Recipe for a Warm Heart

Dear sisters, I don’t know what type of man you have, or how he treats you, or how much you desire/don’t desire intimacy with him. But one thing I do know… for some reason, however many years ago, you loved him enough to give yourself to him in marriage. There are/were SOME qualities about your man that attracted you to him.

In the busy-ness of daily life, it’s easy to overlook those little things that we loved about our men, and focus on those things about him that seem to grate on our nerves. As a result, our hearts grow cold toward them, and our times of intimacy are less enjoyable than they could be.

This happened to me with my precious husband last year. All of a sudden, I was acutely aware of tiny things that I never before seemed to notice. And they were making me mad! (I could use a valid hormonal excuse here… but God gave me the remedy before He gave me the hormone replacements!)

I didn’t know why I was getting so aggravated with my husband. Neither did he… (grin). Then one day in my Quiet Time, God brought Philippians 4:8 into my focus like it was a flashing neon sign.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

God convicted me that I was thinking about my husband in all the wrong ways. Somewhere along days, weeks, months, years… I had stopped being completely grateful for him, and started obsessing on those traits that frustrated me.

After a tear-filled time of confession, the Lord led me to do a little experiment. It worked so well that I’m challenging you to do the same. It's a recipe for a warm heart.

Recipe #1: A Warm Heart (Toward Your Husband)

Ingredients:

• Philippians 4:8
• Piece of Paper
• A few minutes to pray and ponder

Directions:
Using the adjectives in Philippians 4:8, make a list of things about your husband that fall under each specific category. Then, thank God for your husband.

Example:

If there is something TRUE about him, write it under the “Whatever is True” column. If there is something NOBLE (worthy of reverence, or honorable), write it under the “Whatever is Noble” column. If there is something he does that is RIGHT – by all means, list it under the “Whatever is Right” column. Do the same with whatever it is about him that is PURE, whatever is LOVELY (loveable), and whatever is within him that is PRAISEWORTHY.

Ask the Lord to help you remember WHY you fell in love with your man, and try to write at least one thing down in each category. Every day, keep asking God to open your eyes to something good about your husband, and write down whatever it is that you see. Then, make it a practice to thank God for those specific traits you wrote down.

For over a year now, I’ve been taking a category each day and reading through those specific traits, thanking God that they are a part of my husband’s personality and life. It has been such a blessing to me. That “feeling” of loving and deeply appreciating my husband is back in my life and marriage. It makes all the difference to him and to me!

If you follow this recipe, it may take several days or weeks, but eventually, you’ll start to notice your heart warming toward your man. You’ll start to think about him in a different way, and appreciate the sweet things about him that drew you to him in the first place. I’ll bet that some of you will even start to smile at random times of the day when you think about him.

And one day, all of a sudden, those aggravating little traits of his that drove you up the wall won’t be so prevalent anymore. Your “Slow Cooking” heart will be warming up to your husband, and the intimacy you share will be even sweeter.

“Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” Philippians 4:8-9 (The Message)

In Jesus' Joy~
Jennifer

**Linked up for Works for Me Wednesday**