" on everyone but I think this is what this day is reserved for. Self-reflection is not a bad thing and asking yourself hard questions can be a most trying thing. It is difficult to see yourself as others see you. The important thing to remember is that God forgives even the most heinous of acts if you just ask.