Bringing out the best...

Bringing out the best in others is what we should strive to do. As a wife, I should be striving to bring out the best in my husband, as a mother I should be striving to bring out the best in my children, as a friend I should be striving to bring out the best in my friends. We do this by lifting one another up,not bringing them down. Its all about thinking of others and putting yourself last. Its about giving and sharing, not taking and receiving. We should be praying for our husbands,children and friends daily, and without ceasing. As I have grown as a christian I know I do not pray for my wants, but for Christ's will in their lives. We don't want to cause a friend to stumble anymore than we want to hurt them. In bringing out the best in my husband,I have learned that he wants my time. Time shared is special to him, and lately I have not been the best companion. We can always sit and say to ourselves or others what we don't like about our husbands, but is that right? Is that a way for us to grow closer? All those ideas and feelings should be shared with our husband or wife. With my husband, the more time we share together,the more we are growing as a couple. When we took our vows, it just wasn't one sided, we became a whole together in a bond with Christ. We are no longer living just for us, we have a partner now that is part of all we do, just as when we become christians, we are no longer living for ourselves, we are living for Christ. As we lay ourselves down for Christ, we also lay ourselves down for our husbands also. I know if I make my husband a cup of hot tea,that is really special to him. If I make a dinner, he feels love. The more I seek to please my husband, the more he seeks to please me. Marriage can never be just one sided. Just as with our children, we need to bring the best out in them, not cause them to stumble over our sins. We need to praise our children when they have done good. Praise is something special that brings love together. We don't want to praise them when they do wrong,but we must disipline with love, not anger. If we disipline with love, they are still going to feel that amazing love that occurs only between a mother and her children. For our friends, we want to live them up with our words and actions also. Isn't nice when someone tells you that they have been thinking of you? When we make ourselves available to those we love, we are sharing a peice of Jesus with them. To bring out the best in others, we first must bring out the best in us, and to do that we must be growing in Christ daily, and cherishing our walk together. No one wants to be put down, no one wants to be forgotten when they are going through a trial in their lives. For us to walk with Christ, we must share our walk through our mouths and our actions to others. Even when Christ Himself disiplines us, He does it with love. So therefore we must follow in His example of loving others, sharing and giving our time. When they say,"We spell l-o-v-e, with the letters t-i-m-e", they are speaking sound wisdom. What are you giving your time to today?