LACED WITH GRACE ...The love DARE challenge

Today I have shared a devo over at LACED WITH GRACE. I would like to share it with you here as well today. I am honored to be on a panel of writers for LWG, and encourage you to check out the great devotions shared monday thru friday. http://lacedwithgrace.com/

Today, I started the 40 day LOVE DARE challenge with my husband. Many of you are familiar with the ever popular movie "FIREPROOF" which was based on the reunion of hearts when a husband went on a 40 day DARE adventure to love his wife unconditionally.

After 28 years of marriage, you would think that WE would not need to fire proof our marriage. I mean really? After all ... I AM married to a pastor, so certainly we must have it all together. Right?

WRONG! Every relationship needs nurturing and protecting. Even though I can say that I am married to an "almost" perfect man, and we have had an "almost" perfect marriage and we parent 4 wonderful, "almost" perfect children ... it still needs improvement!

We are at a place of an "almost" empty nest and we want to be sure that our marriage is as strong today as it was yesterday and we strive to make it even stronger tomorrow than what it is today. Like anything else, to make something strong, we must put reinforcements in place ...so this explains our quest to go on this 40-day love dare challenge with each other.

As I began to read the introduction of our daily journal, something jumped off of the page to me..."This book is about love. It's about learning and daring to live a life filled with loving relationships. And this journey begins with the person who is closest to you..."

After reading that, something in my spirit turned and turned. I tried to fight it all day, but finally I surrendered to God. Not only was He asking me to strengthen my marriage with my husband but God was challenging me to strengthen my relationship with Him (God)! If this book that I held in my hand suggests that the journey begins with the one closest to me, wouldn't that (shouldn't that!) be my heavenly Father?

So today was the first day for me to grow closer to love. God has DOUBLE DARED me ... Not only to grow in love with my husband all over again, but secondly to understand what God's love really, truly means to me.

1 CORINTHIANS 13:13 "Now these three remain: FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE. But the greatest of these is love."

He is calling me to a higher level of relationship with Him ... want to join me? I double dog DARE you!!