Words vs. Actions

While doing a devotional with my girls this evening, we came across 1 John 3:18...

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. (NIV)

Interesting. You know, it's pretty easy to say "I love you," and make it sound like you mean it. But to actually put some thought into showing someone that you love them, well, that means a ton! Okay, maybe it's just a woman thing, but actions can truly speak louder than words. Don't get me wrong, saying "I love you" is important too! It's just nice to SEE the love as well.

Here's the translation that was in the girls' devotional book:

Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions. (NLT)

So, how do we go about showing our spouse love? You must first determine what it is that makes your spouse feel special, valued, respected, competent, etc. Better yet, what makes YOU feel loved? As unromantic as it may sound, sometimes it's a good idea to tell your spouse what you need to feel loved. I recently did this with Scott... I asked him if it would help if I would just give him a list of things that made me feel special/valued/loved. He said yes! Of course, I couldn't make it that easy on him, so I did a word scramble and challenged him to complete it. Upon doing so, he could redeem a "coupon" for... well... you get the idea.  ;) 

Do you know what it takes to make your spouse feel loved? If not, find out. Take the initiative to let your spouse know that he/she is the most important person on this planet!

~Nicole