Thankful Thursday (Strategic Financial)

This morning I was reading the blogs that I subscribe to and recognized a common theme for Thursdays.

"Thankful Thursday" posts are both popular and inspiring.  I'd like to inspire people and I'd like to be popular.  This is my "Thankful Thursday" post.

Sometimes I wonder if gratitude is not the underlying motivator of love and respect in marriage.  I have noticed that when I am being disrespectful of my husband, I can change my attitude simply by thinking of why I am grateful to have him as my companion.

In the Protect and Provide category of Your Husband's Deepest Desire cards, this one directly expresses gratitude.

I named it "Strategic Financial" because of the juxtaposition of the bank sign with the decaying bank building.

I wrote it as a way to encourage a husband in troubled financial times.

I don't know if I have ever thanked my own husband for his taking command of the finances in our house.  I cannot even say that I have truly developed a respect for his desire to do so.  I know that I am delighted to see how he rises to the occasion.

I love to see the beam of accomplishment in his eyes when he uses his paycheck to pay for household expenses.  I have begun to look forward to that moment every other week.  To be honest, it has not always been like this.

Since reaching adulthood, I have been a very independent woman; obsessively independent.  I do not relinquish the reign of control easily.  I have identified that attitude as the first point of failure in my previous marriages.

I have become painfully aware of how important it is for me to let it go and get out of the way; to submit and surrender my own thinking to God's Word.  God assigned the headship of my home to my husband.  It is not wise or healthy for me to defy that instruction.

This card is, honestly, about me teaching me to surrender control to my husband.  Even as I write this I am painfully aware of my own ego screaming STOP at my desire to obey.  I protest.  It is not easy to live life according to God's instructions.  It simply is not easy to discard the deep impact of feminism's instruction or my own sense of what is fair and what is not.

I have been examining how often I think I know better than God.  Or, worse yet, how often I think I can override what He has commanded.  I recently read a blog post by Mark Gungor entitled "Christians Think Too Much."  He said, "After all, it’s not like what God says is merely a bunch of suggestions to follow only if you like them, if they are convenient and work for you . . . People intentionally disobey the word of God just to make themselves happy and are insulting Him in every conceivable way. They want his blessings and do not make any connection between the way they are living their lives and the obedience God requires of us."


Ouch! 


It is empowering to discover that I can turn the tide on my mistaken thinking simply by becoming thankful.  When I pause to count the blessings, wonders, and miracles in my life, I become more submissive to God's commandments for me.  


I challenge you to an experiment on this Thankful Thursday.  Try developing gratitude before attempting to accept a doctrine that has troubled you.