How to Love your Husband...

There are so many ways to love your spouse. We say that we love our husbands a lot - and we do! But how many times do we say the words without actually living out what we mean. Here's a list of 10 ways you can show him just how much you care that I've done or are working on. (I've also included some tips for implementing a few of these ways to show love. I'm admitting nothing, but I imagine that there could be some downsides to these well-intended actions.)

10. Throw away his old underwear and t-shirts and surprise him with new ones washed and folded in his drawers. (But if you forget to actually buy and wash new ones for him after you throw the old ones away you shouldn't act annoyed when he wakes you up at 5:00 am to ask if he has any clean t-shirts.)

9. Make your husband a lunch to take to work. (But double check to make sure that you've removed the paper squares from the sliced cheese before you put it on the sandwich.)

8. Take an interest in your husband's work and spend some time getting to know his co-workers. (But do not make a joke to his boss that could be misinterpreted as criticism so that your husband gets a lecture on "handling" his wife the next day.)

7. Cook for your husband. (But if something goes wrong or you burn the meal do not yell and throw the spatula across the kitchen.)

6. Find an economical option for lodging on vacation and make reservations to surprise him. (But don't cry or be mad at your husband if you forget to get exact directions and you spend 2+ hours wandering around the same 6 block radius in London carrying your luggage while your feet hurt.)

And a few on a more serious note...

5. Don't criticize your husband or men in general with your girlfriends. It's so easy to get caught up in a conversation that puts men down. Show him love by always speaking kind words about him to others.

4. Trust him with the kids. Seriously. Show him that you know that he is an intelligent grown man who can care for his own children. He might need to know a couple of details, but he doesn't need a 2 page list of step-by-step instructions on caring for the kids for a couple of hours. Dad may do things completely differently, but let him be the Dad.

3. Make yourself presentable. We all have those days that we don't shower because we aren't going anywhere and we'll just be cleaning the house. But take a few minutes to clean yourself up before your husband comes home. Trade the sweatpants for jeans. If you didn't wash your hair, just throw on a baseball cap and a little lip gloss. It doesn't take much to show him that you want to look nice for him. If you need a little help in this area I am loving this blog that has quick fashion tips for moms. She features easy ways to look great in a hurry.

2. Meet his physical needs. My husband's primary love language is physical touch while mine is not. It's a real stretch sometimes for me to want to cuddle and kiss and hug and ... all the time. But I know that physical contact is what he needs from me.

1. Cut him some slack. I've written about it before, and Sandra wrote about it yesterday, but I can't say it enough. Love = Grace. Always. You can't have one without the other. Recognize the wonderful things he does and the sweet things that he says. And overlook the ugliness. We all act in ways that we shouldn't and I sure hope Tim overlooks my bad behavior some days!

*I'm going to have to add Be willing to apologize to my list. I was annoyed with my husband the whole time I was writing this because he was fixing dinner, but not the way I would have fixed it. (Never mind being thankful that he was cooking dinner AND watching the boys while I was writing.) Ummm...yeah. Good job showing grace, Alicia. Thankfully, he is a wonderfully gracious man himself. I say all this to remind our our readers that we are often writing to ourselves with posts like these. I can't speak for the other girls, but I don't have it all figured out yet! Thanks for joining us on our journey though.

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