i gotta die...

http://www.proverbs31.org/devotions/i-gotta-die-2012-04/

pulling one part of this 'daily encouragement' from proverbs 31 ministries is the following:

"so often when we think of Jesus' admonition that ther is no greater love than to lay down you life for friend, we think of the dramatic ways that might happen. we might jump in front of a car in order to get our friend  out of harm's way. a soldier might willingly give up his life on the battlefield.

but what if it also means that we learn to die to self in the every day details of life? in my interactions with others, especially those within my own family? these daily, hourly and even moment-by-moment decisions sometimes seem difficult!"

to be quite honest, i had made a large effort to be less hard-headed & stubborn before adam & i were ever married, but reading the above excerpt reminds me of when i really started to look at things differently. i was SO SO excited for marriage -- no joke. SO excited! and i love the ideas of couples devotions together...growing in God together, but also seperate. it is important to grow together in God, but also maintain a personal relationship, yourself with God. anyways, so i bought a book by Eric & Leslie Ludy titled 'the first 90 days of marriage'. i got over half way through it & somthing quite stinky happened -- the book must have been a misprint because it started over like half way through! i was so upset! so, i contacted the seller on amazon & they said they would refund it -- i have yet to do it. procrastinator. ugh, anyways, im getting side-tracked. so, i bought the book & it really made me think about our marriage, gave me daily challenges & helped me do exactly what the author of this article is saying. dying to yourself daily (in this case for my spouse) & doing everything in your power to make your marriage a healthy one: being a selfless wife...things as little as giving your husband the last cookie. and that is where things really started to change.

isn't it just encouraging, amazing, refreshing what the Lord can do? AAMEN! :)

find it here: http://www.amazon.com/The-First-90-Days-Marriage/dp/0849905249/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1334600131&sr=1-1

i really need to get it sent back in & get a new copy, so i can start it again. i also bought like 10 other books that i have yet to read! i've been reading the harry potter set i got for my birthday! :) yikes.