Blessed

I've barely written anything lately other than book reviews, and even those have been scarce.  But I do have one story that I immediately thought I needed to put on here, even though it's taken me four days to do so.

Black Friday was a crazy day.  I went to Kohl's at midnight, then to Boston Store.  I got home around 3:30am and went to bed.  I had been in bed from about 9-11:30 before that.  Anyway, I slept until about 7:30, when Mike came home, so that I could go back out again.  I went to ShopKo and Menards.  I was going to go back to Boston Store because I wanted to exchange what I got for a bigger size.  I was starting to get hungry.  My system is all messed up when I don't sleep right.  So, I pulled into McDonalds drive through to get a couple things off the dollar menu.  When I pulled up to the first window to pay, the girl asked me if I knew the people in the car in front of me.  I had no idea who was in there, especially not from the back, and I didn't recognize the car.  She proceeded to tell me they asked what I ordered and then paid for it.  So, I didn't have to pay.  It was only $2.10, but still.  How nice!

I've read about this sort of thing happening, but it's never happened to anyone I've known, and now it happened to me!  I was driven to tears and really blessed by this.  It's such a small thing, but really meant a lot.  There are actually nice people in the world still.  Thank you, whoever did this.  I'm sure I'll never know, but I hope it blessed you as much as it blessed me. 

The Love and Respect Experience, A Husband Friendly Devotional that Wives Truly Love-a book review

The Love and Respect Experience Devotional is one I would highly recommend to a couple looking for a devotional book to read.  Unlike most devotionals, this one does not have to be done every day.  There are 52 chapters, in a sense designed to do one a week, but the author, Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, does not demand that.  In fact, he states that couples can take it at their own pace.  He also gives suggestions for how to go about doing the devotional.  He goes so far as to even suggest reading it separately, then coming together to talk about it.  He designed this to be more friendly to husbands, in that it is not something that is supposed to be a drag for them to do, but rather thought-provoking and a time to grow in the Lord.  Eggerichs gives a word to the husbands in the beginning of the book and the wives as well.  This is not meant for a time of emotional connection.  It is a time to come before God and learn more about the marriage, but without passing blame.  I really like the approach Eggerichs has in this.  He is very intent on his purpose for this book.

I think the book is set up very well.  The reading part of the devotional is about three pages long, nothing that is going to take hours to read, but there is enough substance there.  Each devotional ends with items to pray about.  It's not a printed prayer, but suggestions for prayer.  They each begin with thanking God for something, then add prayers of petition as well.  The back of the book contains further questions couples can use to discuss. 

One doesn't have to have read the Love and Respect book in order to do this devotional.  Each chapter uses concepts from the book, but he also gives an overview in the appendix.  Concepts like the Crazy Cycle are discussed.  Basically, without love, she won't act with respect, and without respect, he won't act with love.  It's a vicious cycle that is difficult to break.  Eggerichs recognizes that it is not possible to always stay out of this cycle.  I like that he is realistic and encouraging.  I definitely recommend this book.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program.