Day 15 Dare: Choose a way to show honor and respect to your spouse that is above your normal routine.  It may be holding the door for her, putting his clothes away for him, or the way you listen and speak in your communication.  Show your mate that he or she is highly esteemed in your eyes.
Day 16 Dare:  Begin praying today for your spouse's heart.  Pray for three specific areas where you desire for God to work in your partner's life and in your marriage.

Honor is the word of focus for day 15 in the book, The Love Dare.  By giving respect and high esteem to your mate you honor them with great worth.  We listen intently to our partners with great respect for what they have to say.  The words that are spoken towards us by our spouse or partner are taken seriously.  When we say something that is hurtful or in a condescending tone it not only affects your partner but also your own honor.  The next time you speak to your partner, look them in the eye and acknowledge them as a valuable person in your life.  Honor them as a divine being from God with gifts to share with you and the world.

The Love Dare moves into the word "holy" and how we should look at our mates as holy beings.  Not that they are perfect but rather to look at them as a unique special person with a higher purpose.  A person that is sacred, honored, praised, and defended by you.  In the book you read about how brides treat their wedding dresses as a sacred holy item that is protected.  Marriage is considered "holy matrimony", a union of commitment and relationship unknown to another.  You share everything as a union, as one.

Maybe you no longer feel this way about your partner.  Instead you feel disrespect, embarrassment, disgust, or your attitude towards this person is nothing but negative.  "Love honors even when it's rejected."  When you give honor to your partner, even if it's not reciprocated, you are honoring yourself.  Your biggest sacrifice is to give and send love to your partner. 

You cannot change your partner!  That is one very known factor, however you can reach into their heart with all the love that you give and send unto them.  If you try to change your partner you will end up frustrated and quite literally may think you are going insane.  Quoted from the book on page 76:
"A farmer cannot make a seed grow into a fruitful crop.  He cannot argue, manipulate, or demand it to bear fruit.  But he can plant the seed into fertile soil, give it water and nutrients, protect it from weeds, and then turn it over to God."

The author tells us that he cannot guarantee that The Love Dare will change your partner but that's not what the book is really about.  "It's about daring you to love."  If you work through the dares on your own it's highly likely that your partner and others around you will be affected and take notice of the beautiful flower that blooms from within yourself.   It could take weeks, months, or years but by working within your own fertile soil you will be able to pull the weeds out the partnerships with others.  In order to do this you need something more powerful than yourself or your partner, you need prayer.

Prayer is a spiritual phenomenon and gives amazing results by an unlimited powerful God. 

• Jesus said to pray instead of quitting. (Luke 18:1)
• Prayer can bring peace to your storms. (Philippians 4:6-7)
• Prayer can make the difference. (Acts 12:1-17)

God is not a genie in the bottle but he does love and desire to have a relationship with you.  Prayer is the key to this relationship from a humble heart.  God does not give you insight to your partner's faults by mistake, it's for kneeling in prayer for your partner.  Nagging and complaining isn't getting you anywhere but through prayer you can wipe your hands clean as you watch God work his wondrous gifts in the relationship.  Pray for your spouse to be loving, helpful, uplifting, happy, and fulfilled.  Then pray for yourself. "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you". (Matthew 7:7)

After working through the days lessons, I'm queenly reminded that there are various spiritual traditions on how or when to pray.  Some use prayer in the form of dance, chanting, singing, affirmations, intentions, over meals, by physical gestures, keeping silent, in group settings, through meditation, or by using physical objects such as burning candles or making the sign of the cross.  I believe each of you should look within and follow what you feel serves the highest good of others and yourself.  We are all here on this earth experiencing different religions and could not possibly be raised or live through each experience.  I honor each and every person reading this blog no matter your religion or color of skin.  I truly feel within my soul that we are all beautiful beings from the higher divine experiencing a different set of views to learn from one another.  In the following days of The Love Dare I ask that you fill in whatever higher being serves you.

David and I are always doing things for one another.  After living with a person for so many years, you learn when they need help with something, if they are not feeling well, when they are in a loving mood, or in a bad mood.  We look around the home for things that we can do to help each one another.  David isn't a big cook and would eat a TV dinner every night if it was up to him however I like to eat healthy foods.  Over the last few years he started helping me with the salad making and kitchen cleanup plus he has tried a few recipes on his own out of a book.  I love to cook but don't always have time.  With my husband's help it's more fun.  We turn on music, talk about our day, and chop up ingredients for a salad, which we eat just about every night, and sometimes we have a glass of wine while we're cooking. 

Each day I meditate and visualize and send intentions out into the universe.  I always give prayer to others as I know the power of giving.  It's through these efforts that our love has grown strong and other wonderful things have come into our lives.  But I have given my power to the higher divine.  I use to get so frustrated with others but through the power of prayer and intention it feels nourishing for my soul to let go of these frustrations and know without a doubt that there is a purpose for all that is.  And all that will be.

Love and Infinite Light,
Kandi Phillips
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www.LiveYourIntention.com
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