The Love Dare - Day 31

It's day 31 of the Love Dare, and some good things are coming out of this dare.

• I'm thinking about the Love Dare sooner in the day now (compared to earlier days of the Dare), and I don't think it's only because I have to write a blog before I go to bed!  I'm beginning to believe that many little actions can add up to significant results.  

• I'm hugging Karen more often now, as a reminder - that everything is going to be okay, that I'm still with her no matter what, that I still love her.  A hug isn't really a big thing, but it can become a big thing if it is given genuinely.  

• I've become more intentional in raising relational kind of subjects ranging from talks about our shared schedules to conversations about thoughts and feelings.  

• I've done the dishes and folded laundry more over the past month - not because I like either of those things, but because it would be a help to the one who I love.  

• And I've spent much more time just trying to think up ways of demonstrating my love for Karen.  What's the old expression?  "It's the thought that counts!"  If that's true, then I've had a good month, and I feel good about it.  

But here's my goal - to "excel still more!"  That's what Paul urges the Thessalonians to do with regard to their love (1 Thess. 4:9-10).  He's already praised them for their love (1:3 & 3:6), but now he urges them to take the good things they were doing and "excel still more."  He wasn't pressing for a form of religious perfectionism that makes us feel guilty if our love isn't perfect.  He was simply urging us to put into action our hunger to be all that God has designed us to be, and not to settle for a level of love that is less than what God designed us to give.  He's urging a satisfaction with what we've done and a hunger to do better.

This is what I feel about the Love Dare, so far.  I'm satisfied with what I've done... but I'm dreaming about doing more.  I think that's the spirit which leads us to "excel still more." 

The Love Dare - Day 30

Here's the pieces to our day:  (1) An open pool (and the concession stand that goes with  it), (2) a holiday (lots of people with free time), and (3) summer-like weather (plenty of enticement to go to the pool).  I guess it was a big day at The Falls!  Karen left for the pool around 10:30 this morning, and I didn't expect to see her again until after 9 pm.  But just as Laura and I were finishing supper, our back door opened and Karen burst in with a look on her face that reminded me of an animal trapped in a cage surrounded by hordes of kids.  (It was a big day at the concession stand!)  She was home for about 1 minute (not sure what she got out of the closet, but she got something) and then was off again.  As she got in the car I yelled out how good it was to see her, and she smiled back and invited me to come down to the concession stand for a hotdog.  (Why didn't I think of that?)

  But here's where the love story comes in for today, and this time I was the recipient.  What I actually had for supper was the fruit of a sacrifice made by Karen.  Though she was planning to work an 11 hour day in a small room full of teenaged workers preparing and serving food to long lines of excited kids and teens trying to make up their minds what they want to buy and whether they have enough money to buy it, she still spent a good part of her morning making supper for those of us who would be relaxing at home all day (Laura and me).  It was a loving sacrifice which Laura and I got to enjoy while Karen was still at work!  It was Galatians 5:13 in action, which says, "through love serve one another."  Both Laura and I did a few things in return, but Karen did more.  It makes me proud of the good choice I made almost 35 years ago, and thankful that she thought I was a good choice as well!