Last things to remember in house building!

*Plan revisions. Often a clever builder will look at the way something is going together and realize that it is not exactly what the homebuilder had in mind. At that point, it is up to a successful builder to TWEAK the plan! If two crown moldings are not exactly fitting together a skilled builder will TWEAK something along the line to make the necessary adjustments so that the whole thing fits together correctly. In the same way, we need to look at our marriages ALL THE TIME. What worked at one stage does not necessarily guarantee that it will work in another., You need to make the necessary adjustments to make the whole thing fit together. Assessments must constantly be made. Your individual needs, the needs and requirements of children and the needs and demands of your marriage will differ year to year, situation to situation. Economic demands and conditions change. Assess where your marriage is at right now and decide what needs to be worked on and get a plan to make your marriage the best it can be! A good way to assess it is by the way you TALK ABOUT IT! Do you need more time to do things together? Or more time to WORK together? TWEAK it and make it work!!!

*Finishing touches – things that need extra attention – polish & clean – start with your WORDS! What do you FEED into the relationship with your words?

“Swear to your own hurt and don’t change.” Love deeply. Purpose to love extravagantly. I CHOOSE YOU. When glitches come up in housebuilding, the builder doesn’t throw the plans out and leave the house unfinished. Whether it is costs that have gone up, something that has to be entirely redone, or inferior products that must be replaced with different products, he decides that the finished product IS WORTH THE SACRIFICE And GETS HIMSELF to the TASK. Purpose that you will travel life with someone and INVEST in making their life better – yours will be better just for your investing. Love is the greatest power there is… and true love is NOT dependent on the object of the one who is loved: Love always says a great deal about the person who is doing the LOVING! Love is unselfish, kind… the person doing the loving demonstrates qualities most like Christ Himself…

*The finished work - *Reflection on the builder and the skill of the builder. LOOK AT WHAT THEY DID WITH THOSE RAW MATERIALS! Remember the finishing touches at each point along the way… Building a marriage IS like building a house in that there are ALWAYS things that need extra attention and remodeling! With a house, like a MARRIAGE, the WORK is NEVER completely finished! When you turn your attention away, both of them see the effects too! There are NO shortcuts!

And now we have the toolbox filled. Your life will reflect the use of the tools, and shine the success of having used them. And you will send your children off with those same tools, “equipped for every good work.” Equipped for success in THEIR relationships, in how THEY respond and live through adversity and challenges in their lives. Equipped to live with JOY through every stage of their lives… How powerful is THAT?!...

Challenge: What revisions should be made to tweak your marriage to be the best it can be? Where are some areas you can polish or work on to be a better spouse TODAY?!  What can you do to invest more into your relationship?  Where have you turned attention away from being the best spouse you can be?  Have you gotten sloppy in areas that need to be addressed?  If your child treated their spouse the way they are learning from you from how you treat your spouse, would you be happy?  WORK on your marriage today and every day - it's worth it!