Before coming to the dinner table you will want to be sure you have washed your hands, and brushed your hair out of your face and maybe even changed into a clean top.

Many families have assigned seats at the table, if not wait to be shown where to sit. It is good to give an opportunity for the man of the house or a brother to pull your seat out before seating yourself. Give him the opportunity to be a gentleman.  If he doesn’t, then seat yourself.

As a bride, I am grateful that I can bring my heart’s longings to God and know that He will meet each one in His perfect way, in His perfect timing, and for His perfect will. This seems to be a stumbling block for wives. We tend to focus on what our husband should be but isn’t doing for us. We forget we have a role also. We are to complement our husband. We are to do all to the glory of God and not worry about what he is or is not doing. The pragmatics of doing all to glorify God is that I serve my hubby even if he doesn’t deserve my kindness. Read more in Brides and check out the added book under Books of Interest with Annotations. Just thinking…

Psalm 148: 12,13a [NAS]

Both young men and virgins; Old men and children: Let them praise the name of Jehovah;

Redeemed brides are to praise God for who He is, for His character, for His attributes, for the glory of His being, for the glory of His name. All is exalted and above the heaven and earth.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “When God is praised, we have come to the ultimatum. This is the thing for which all other things are designed.”

A marriage is to glorify God and bring praise upon His name. Brides are God’s daughters first and are to praise Him through their marriage and are to first love the Lord, God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength (Mark 12:30).

“With all thy heart” – with its longings, with its affections, with its attachments, with all its desires. “With all thy soul” – with its vital powers, and the will as a royal master in the soul. “With all thy mind” – its faculties of thought of knowledge, of reasoning, and its powers of memory and imagination. “With all thy strength” – this is nothing less than the sacrifice of everything, and the putting forth of our utmost endeavors. All for God, for God alone, and our one desire must be to love and serve Him perfectly. Andrew Murray from God’s Best Secrets.

If as a bride, we are loving God as described above, how blessed our marriage would be. A bride can bring her longings to God and know that He will meet each one in His perfect way, in His perfect timing, and for His perfect will.

I ask myself:

1. Am I willing to make a list of my longings and give them to God?

2. Do I allow self to stand between me and obedience to His way?

3. Do I expect my human husband to meet the needs that can only be met by God?

Marriage is “Joy unspeakable and full of glory.” Nahum 1:7 God is good!

Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

This is one of the best reads on understanding how much our husbands need us as brides to show respect to him. We tend to hold back until he deserves it but we rob him and ourselves of a great marriage by being so selfish. This is a wonderful book to read as a couple. But if he isn’t into that idea, the bride can learn and apply the principles herself. A wife has one driving need – to feel loved. When that need is met, she is happy. A husband has one driving need – to feel respected. When that need is met, he is happy. When either of these needs isn’t met, things get crazy.

I was thinking, the Psalms are so full of the exhortation to Praise God. It must mean we are to Praise God. I think that if God wanted me to praise Him so much, it must be good to sing praises to Him. It must be pleasurable and appropriate. I was thinking in my pragmatic head, of the many ways I can praise Him and be an example to our society. One of the ways as a bride is to praise His abundant goodness through my marriage. I desire to make a difference.  I have been reading and laughing my way through Love & Respect by Eggerichs. It has been so insightful. I think every couple should read it together. If the husband isn’t into doing this, then the wife can make tremendous headway in her marriage by learning from the insights in this book herself. See more in Books of Interest with Annotations. Read more about praise through our marriage in Brides.

Psalm 147: 1 [NAS]

Praise ye Jehovah; For it is good to sing praises unto our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is comely.

“In public worship all should join. The little strings go to make up a concert, as well as the great.” Thomas Goodwin

We brides can praise God for His abundant goodness. It is good to sing praises to Him. It is pleasurable and appropriate. There are many ways we can praise Him and be an example to our society. One of the ways we as brides can praise His abundant goodness is through our marriage.

Knowing that distance creates distance in our marriage, we can begin our praise by thanking God for our husband’s safe return each evening. We can create closeness in our marriage by:

1. Spoiling him. Brides are the only one who knows what their man likes. His favorite gum, candy, or beverage. The way he takes his coffee. Make his life lighter.

2. Giving appreciation. He needs honest appreciation. He wants it from his wife first. Simple thank-you’s mean so much.

3. Willing to apologize. When we have responded wrongly, be willing to apologize. Leave out the, “I’m sorry’s.” Stick to, “I was wrong (the way I responded – tone of voice), will you forgive me.”

4. Planning a treat away. Surprise him with an away night, or picnic on a blanket at the park, a drive to the beach and sit on a bench, and shower him with affection.

5. Learning to laugh. Be quick to find humor in almost anything. Show him laughter.

I ask myself:

1. Am I willing to greet him with his favorite ice-tea drink?

2. Do I allow distance to create distance? May it never be.

3. Can I be creative? Can I learn to laugh? I hope so.

Marriage is “Joy unspeakable and full of glory.” Nahum 1:7 God is good!

Manners are good for each of us but oh how nice it is to be around young people who know and use good manners.

When shopping at the Mall and stopping for a snack, others are affected by our manners. If we are too loud or being disruptive, it affects those trying to relax and have a little snack of their own.

Manners put others at ease, receive respect, demonstrate good behavior, makes us and others feel good, plus it doesn’t cost anything and is a good witness.

There is a proper way to hold a soup spoon. Hold it like you would hold a pencil except that your spoon should be horizontal. Eat soup by pushing the spoon away from you in your bowl scooping the top of the soup. This will aid in eating the cooler portion of the soup. If it is still too hot, simply put the spoon full back into the bowl and wait a minute. Never blow the soup to cool it. Sip the soup from the side of the spoon. The soup spoon rest on the plate.

Hopefully there will be a plate under the soup bowl to rest the spoon while you are not eating the soup. If not the soup spoon stays in the bowl. Of course we never lay a piece of silverware on the table after it has been used.

Enjoy.

Soup can be tricky. Even holding the spoon has an etiquette trick. A soup spoon is held like you would hold a pencil except that your spoon-bowl is up. Then go back to the instructions previously posted: the spoon is scooping the soup onto the spoon away from you. If it is too hot, just put it back into the bowl and wait a minute. Never blow the soup. Sip the soup from the side of the spoon. Never shoveling the spoon into your mouth.

Enjoy – you can even tilt the soup bowl slightly away from you to get that last yummy morsel. Enjoy!

I was just thinking how many brides live with an angry man. Again how many themselves are angry women? Although studies reveal that a few key-connections to anger are 1) Time pressures, 2) Economic hardship, and 3) Interpersonal conflict, no one can make us angry. They just reveal we are an angry person.  See more in Brides.