Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Loving Your Husband

In the last entry, I mentioned the fact that Titus 2 admonishes older women to teach younger women to love their husbands and children. Today I want to expand on what it means to love your husband and some practical things you can do to show your husband that you love him. It is, after all, of little use to love your husband if it doesn’t manifest itself in some way so that he can see it!

I am thinking of three areas of practical applications to this principle. They are:
1. Keep yourself looking good to him.
2. Keep the house neat and warm and inviting.
3. Keep good food on the table.

As I expand on the first point, it is necessary for you to remember that if your husband works out of the house, he is exposed at every turn to women who are dressed so as to attract his attention to them in some way! Be up and cheerful and somewhat ready for the day before he leaves so he will have "happy thoughts" of you during his day. It is the right thing for you to be dressed and fixed up in a nice sweet way in order to bring his attention to you as soon as he walks in the door. This does not mean extravagant dressing in the definition of the culture. It just means to present yourself when he comes home as neat and clean and sweet.

The house should be neat and clean as well. This doesn’t mean there is no dust or dirt, but it does mean that he doesn’t have to jump over toys, magazines or see a pile of dirty dishes in the sink or whatever may be your weakness. Be careful of the priorities of your day and make sure that you are “prepared” for his return home at the end of his busy day.

And make the meal attractive and tasty! Make meal time enjoyable! You can serve good food without spending all day and you don’t need a three course meal so as to avoid adding those extra pounds. Just put some thought into it and plan. If you serve soup, make some muffins to go with it! It you serve a sandwich, make a good salad to go with it. Once in a while, serve a roast with mashed potatoes and a pie for dessert. Pies aren’t really hard to make once you get the hang of it. A little time and effort in making things interesting and comfortable may save you a lot of time in court at a later time!

Here are a couple of easy recipes to start:
Chicken Breast Supreme -- One of our favorites
6 boneless chicken breast halves
8 slices dried beef
3 tablespoons real bacon bits
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Grease the bottom of a glass 9 by 13 baking dish. Lay dried beef on the bottom of the dish. Trim chicken and lay on top of beef. Sprinkle with bacon bits. Mix soup, sour cream and cheese and spread over chicken. Bake uncovered at 275 degrees for 3 hours. Serve over rice.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 ½ sticks real butter melted
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
Cream the above.
1 large egg plus one egg yolk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
2 cups chocolate chips
½ teaspoon soda
Mix well and add to creamed mixture.
Place 1/3 cup dough on cookie sheet about 2 ½ inches apart. Bake at 325 for 15-18 minutes until edges begin to harden and cookies turn golden brown. Cool cookies on cookie sheets and then remove with large metal spatula. Makes 18 large cookies.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's very nice, but what are the husbands gonna do for the wives?

Anonymous said...

Ruth,
I agree with your comments. It is important to keep the house and yourself up.
I am going to try your recipes.
Jodi

Ruth said...

1.God has given husbands a great responsibility toward their wives. Check my husband’s blog at: http://faithfulmen.blogspot.com

2.A person is only able to control his own actions and as women, we can only do what God has called us to do. Our husbands are responsible to God and must seek Biblical truth for guidelines regarding their behavior.

3.As a woman, I am not Biblically qualified to admonish men on their responsibilities. Again, read my husband’s blog at: http://faithfulmen.blogspot.com and encourage your husband to become a participator there.

Ruth said...

Jodi,

Thanks for the response. It is encouraging to know that there are those who agree with that point of view. It isn’t a commonly held position. Hope you enjoy the recipes. I will be using both of the recipes in the next couple of days.

Anonymous said...

Speaking as a husband reading this, who has a wife who does these things, I wholeheartedly agree; wives who do these things will obtain a greater appreciation and gratitude from their husbands. Hopefully the husband will be wise enough to show it!!
Ken M.

Anonymous said...

I enjoyed reading this, Mom! Thanks for the recipes!
~Renee

Kacie said...

Thank you for the chocolate chip cookie recipe! It was yummy and the whole family has enjoyed them. :)

Kacie