April 21, 2007
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Husbands and our speech about them
Hello ladies!
I signed up for Nancy Leigh DeMoss’s “30 days of Encouragement Challenge”. The challenge is:
- You can’t say anything negative about your husband . . . to your husband . . . or to anyone else, about your husband.
- Say something that you admire or appreciate about your husband. . . to your husband . . . and to someone else, about your husband!
Here is day 15. I thought you might enjoy it.
“Let your speech always be with grace.” (Colossians 4:6a)
Focus today on how you represent your husband in your home, your church, and your community. In this challenge to encourage, ask: “If everything my family and friends knew about my husband came from a filter of what I’ve said about him, what would they think of my husband?” Do you need to change the filter?
Do you speak positively about your husband to others, or do you complain and criticize? Your speech should reflect 1 Corinthians 13 love. Your words should be kind, and should never “rejoice in iniquity” (v. 6). Refrain from listing your husband’s faults to others. Satan likes to trick us in this area; be wary of sharing barbed “prayer requests.”
Remember, “Love will cover a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8b). Present your husband before others today in a strong, positive manner. Slip in a “good word” for your spouse. Resist the urge to correct or belittle him in front of others. Some of what you say may come back to him, and you want your words to be sweet, building him up and never tearing him down.
Don’t forget: you are always criticizing–or encouraging–before an audience. God hears your conversations when you are alone with your husband in your own home. May your speech be always seasoned with grace.
While you are considering how your speech can reflect the grace of the Lord in your husband’s life, don’t forget that your words can also encourage others. When you share what God is doing in your life through this “30-Day Husband Encouragement Challenge”, others will be blessed. Perhaps other wives will be moved to take up this challenge.
If you are interested in signing up for these free encouragements via email, then here is the link:
http://www.reviveourhearts.com/challenge/
- You can’t say anything negative about your husband . . . to your husband . . . or to anyone else, about your husband.
Comments (15)
This was interesting. I think we could apply this to all our family members and friends, and not only our spouses.
What a great lesson, thanks for sharing it !
This first one: “You can’t say anything negative about your husband . . . to your husband . . . or to anyone else, about your husband ” is very good. My husband had a bad first marriage, and part of its problem was that his first wife bad-mouthed him freely to others. Nobody really said anything about it to her, though, because everybody seems to do it to one degree or another.
So I made a solemn pledge and have kept it for 13 years, never to say anything bad about him to anybody else, not even to our children, my mom, anybody at all. It has served us very well. We have a very trusting relationship because of it.
If only I’d have been as wise as SayersFan. I have so many regrets for doing this very thing because I just happened to be irritated at him at the moment and so I spilled it all out – even to our children. When they got old enough they asked me to stop it and that set me back on my heels until I had cooled off enough to realize that I was the real problem – not my husband. God had to humble me many times. Thank you for the reminder and for sharing the challenge.
When our husband is in ministry, our words can make or break his ministry. If we don’t respect him other won’t either.
thanks for the good reminder~
We did this a few months ago on another blog ring I’m on. I want to thank you for bringing it back to my attention, as I know it helped our relationship a lot in the past. With the current stress we are under, I’m sure it will again be a blessing to us. Thank you. God bless you!
I went through these and shared them with a group of ladies. They are very good! Thank you for sharing!
Good advice…Godly advice…I needed to hear it.
One thing that drives me crazy is when I hear a wife make negative(at least less than positive) comments about her husband in the “third person” when he is within hearing distance. Anytime is bad – but really! It’s no way to build the husband up and “reverence” him.
God bless you for sharing ~E
Hello….came across your site from “A Christian Home.” Thought I would drop in and say hello. I hear alot of women putting down their husbands or boyfriends. Which is very sad to hear. But reading your post gave me encouragement. Thank you. I have subscribed to your blog…:) Have a wonderful Monday.
This is a wonderful thing…thank you for posting it. I have three close friends whose husbands have died from sickness, cancer, and a car accident. These are young widows (late 30′s to early 40′s), when I think of how short our lives are,it is but a vapor, my husband is my best friend and although he is far from perfect…. so am I. I love you sites.
Blessings.
That really interesting. I’ll try to check back more often. Tomorrow Matt & I are going to a conferance at our church including Friday. I’ll take picture’s and put them on my xanga site and share about how the conferance went. If ya get a chance stop by, I had a very interesting week on my end. Blessing,
Great challenge!
edification is like a checkbook you can’t spend on you ONLY everyone else. I signed up to the emails, thanks for posting the address. Dawn