Awakening Purpose, Passion and Purity

In a world where marriages are falling apart, mediocrity is the standard, and making money is our primary goal, can we find hope? Is there a sweeter song?
Let's discover together the joy of awakened dreams...
I look forward to journeying with you as we discover a life filled with purpose, passion, and purity.

What do you think, ladies?? A friend passed this 1950’s Good Housekeeping guide on to me, and I couldn’t resist posting it
I like the “prepare yourself” idea, and making the home a place of peace and tranquility…but if my husband was consistently going out with the guys after work while the dinner [...]

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Stephen and Marta Mason’s love story began in a small, war-struck town in Czechoslovakia near the end of World War II.

Looking back, the Phillipsburg couple share a rarely told story built on a chance meeting, a stack of love letters three years thick and what’s kept them together to this Valentine’s Day for 62 years.

Stephen Mason, a 1936 Phillipsburg High School graduate, was assigned as an Army technical sergeant with the 56th Signal Battalion, 5th Corps, to liberate the city of Pilsen, Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic.

Mason was struck by the beauty of the city his first day there in May 1945.

“I saw this beautiful girl wearing a white blouse and white shorts riding her bike through the city,” the 92-year-old says. “I thought ‘Oh, boy. I’d like to go out with her.’”

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I once met a couple who captivated me from the moment I first laid eyes on them. I don’t even know their names, but I’ll never forget their story…

It was Septepmber, 2005, and the category 5 hurricane, Rita, was approaching the Texas coast. There was pandemonium as millions were trying to escape the storm.

As was later recorded: “In Texas, the situation was the worst. The transport department was not prepared for such a large evacuation. As a result, there was a huge traffic jam. The traffic did not ease for 48 hours. Many motorists ran out of gas; there was a huge shortage of fuel, food and water. More than 3 million residents were evacuated before the storm, making it the largest evacuation in the history of the U.S.”

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I’m still feeling the effects of the party.
For all of you who participated I’m sure you know the feeling. Still catching up on missed sleep, still feeling the buzz as the winners of the giveaways are announced (especially if you’ve won!), catching up on laundry and cleaning that got pushed aside…
Need I say more??
I was [...]

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As promised, I’d like to share the next five “nagging alternatives.”

But let’s shift the angle a bit…

In a comment previously left by Scott, he perfectly introduced my next five points by saying:

To me, the question to ask that may lead to a longer term shift in attitude (and therefore behavior) is “what is it my husbands wants that he is not getting?” In other words, what’s the equivalent for him that the housework and helpfulness is for me? What is his unmet need, and how can I go about satisfying it? I believe that when a husband sees his wife making a conscious effort in that direction, his own desire to see to the housework (or other) need will naturally shift in a positive direction.

I use Scott as an example because I want you to hear this from a man’s point of view. Who better to know what they want than the men themselves? So try these tips out and let me know what you think!

6. Smile! Every man likes to come home to a smiling wife…Period.

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My husband and I play squash quite competitively, and when I was just learning how to play he would always give me pointers, like, “Hold your racket up!” Or, “Always keep your eye on your opponent so you know what they’re going to do next!” Or, his favorite, “Bring the ball back!” Meaning make a tight shot to the back of the court so it’s difficult for my opponent to get a clean shot.

I didn’t always take it well…

I’m a competetive person, and so is he, and we had some pretty interesting games. When, in the middle of a game, he would point out what I could be doing better, I would shoot back, “I know what I’m supposed to do in my HEAD, I just don’t always put it all together when I PLAY!”

That’s marriage for you!

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Okay, okay, so I realize I may have stepped on some toes in my last blog, “Yes, Dear”…but as I said, I stepped on my own as well. It’s never easy writing about nagging to an audience of mostly women. You know why?

BECAUSE WE ALL DO IT!

And I’m sure that many of you would say, “Well, I don’t know what else to do! I’ve reached the end of my rope!” or “He never helps me around the house…what am I supposed to do, be his slave??”

Well,as promised in my last blog, I would like to dedicate this post to coming up with some “nagging alternatives.” It may seem impossible that there could be an option other than nagging, berating, and crying to get your man to do something…but there are! Now, this post is addressed primarilly to women, as we seem to be the primary culprits for nagging. But guys, I think there are some important keys for you here too, especially if you are the one in the family who likes things done “just so.”

Here are 10 ways to change his answer from a mumbled, “Yes, dear” to a heart-felt, “Sure, dear!” :

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I once read that there are 3 types of men in the world:

1. The “Commander” – This is the guy who becomes the army general, the President, or the “take control of the situation” kind of guy. He tends to have an air of superiority, can be bossy, but is heroic at the same time. His wife is seen as a martyr for all that she puts up with, and is usually a very submissive and loving wife.

2. The “Visionary” -This guy is the inventor, the missionary, or the travelling musician..the guy who has a dream and spends his life trying to achieve it. This may or may not happen. This man is usually married to a woman who is seen as pretty heroic…afterall, she really believes in her husband’s dream and is willing to turn her own world upside to make sure he achieves his dream…even if it means leaving everything behind and moving to the jungle.

3. And finally, there is the “Steady Man…”

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“A simple ‘Thank You’ will do”

Okay, this is not to brag, but I have read MANY marriage books in my lifetime… and I’m only 25.

They tend to give pretty much the same advice about how to keep your marriage healthy and happy. The primary response, as you probably already know, is the big “C” word… Commitment.

Now, I realize that I just spent a bunch of time in my last blog “Lessons Learned in Marriage: Part I- The Secret” explaining the importance of the “C” word, and so in no way do I intend to undermine what I’ve just written.

However…

There is something that I have personally found to be a cornerstone in my marriage. Something that makes it an absolute JOY to be a wife (apart from marrying the best man in the world )

Can you guess what it is??

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Last year I attended my very first 25th Wedding Anniversary celebration, and wow…what an inspiration!

So how did they do it? Why are they so happy and content after all these years? Did they win the lottery? They’ve never tried. Get the perfect career? Only if hard work for little pay counts. Or did they just live a pretty easy, painless life? Try facing years of terminal illness, near poverty, and -to top it all off- a live-in mother-in-law for 18 years!

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