Calling all Moms and Women

First let me start by saying that I am not paid to endorse or promote i-mom, they do not even know who I am.  I have simply found that they are a great resource and I would like to share.

Have you heard of iMOM?  I first heard of i-mom last year at the MOPS Convention.  When I got home, I decided to check them out and I was amazed!  There are all sorts of resources on their website.  They have parenting ideas (from creative forms of discipline to chore charts - with lots of printables), they have marriage  ideas (from resolving conflict with your spouse to romantic date night ideas), they have organizational hints and tips, cooking & recipe ideas, etc.  It is called iMOM and when you are looking for ideas for your children, they have ideas for children of all ages (pre-school to teens), but with all the organization and recipes ideas, etc. it's not just for moms.

One of my favorite parts of iMOM is the Espresso Minute.  It is a short, get your day started e-mail (you can have it delivered to your inbox or you can check it out on-line).  Today's Espresso Minute was titled Top 10 Habits Your Family Needs to Break.  It really made me think.

iMOM is Christian based so the values that you see on the website are good and wholesome.  It even tells you about children's movies so you can decide before you go to the theater (no surprises).  For example:  it has a rating system on how much sex, language, violence, drugs, nudity, other might be in the movie.  If it is rated with a 1 for language, it will then have a note below giving a little more detail (ex:  childish name calling such as stupid; Holy Crap), so you know what words it uses (Holy Crap) or how words are used (name calling).  It will give you a brief synopsis of the movie and the message that it is trying to convey.  They are not trying to push their values on you, they just tell you how it is so you can make an educated decision based on your values.

If you haven't checked out iMOM before, check it out and tell me your favorite part of their website.  (If you have checked out iMOM before still let me know your favorite part.)

My Reason for Wanting to be a Better Wife...

When we first got married, I just thought what happens happens. A few years ago I began to reflect on things...my life, my marriage, me.

I'm not sure who said "The only person you can change, is you." I don't know when I first heard it, but I really began to think about that quote.

If you have a bad marriage, it's possible that you can make it a good marriage. If you have a good marriage, don't you think you can make it a better marriage? Can't things always get better (just like they can always get worse)?

I have read several books trying to help me be a better wife...

The Husband Project by Kathi Lipp
Created to be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl
The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie O'Martian
His Needs, Her Needs by Willard F. Harley Jr.
Love and Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

I feel like I have come a long way from where I started as a wife, but I know that I still have a long way to go. What happens, doesn't just happen. It's what we make of it. I have gained something from each of the books that I have read and I try to continue to gain more knowledge of being a great wife. The book that I have gotten the most help from though is the Bible. There are countless verses on how to be the wife that God created me to be.

I think that if I become a better wife, in turn I will be a better Christian. If I become a better Christian, in turn I will be a better wife. I will continue to try to do both and with God's help, I will continue to grow as a wife and Christian.

One thing that really opened my eyes concerning my skills as a wife and really made me want to try harder to be the best wife I could possibly be was a quote from the second wife/marriage book I read (Created to be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl). I cannot remember the exact quote and I am having trouble finding it, but it goes something like this..."Would you want your son to marry someone like you?"

I need to be a good wife (1) because that's what God wants me to do and that's what he created me to do, (2) because my husband deserves it and (3) to model to my sons what kind of wife they should look for. If I am disrespectful to my husband, my sons will think that they should marry someone that is disrespectful to them, etc. (You can change the word disrespectful for any number of words.)

I have been praying since I knew I was pregnant with my first child, for each of them to have a good spouse. One that loves and respects them, one that they can truly become one with, one that will make the rest of their lives beautiful and not miserable.

Well, I hope you are doing the 5 Day Challenge (The Husband Project) with me. I also, subscribe to i-MOM's Espresso Minute (daily e-mail) and I found some things that go right along with Kathi's Husband Project. Check them out...

The 30 Day Marriage Challenge
The 15 Minute Marriage Boost (which has other links to help improve your marriage)

I encourage every wife (young and old, newly wedded or married for years) to try to be a better wife to your husband.  Wouldn't you like him to do the same for you?

"Do to others as you would have them do to you."  Luke 6:31 NIV


See that big smile above?  That's my reward.  I want to know that he smiles because of me (not frowns because of me), I want to know that he is happier for marrying me and that he doesn't regret the decision he made to spend the rest of his life with ME!