#38 - How to be a "Dynamic Duo" with your Spouse!?

Good morning! I have a full day of things to do today. Work on a slide-show for Tyler Junior's baby dedication on Sunday, get him some shoes, make baby-food.... hum... and it would be great to actually work on some taxes. I really need to pray and ask the Holy Spirit WHAT I need to work on today. Because, since I have a lot to get done and it doesn't sound like I can do all of it, so being directed would be important. Let's go ahead and get going into some Word.... 

Proverbs 22:29 - Do you see a man diligent and skillful in his business? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

Proverbs 31:23 - Her husband is known in the [city's] gates, when he sits among the elders of the land.

First of all, I thought it was interesting that as we read about this "Ultimate Woman", this Proverbs 31 woman.... it takes a "time-out" to give us a small look into who she is married too. Who is the husband behind this amazing woman? Or rather who is the husband in front of/beside this amazing woman? Who is he? We already know, to be married to HER, he must really be what I would call THE BOMB.COM! (holla Jill!) He must be THE MAN! I mean... just take a minute and think about who this couple is....if you have been following each day in the posts of who the Proverbs 31 woman is, she really is the complete package. I'm sure she did not "marry down". I'm sure she married a pretty amazing man... and actually we know that she did as we see just a brief insight into who he is in verse 23. This couple could be coined as the "Dynamic Duo". As powerful couple. 


Diligence elevates you to a place of influence. A place where you can be heard. Since the Word does not contradict itself, we can say that since the Proverbs 31 husband is sitting in a place of influence, among the elders of the land (which may include the king), he has been diligent and skillful in his business. He is sitting among the people of influence. 


That brings me to a question. What should be our goal? What should our desire be if we want to accomplish more for the Kingdom? If we want to complete our calling with fervor? What should be our goal? I want to list out some words that come to mind... some goals to achieve when aspiring to be this Powerful Duo: 

• Unity 
• Trust & Belief
• Together-Together
• Support
• Moving as One
• On the Same Page
• Fully Supporting
• Fully in agreement with Goals
• Speaking the same Language

To be a "Powerful Duo", "Dynamic Duo" it is going to need to start with Unity. Unity in the marriage. You may have heard the phrase being "Together-Together". The Proverbs 31 husband has moved to this place of influence. He is sitting among the elders. He has a VOICE in the Land. He has influence with the king... with the President. His diligence has elevated him to this position of influence. 


To walk in Unity, strife needs to be far from you. The bickering, the quarrels, nagging. All of that needs to be eliminated. Unity means you ARE moving as ONE. You are in the flow. You have immersed yourself in the Word so much, both husband and wife that you are even able to complete thoughts or sentences. You are fully "Together-Together", you are going in the same direction, you are in agreement, you are on the same page. 


To get to this point, you must first IDENTIFY WHERE you are going? 

1. Get together with your spouse
2. Identify WHERE you are going
3. Pray about direction and a plan
4. Get back together and PLAN. SET A PLAN.
5. Re-Group - "Honey, this is what I'm doing to move towards our goal. Are we still on the same page?" 
6. SPEAK IT - Speak the same language. Read about the Tower of Babel - Genesis 11:1-9 - You can do ANYTHING! If you and your husband are on the same page, if the goal is ultimately going to glorify God and point back to God, NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE! You may write your goals on an index card, in the notes of your cell phone, on a sheet of paper.... But SPEAK YOUR GOALS. Let me give you an example: 

• Almost 9 years ago, Tyler and I determined where we wanted to go and what we wanted to do. We looked up scripture to back what we wanted to do... from there, we set a plan and began speaking it daily. Several times a day. We had our stop watches go off a certain times throughout the day to remind us to SPEAK OUR GOALS. Speak LIFE into the direction we were going. It started with something pretty simple, but this is what we said, "Thank you Father that we have an overflowing abundance of wealth and riches in our house, that we produce over $15,000 a month, that we shall never lack, that we are debt free and that we are spiritual Giants!"

We began speaking that daily. Through a series of events, God led us to some spiritual truths that we were unaware of, some revelations that unveiled our eyes to some things. We were introduced to a business that eventually began to change the course of our finances. And we continued to SPEAK our goals. Those things did come to pass. The key is STICKING WITH IT! It may not, and probably will not happen over night. And... speaking to myself, I need to get back to speaking my goals out loud, daily! Out loud is important. Don't just THINK your goals. Speak them out loud. 


What if your husband is not on board with you? What if your husband is not saved? 

• Work on YOU (see below- Get in agreement with God) and pray for him. 

What if you are not married? 

• Easy! All you have to do is get your goals in alignment with God. It's easy for you to get into agreement with God... you and God, get in agreement. Maybe your goal has to do with an area you love or are gifted in, well, bring it before God, pray the power of agreement (Matthew 18:19). And from there on, daily THANK GOD for the answer! Thank God for doing it! Thank Him that BY FAITH it is DONE! You prayed it, you believed it, it is done. Now walk it out until you see the manifestation!

This world needs POWERFUL people! Be a DYNAMIC DUO! Get "TOGETHER-TOGETHER" with your spouse! Set a plan, put it in motion, be diligent and see your life be elevated to a place of influence! A place with a Voice! 

#2 - Promotion!

So, here I sit... enjoying my second cup of coffee, so kindly provided from my servant husband! :) He's sweet!! I like it when he gets me coffee. That is definitely his way of serving... and I believe he enjoys it! A quick incite into "us".... if you have ever read "The Five Love Languages" (really great read by the way!)... well, Tyler's love language from me is "acts of service". He really feels loved when I serve him in the sense of making him food, pulling up the sheets & tucking him in to bed, getting him some something to drink or getting him a "snack" while he's working.... those sorts of things. Me on the otherhand... I LOVE gifts! :) And, I also really appreciate "words of affirmation". I am typically not an "acts of service" sort of girl....like Tyler mowing the lawn or washing the vehicle doesn't really do much for me. It's nice, but he could bring me home a Butterfinger candy bar and you would've thought he hung the moon! 


Anyways... have had an interesting time in the Word this morning. Again, God is NEW! We serve a NEW God! A God who continually will reveal NEW things to us if we seek him out and give him a chance. Well, He did not disappoint this morning. He is good! And... conveniently, the boy is still sleeping, so it is giving me a little bit of time to write. 


So, this morning one of the big topics in my study has been "Promotion". I know Tyler has been studying the life of Joseph a lot lately, and "Promotion" has been a big theme there.... but we are going to talk about promotion from a bit different of an angle. So, let's jump into it and see where Proverbs 25 & Proverbs 31 cross paths. 

Proverbs 25:6-7 (amp) - Be not forward (self-assertive and boastfully ambitious) in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men; For better it is that it should be said to you, Come up here, than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, whose eyes have seen you. 

Or we can look at text from The Message, provides a bit different of a view:

Don't work yourself into the spotlight; don't push your way into the place of prominence. It's better to be promoted to a place of honor than face humiliation by being demoted.

And let's take a look into Proverbs 31:23:

(Amp) - Her husband is known in the [city's] gates, when he sits among the elders of the land. 

(The Message) - Her husband is greatly respected when he deliberates with the city fathers.

So... as I began to think about the Proverbs 31 woman's husband, I really began to realize they are quite the dynamic duo! Not only does she rock it with all her qualities, but her husband is quite the leader in the community. 


And let's just think about it... he sits among the elders, the leaders of the land, do you think that the LEADERS of the land just allow ANYONE to sit with them? Do you think that if "Joe" off the street came up while they were having a meeting they would just let him take a seat, join in, add his 2 cents? Probably not. This Proverbs 31 husband has EARNED his spot among the elders. He has EARNED the respect to sit with them, to talk with them, to speak and be heard. 


It reminds me of my grandpa. Every morning he goes to coffee at like 5:30 or 6:00 am. The same group of retired men, meet at the same gas station every morning, get their same 60 cent cup of coffee, and take their same old seats. Every morning. For how long? For years and years and years! If the sun sets, those men will be getting coffee the next morning. When my grandpa walks in, he takes HIS seat and begins to shoot the breeze with his friends. Well, just like my grandpa has earned his seat & his friendship with these men over years, this Proverbs 31 husband has also paid his dues. 


Promotion. "Be not forward (self-assertive and boastfully ambitious) in the presence of the king..." 


One Sunday afternoon, Tyler & I were invited to attend a special, "by invitation only" birthday party for our Pastor. Our Pastor is a man of God in our lives who we respect, we honor, we value his words into our lives, and we were honored to be invited to attend this special event. I remember walking in to the clubhouse & there being maybe three tables, then scattered about a lot of extra chairs, but definitely not enough seats for everyone to sit. Tyler & I stood off along the wall with some other people chatting, we did not have a seat and were not about to take a seat at the table positioned by our Pastor. I remember feeling so honored when the Pastor kind of arranged the seating at this table. He told Tyler & I, "Come on over here. I want you to sit right here."  He had two seats for us at the table. What an honor. 


Promotion. It was much nicer to be invited to sit there, than have been asked to move. 


So... do you crave promotion? Attention? Praise? Honor? Do you want to receive it but you don't want to just pipe up and say, "Hey, did you see how good I did at this? I am so awesome. Look how good I am." 


Well, from a person whose love language is "words of affirmation", I can definitely tell you I have spent my fair share of time desiring "praise" or "promotion". I'm sure I have also spent my fair share of times bragging about this or that... being the "Me Monster"... "look at me! ME! ME! ME!" 


If you want Promotion... if you want Praise. Give it. If your peer at work has done something good, brag on them in front of others. If your spouse has built a deck on to the back of your house and is really proud of it, brag on it in front of his friends or parents and tell them how good he did. If your spouse, friend, boss, co-worker, pastor has done something good worth recognizing, recognize them! Privately just to them, or publically in front of others, praise them! What do we know about sowing? If you sow corn, you'll get corn. If you sow beans, you'll get beans. If you sow praise, you'll get what? You will get Praised also! Give it time to grow. But, sow!


I think I heard the boy talking. I guess I'll go check on him.