Happy (Late) Valentines Day!!!

Hi there! I hope you all had a great Valentines Day!!! Did you guys do anything fun? As I was doing some Valentines stuff with Ian, I was thinking about my marriage. I had written all of the Love Is . . . attributes from 1 Cor 13:4-8 on little hearts for Ian and we were talking about them and about what love really means. I was thinking about how often I fail at demonstrating real Christ-like love to Bill (which is the way I really should be teaching those attributes to Ian in the first place). How often am I impatient, how often am I rude or think something unkind?

Something I try to do in parenting situations - especially the frustrating ones - is go through each fruit of the Spirit and question whether it was evident in how I dealt with the particular situation. Was I loving? Were my actions gentle? Was my tone of voice kind? I'll be honest, I don't do that as often in my marriage, I often take the filter off for Bill. Poor guy. So anyway, I really want to change that. I want to be more intentional in my interactions with my husband. I'm sure you all are much better at this than I am, but if anyone wants to join me in this you are more than welcome. :)

I am going to do my best to weigh my interactions with Bill - especially the frustrating ones - against these verses:

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." 1 Cor. 13:4-8

and these fruits of the Spirit:
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control.

Which ones do you struggle with? How can you be more intentional in your relationship?