Last Sunday, March 1, I went to church and heard a wonderful sermon about Love and how we treat our loved ones. The minister asked the congregation to participate in the Love Dare. Each day you are to do/not do/say something to your spouse/children/family. I decided to take on this challenge, or dare.
Day One - Say nothing negative all day to your family.
This one was pretty easy. I was a little nervous because it was a snow day so I had to remain positive for the entire day - no breaks! The boys had such a good time playing in the snow in the morning and riding bikes in the afternoon after it all melted away. The only rough spot I had was at dinner time. Everyone wanted something different to eat. This is a huge frustration for me. Why can't we all eat the same thing? Not that easy. So I decided, with a smile, to go ahead and make different dinners for all.
Day Two - Do at least one unexpected gesture of kindness for your spouse or family.
Again, easy. Tod and I always love to do the crossword puzzle in the paper each day. I always get the first crack at it. When Tod gets home he finishes it. On Saturday's the puzzle is all his. Well, this day I saved it for him to do. I know it doesn't seem like much, but even the small gestures mean a lot.
Day Three - Buy your spouse or family member something that says, "I was thinking of you today."
I failed. It was super cold out and I didn't leave the house except to take the boys back and forth from school.
Day Four - Contact your spouse or family member sometime during the business of the day. Have no agenda other to ask how they are doing and if there is any task you can do for them.
I had to make up for yesterday's failure. I sent Tod a text message just to see how he was doing and to let him know that I loved him.
Day Five - Ask your spouse or loved one to tell you three things that cause him or her to be uncomfortable or irritated with you.
Again - failure!! I didn't like this dare day! Maybe I just don't want to know. Maybe I already know and don't want to hear it.
I explained the Love Dare to Tod. He told me that he already felt loved and didn't want me to make extra sacrifices, i.e. the crossword :), to show it. Well, I think that sometimes we can say the words, "I love you" when we start and finish our day, but it is the time in between that we can choose to show that we love those people in our lives.
This week will be better. I am going to continue with the Love Dare. Stay tuned!
10 comments:
Wow! That is so sweet. I admit that I would have trouble not saying something negative all day! Good for you!
I've heard of this... seems lots of churches are promoting it lately. Very sweet.
(i'm sure i'd fail with the "say nothing negative" day :p )
We skipped Friday too. Somehow, hearing the negative/annoying stuff doesn't fit with the rest of the dares.
Amy W. told me about this...right up my alley! How fun for you and Tod! :)
Great Concept!! Do you get to pick out each day what you're going to do/not do/say/not say? or do you just come up with it yourself? I think everyone could benefit from doing this. :)
There is an outline to follow. You can go to www.gsumc.org and download each week's worth of dares.
This is funny....I have the book and went through about 20 days of it without telling Dave. Then we watched the movie "Fireproof", where the whole idea is from, and I told him I had already done that. He had no idea! He never picked up on any of it! Does that mean I didn't do it very well, or that I'm just always that loving? ;)
Do you rotate "love dare week"?
I think it will get old very quickly, if the others in the house don't reciprocate.
(((Kat)))......to me you already seem very unselfish and loving, but it's probably good to look closer at how we show love.
nice post kat. i enjoyed reading.
I am trying this at our house too :)
Post a Comment