Cut Off!

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32)

This past weekend, JT and I were doing some yardwork. (Actually JT was doing most of the work but I did check in with an occasional word of encouragement and a beverage.) At one point, the girls and I stepped out of the house to see how he was doing. JT was busy hedging along the side of the house. After checking in with him, we turned to go back into the house but before I could get in the door, the hedger fell silent and I heard JT say, “Aww, no!”

I zipped back around to the side of the house to see what was wrong. JT simply said, “Could you please go into the house and see if the phone is working?” I went in, checked the telephone, and found there was no signal. Call me clueless, but I still didn’t realize why JT was asking me to check the phone until I got back outside. I told him the phone wasn’t working and he said, “I didn’t think it would. I accidentally cut the phone line.”

Though my temper sometimes flares, I didn’t get upset or angry with JT. I knew he was already annoyed with himself and I didn’t want to make him feel worse. Besides that, it would have been so wrong of me to criticize him! After all, JT has stood silently and hugged me lovingly as I told him how I’d broken off the car’s side view mirror (more than once!) while pulling into the garage. JT never uttered one word of condemnation when I shattered the window of the new minivan with the stroller that had slipped from my hands as I unhooked it from the ceiling of the garage.

After placing a service call to the telephone company, I thought about how I had responded to JT’s mistake and was proud of the way I’d handled the situation. I didn’t fly off the handle and exacerbate the situation with angry words. I didn’t belittle my husband by offering sarcastic remarks.

Sometimes my temper flares and I handle situations improperly. Over the past several months, I’ve been praying that God would help me use the fruits of the spirit to guide my actions. God has seen my weaknesses and has been answering that prayer. In Ephesians 4:32, we are reminded to be kind, loving, and forgiving in our interactions with one another.

What a shame it would been for me to sever communication with my husband while I seethed about a telephone line he had accidentally cut! Telephone lines can quickly and easily be repaired, but the real lines of communication often take much longer to restore, especially after they’ve been damaged by thoughtless behavior and unkind words. I pray we all will let the words of Ephesians 4:32 guide our interactions with others!

Marriage Monday:The Crazy Way We Met

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. (I Corinthians 13:1)

Once again, it’s Marriage Monday over at Chrysalis and this month we’re blogging about a fun topic: “The Crazy Way We Met’. e-Mom has invited us to share stories about how we met our hubbies! What fun reading this will be for us all!

In September 1999, my friend and sorority sister Rhonda, told me that her husband had a cousin named JT who was new to the area and looking to meet people. Rhonda explained that JT was a Christian and was really hoping to meet a lovely, fun-loving Christian woman.

Rhonda thought JT and I would be a great match. She suggested that a double date along with she and her husband would be a great way for JT and me to meet. I explained to Rhonda that I was really not interested in a blind date but she convinced me that it would be fun and that a “walk on the wild side” would be good for me.

That night, as I got ready the 6:00 pm date, I told Valerie, my roommate at the time and my best friend, that I would be home by 8:00 pm. My plan was to chat cordially for a little while, enjoy a good dinner, get back home as soon as possible, and put the silliness of a blind date behind me.

Rhonda had already told me what JT looked like and what type of car he was driving. As I pulled into the restaurant parking lot, I saw the car Rhonda had described and spotted a man matching JT’s description getting out of it. I thought, “He’s pretty cute. Perhaps this won’t be such a bad night after all.”

The night turned out to be one of the greatest nights of my life! JT was shy and handsome, but also proved to be intelligent, insightful, and thoughtful. After Rhonda and her husband had gone, JT and I spent a long time chatting in the restaurant parking lot. We exchanged telephone numbers and promised to get in contact with one another soon.

That night, I returned to my apartment around 11:00 pm. Valerie didn’t even have to ask whether or not I’d had a good time. My face showed it all! After our first date, JT and I were inseparable! We dated for 3 years and married on August 17, 2002.

To read more great stories, visit Marriage Monday.

In With the New!

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. (Proverbs 24:3-4)

JT and I have new bedroom furniture! After nearly 6 years of marriage, we finally bid farewell to our hodge-podge bedroom furniture. Though mix and match and shabby chic may be popular themes on HGTV, neither theme was working well in our bedroom!

The former bedroom “set” (and I use the word ’set’ very, very loosely) was a not so harmonious mix of JT’s bachelor days and my bachelorette days. The pieces were functional but were a variety of colors, sizes, and styles that did not compliment one another. Our new matching bedroom set is dark walnut and features a gorgeous sleigh bed, a tall chest of drawers, a wide mirrored dresser, and a matching nightstand. (An added bonus is that the new bed is too high for Sweet Pea to climb up onto!)

In addition to the bedroom set, we also purchased a large comfortable chair. This chair is my favorite part of the bedroom! It’s the perfect place to curl up with a great book or snuggle with my honey. However, whenever I’m hanging out in my favorite chair, I’m usually on my laptop planning our weekly menus, chatting with the gals on my favorite forums, surfing the internet, or working on my current writing project.

If you ask JT what I’m doing while lounging in my chair, he may share a different opinion. He thinks I’m up there quietly doing some online shopping. This may or may not be true. On occasion, my browser may have been pointed towards…

eBay.com
craigslistorg
Smartbargains.com
overstock.com
qvc.com
deepdiscount.com
couponcabin.com

No matter how we spend time in our bedroom, JT and I love our new furniture. We’re on our way to creating the perfect retreat just for us!