Words He Needs To Hear

Next month, we will celebrate 21 years of marriage.  I will have been officially married to him for over half my life.  And I’m still trying to figure out how respect = love to a man and how I get that really mixed up with food = love.  I can cook for him all the live long day but if I show him no respect then I am showing him no love.

But I do know as wives, we have incredible power in the lives of our husbands.  We have the power to build them up, or tear them down.

As wives, we love to feel loved and be romanced.  But for our husbands, they love to feel respected and to know we believe in them.  And I can assure you that feeling doesn’t come from a loaf of hot homemade bread and potato soup.  Believe me, I’ve tried.

God created men with a need to have respect from their wife.  Our men need to know that they are enough just as they are, and they are exactly what we desire.

Each time you give your husband a loving word of praise, you are valuing him.  He will feel treasured, adored, loved and he will thrive.  But something even more amazing happens – when you verbally appreciate your spouse with sincerity, his value goes up in your eyes, too.  You see him the way you are describing him and he becomes more and more valuable to you.  It is a win-win situation.  With more words of affirmation, love grows.  Um, hello smokin’ hot marriage!  When his woman is behind him, he will be able to take on the world.   Side-note:  I would bet when you shower him with praise, affirmation and kind words…you’ll get the same in return!

And ladies, I encourage you to praise him in front of your kids.  First of all, remember your kids are learning what marriage looks like by watching you.  They sure do need to see that their Mama appreciates and respects their Dad.  It means backing him up when he’s made a decision (even if you don’t agree), it means not making a decision without talking to him first and it means speaking good about him even when he isn’t around.  We need to teach our littles to appreciate how hard their Dads work to support and lead our households!