If any one reading this hs not seen the movie "Fireproof" yet, I highly recommend it! It is a Christian movie about a crumbling marriage and steps that can be taken to save it. Even if your marriage is solid, watching this movie will only strengthen it more. It will enable you to look at your marriage from a different perspective. It will help make your marriage safer from things that could interfere with the relationship you have with your spouse.

My wonderful husband and I have seen the movie 1 1/2 times. We watched it together at home and then attended a great Sunday School class based on the movie. I learned more stuff the second time I saw part of the film.

Now we are working our way thru the book inspired by the movie, "The Love Dare". Please, don't get me wrong, Mike and I have a wonderful marriage. We are fully committed to each other and our boys. We also realize that no marriage is perfect and each of us can improve and work harder to make our relationship better.

That said, day 2 of the love dare is to do an act of kindness for our spouse. Something unexpected, unasked for, and something thoughtful. It made me realize how much Mike does for me and how often I take what he does for granted even if I thank him for doing it.

Yesterday, Mike set out to mow the grass. Matthew wanted to help. So while Mike trimmed and then mowed yard Matthew watched and waited for his daddy to be done so he could help him. Matthew was willing to help with anything. So after Mike finished the front and side yards, he could take patient, waiting glances of his son no longer. Leaving the backyard uncut, Mike and Matt, soon joined by Mikey, started putting some shelving together for the basement storage area. It was great to watch my three men working together to accomplish a task. The shelves didn't get finished until later, because the boys could only reach so high, so playtime with Dad quickly ensued. Baseball, football, kickball, various forms of ball were played before bedtime. Mike and I finished the shelves about 10:30 last night.

Where does the act of kindness come in? Well, Mike and Mikey had T-ball practice tonight, so while they were gone, I finished mowing the back yard. Now for those of you who are not familiar with the area where we live~ there is not a level inch of sod on our property. Our land is either slanted up, down or sideways. I seldom mow. My main tasks are inside the house while Mike takes care of the outside. I had forgotten how much effort and strength (even with a self-propelled push mower) it takes to get the job done. When Mike mows there is a nice even pattern in the grass. The yard looks smooth. After I mow, you can see crooked lines and a few pieces of grass that managed to dodge the blades of the mower. Doing this "act of kindness" for my husband, showed me how much he does for me each day. Yes, I thank him each time he mows the yard, but I had forgotten just how much I was thanking him for.

Mike, Thank you. Our yard looks great, just don't look too close in the back.