keeping it together

student: Oooooh Mrs.PJ, you are looking good today.
me: Thank you, but I wish you would pay more attention to your work.
student: Awww Miss, you know I will take care of that later. Why don't you let me take you out this weekend?
me: Um, no thanks, I am happily married. Why don't you do that work now?
student: Miss, haven't you ever heard of divorce?
me: Not in my house.
class: Ooooooooooh, she shut you down!

     As you can see, some students have no shame in kissing up to try and get out of work. If I took all of the monetary bribes I was offered I could have retired by now. That's not what this post is about though. I want to tell you about the happily married part. Just don't tell Mr. PJ because I don't want him to get a big head, but he is an awesome partner and I want to share why. So here is my top three list.

    3. Share the workload. When we were dating I was super impressed at how clean Mr.PJ kept his apartment. We are talking laundry, dishes, vacuuming, the whole package. He still pitches in whenever and wherever he can. You all know how much work there is in housework. In my eyes there is nothing more attractive than a man that voluntarily washes dishes.

    2. Support your spouse. When I'm trying to get our little dude to do something necessary, like brush his teeth, and he is resisting, my husband will tell him, "you need to listen to your mother little dude." It sends a strong message, that we are a team and we work together. He doesn't just stop with the parenting bit, he supported me when I was finishing school,  he supports my decision to be a working mom, he has no problem with me doing things I want to do. For example he occasionally gets up early Saturday mornings to hang out with the kids so I can volunteer at a thrift store for a few hours.

    1. Affection. He let's me know he needs me as much as I need him.

    I think some of the best advice I ever read about marriage was that love is a verb, not a noun. It was in a Stephen Covey book, but I don't remember which one. Anyway, the point was that love is an action, something you have to actively do and demonstrate. You can't just expect that spark to exist without stoking the fire. I have found that it is not just doing things for each other, but also truly appreciating what you do for each other. I was thinking about writing this post and then during the sermon this past Sunday I was reminded of some other important advice about love.
     ⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, 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.  Corinthians