Sharing The Gift of Love: My Message at Thrive Live!

Hello again!

It's been a while since I've blogged, and lots have gone on in my life, as I'm sure you can relate.

So if you are reading my blog for the first time, welcome!

If you are a familiar face to my blog posts, then welcome back!

At the end of August, the women's ministry at my church (Abundant Life Church in Grapevine, TX) hosted an event called Thrive Live. This event was set up as if you were attending a live talk show, with guest speakers (me being one of those speakers), dinner, desserts, give aways & more. Funny how I planned on blessing others with my testimony and walked away being blessed myself! God is good :)!

I shared with the audience how God uses us to share His love with others. Today I'd like to share on my blog ways YOU can share the gift of love with others too!

Just as a little background about me: I come from a big family, being the forth out of five children, and so I always wanted to be entertained growing up. When my husband and I first started dating, I was adamant about being creative and having fun together. Through the years, my passion for having regular date nights and making memories in our marriage has become a part of my DNA.

In 1 Corinthians 13:13, it says "but now faith, hope, and love abide, these three, but the greatest of these is love." Love is something I am passionate about. I have been married for four years, and being a wife is something I do no take lightly. I'm sure you can relate, as being a mother, a daughter, a friend are all roles we value in ourselves. I want to do my very best at fulfilling this "role" that The Lord has given me, and a big part of that is sharing love.

Now please don't tune out if you are not married. This can be applied to all relationships, whether that is with children, your parents, siblings, or even friends. We all desire to be loved, and Jesus is the ultimate example of love. When sharing the gift of love, we have to realize that love from ourselves in our own flesh can wear out, grow old, and fall short. Pray for Jesus to fill you up with His love (which is unconditional), and let that flow out of you onto others. There are a few things I want to emphasize when it comes to sharing the gift of love to someone. I'm going to use my marriage as an example, but please adjust these examples to how you see it fit into your own life and relationships.

1. DO NOT COMPARE.

I learned early on in our marriage that when I compared my marriage relationship or the way we did things to others, I only hurt us. I remember a time that my husband got annoyed with me, because any idea I had on something was not my own opinion, but what I saw another couple do. There is a quote that says "Comparison is the Thief of Joy." How often do we find ourselves trying to compare to others: their relationships, the way they raise their kids, financial decisions, their walk with God?! I found that I often would feel disappointed when my husband didn't do the exact same thing as another couple did when we first started dating. Like any relationship, when we put expectations on the other person and don't communicate that expectation, our feelings get hurt. I quickly changed my perception on dating and took it into my own hands to plan and create. By doing this, I took away false expectation that didn't need to be there, and allowed myself the freedom for us to be our own couple and enjoy the time we spent together, without the comparison game. That sparked my passion for implementing date nights into our marriage, because I valued our time together and the memories we were creating for the two of us.

2. YOUR RELATIONSHIPS ARE UNIQUE.

My marriage is different than my best friends, my parents, my siblings marriage. We may have the same values and beliefs, but the DNA of our relationship is different, and that is fine. For some of you, your friendships may be different. For others, your children and the way you raise them may be different than your neighbor. That simply means that sharing the gift of love looks differently for each of us.

3. APPRECIATE WHAT YOU HAVE.

Make the most of the time you have with the ones you love. That may mean hours of talking, acts of service, creating atmospheres to be honest and vulnerable with others. Other examples of showing the gift of love to others is in volunteering, cooking a meal for someone, taking a trip, gifts, helping in time of need, and praying over someone. Show gratitude for the blessings that God has given you. Your spouse, child, parent, friend, are all blessings. Find joy in loving others and know that God will give you the love to share to others. 

CRAFT- DATE NIGHT JAR

I brought a date night jar to show an example of ways to be creative in sharing love.

These are some of my very best friends, and they encourage me in so many ways. They each encouraged me during one of the hardest times in my life, and gave me gifts of love with prayers, chatting, hugs, texts, and laughter.

I really learned to appreciate what I had when my world came to a holt and I was in the middle of a storm. I will be blogging about that storm & God's love for me through it in the weeks to come, so stay tuned!

 My hope is that you will be inspired to create something for you and your loved one. The gift of love isn't about the amount of money you spent, but it's about spending time together. Be encourage and inspired by these ideas on sharing the gift of love.

Becky

Memorial Day Weekend!

A couple of months ago, I called up my dad who has a beach house in Palacious, TX and told him Jearen & I wanted to come down for Memorial Day weekend. I put it in my calendar and it was official (anyone else feel like having things written in a calendar makes things "official"?!) Then we found out my sister's family was coming too, and I was wondering how we would all fit. Then our friends were attending a wedding in Houston & had the rest of the weekend free, so of course it was the perfect time for them to join us too. 

I think it must be a Hansen (my maiden name) thing, but my family THRIVES off of having a lot of people around. It was seriously the perfect weekend. If we weren't fishing, we were relaxing. If we weren't snacking, we were sleeping. It was stress free. It was a weekend full of love & laughter. That is what family time is all about, and I'm so thankful to be part of a family like that. A family who welcomes anyone into their doors with an open heart & mind. Doesn't matter your background. Doesn't matter your current situation. You are welcomed. You are loved. 

We fished a few times at a private pier that my parents have VIP access to. I got to reel in a 23 inch gafftop & gave him a big smooch. We found where the crabs where hiding out at (and I posted a video on Instagram: @becky_myers). We fished at night at a pier and our friend Kent caught an alligator gare. We played a lot with my niece Ava, who is a perfect doll. We drove down to Matagorda and saw the coast covered with seaweed. My brother in laws buried themselves in the sand. My dad passed out fresh watermelons to the locals at the beach because he is a social butterfly & has a kind heart (he even tried teaching a few boys how to fish). We prayed hand in hand over every meal, whether at home or at a restaurant. I'm thankful to be part of a family who prays together. I successfully did NOT get a sunburn, thanks to some 70 SPF sunblock! 

I'm so glad we blocked out this weekend in our schedule for time with our family. It was perfect!! 

-Becky

Maggie Turned One!

Can't believe we have had our sweet puppy for a year now! Last year I posted about us deciding to get a dog again and you can read that here!

Maggie Mae Myers has made our life so much fun, with the pillows she has destroyed, the ice cream she likes to sneak from our spoons, to the sweet cuddles she gives on the couch and the warmth she brings to our toes as she lays at the end of our bed each night. She is pretty much our child, and we love her dearly. For her birthday we got her a dog biscuit cake, sang her a proper "Happy Birthday" and took a family photo :).

Myers' in Vegas '14

My husband had his annual work in Vegas at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway back in March, and I had the privilege of joining him again (just like last years Vegas Trip). It is always a joy to get to travel, and to do so right around my Spring Break was icing on the cake.

This year we made it a priority to see a cirque du soleil show, and holy cow, it was awesome. I am not ashamed to say that I may have shed a few tears during Beatles' Love.

We ate at yummy restaurants, including Carmine's and Mon Ami Gabi. 

We took a gondola ride. 

We laughed till it hurt.

 We splurged.

 We held hands walking down the strip (and he heels I wore one night just about KILLED me, thanks to the back of them scrapping my ankles. Ouch.)

 We ventured out to Freemont Street, and hated it (sorry haha).

  I lounged around while my honey worked really hard. 

We stayed at New York, New York one night and enjoyed the city lights and atmosphere. 

I could go on and on, but I'll just let our pictures finish this blog out. 

Life is quite an adventure with Mr. Myers. 

I'm beyond blessed to live the life I get to live.

Can't wait to do this all again next year (minus the poor shoe choice I made)! 

xoxo,

Becky

Patio Love!

When we first bought our house, a tree was in the yard. Then one day we came home to find a stump and wood chips everyone. Apparently the tree is part of the condo property and not our own. From there, someone had to come out and remove the stump, which left our entire yard one big pile of chips. Months of removing gravel, wood chips & dirt finally allowed us to change the look of the little area we called our yard. Over the summer I found bricks on craigslist for super cheap and insisted we buy them. Then once the yard was racked, leveled and flag, we were able to set the bricks out to make a better use of our space. There is still a small section that needs bricks, but the majority of the hard work is finally over. Praise The Lord! I spray painted our black rocking chairs white and bought seat cushions from Target to make the area bright. We also strung lights around the fence. It is now a cozy area to relax in after a long day at work. I'm thankful for all the labor my husband put into remodeling this area. I love it and hope to have company over soon to enjoy it with.

-Becky

Striving to be a Great Wife!

If there is one thing I want to make sure of, it's that I am the best wife I can be for my husband. It's easy for me to plan dates and expect to have a good time with my spouse, but I want to make sure I am keeping the spiritual side of marriage in check. I want to pray for my husband, be aware of my feelings and emotions, serve my little heart out in ways that please and honor The Lord.

 Obviously I won't be perfect and don't intend to arrive at the top of some mountain with a gold metal waiting for me, but this is what I was created for.

 I was created to have this marriage, and God knew before he ever formed me that I would have this role to fill, being a wife.

 I'm thankful that God didn't just hand me a marriage and expect me to have it all together. Instead, he allows me to grow in every area of marriage and gives me grace where I need it. He has grown my heart to love deeper. He guides me when I have to make decisions. He gives my spouse patience and kindness for me. He is good, I tell you. 

I learned early in our maggiage that comparing ourselves to other couples only hurts us. We are unique, our marriage is unique, and the way we live day to day is different than the couple next door. It's a hard lesson, but one that couples must learn. "Comparison is the thief of joy!" That includes the couple buying a new house, getting a new car, having babies, being free of debt, going on endless date nights, etc. I pray that when others see my marriage, they aren't comparing themselves and not appreciating what they have. Instead, my prayer is that my marriage would ENCOURAGE others. 

My prayer is for women to embark on the joys of being a wife without jealousy and bitterness. I want women to seek God on  the in's and out's of marriage and find joy from Him as they live out this calling. Come July, I will celebrate four years of marriage, which isn't a lot of years, but they are valuable years. I don't take being a wife lightly :). I know I don't stand on some big platform, nor do I have any fame to be known for by the average joe, but I know my life is being used my God, and I want to be the best that I can for Him, and that includes striving to be great wife. 

I just started reading an older devotional called Women Making a Difference in Marriage. I plan on sharing what I learn. If there is a book or devotional you have enjoyed reading regarding marriage, please feel free to share it with me. 

Until next time friends,

 Becky!