Hey friends! I am really excited today because in this post, I am challenging you to find ten things that you love about your man, write a blog post, and link to your post in the comments below, and I will choose my favorite to highlight next week! Check out my list at the end of this post.
This past month I have been scouring all my surrounding cities in search of the elusive Most Beautiful White Dress of the Century. At each bridal boutique, wedding dress outlet, or chain wedding store I am asked about my fiance. At one of the stores the young consultant helping me in and out of my massive dresses of tulle prodded me about my fiance and when she heard he was a Polynesian from Hawaii she burst out in disbelief: “Man are you lucky!”. She continued to loudly extol the virtues of my relationship with this man she had never even met, and rather than feeling embarrassed I realized that I am, lucky. Just as any woman who has found a good man (or been found by a good man) is indeed fortunate. Or another word I prefer, blessed.
I have an unique relationship. My fella is a big, dark athletic guy; I am a small white artsy gal. We grew up in opposite cultures. Our differences have, at times, been fodder for arguments. My relationship is not perfect, and is most definitely not defined by a perfect instagram picture, a romantic facebook status, or a pithy blog post. My relationship runs deeper than any of these things and has had highs and lows. But one thing that I am learning is the art of building up my Fella. I have a big mouth that tends to get me in trouble, and I am learning how to tame that beast. And so in honor of that goal I am listing ten reasons why I love dating and being engaged to this wonderful wrestling, music singing, composing, Polynesian, Christian, best friend, Tongan Warrior Man.
In a culture that criticizes more than it encourages, during an era that is hallmarked by romantic comedies that often leave girls feeling dissatisfied in their real relationships rather than fulfilled, and in a time of broken marriages being the norm rather than an oddity–I want to encourage you to brag on your man.
[Tweet “In a culture that prizes the art of dissatisfaction I encourage you to practice contentment by bragging on your man. “]
Today I give you permission to focus on all the great things about your husband, fiance or boyfriend. Leave your link in the comments below to your post on ten reasons {humorous, serious or both!} you are just crazy about your man. I can’t wait to read them.
10 Things I Love About My Man
- He encourages my dreams, my walk with God, and my optimism every single day. He is so good at teasing and encouraging me out of my bad moods. What a guy.
- He has introduced me to pig brain, spam, and Tongan tea. Yes, these might sound somewhat disgusting, but the truth is that he has opened my world to new culinary delights. And it goes both ways since before me he had never tried rhubarb, homemade donuts, or asparagus before. Ha!
- He is always willing to go on adventure with me. Whether it is checking out a new restaurant or traveling to a new country this guy is always willing to do new, and exciting things. Trips to Hawaii are a given, and once I am there I have a ready made tour guide who knows all the best (non-touristy) places.
- I have gained a new appreciation for coconut oil because of him. Warrior Man’s childhood seemed to have been steeped in this (recently trendy) oil. Since meeting him I now use it for cooking, use coconut milk in soups, use coconut cream in dishes, use it for lotion, for tooth pulling, and he uses it on his hair.
- He will always be my human garbage disposal. If I cannot finish my meal, he is eagerly waiting to help me join the clean plate club.
- I am motivated as never before to learn a new language.
- He takes care of me when I am sick. When I had the flu this weekend he came over to take care of me, and held my head and patted me on the back as I threw up.
- I love how calm he is in his daily life. His easy going nature perfectly balances out my inner perfectionist.
- He has a gorgeous singing voice. Nuff said.
- He is incredible with kids. Whether he is playing cars with my little brother or teasing a little kid at church, he just naturally loves being with kids, and always takes the time to give them some attention.
What are some things you are grateful for in your spouse, fiance or boyfriend? I would love to read about them! Leave your link in the comments below, and I will pick my favorite to highlight in a post next week!
//Edit: I was overwhelmed with the beautiful response to this post. I had no idea there were so many women out there wanting to praise their guys! Be sure to check out this post where 10 bloggers write about what they love about their men!
I want to take some time out to brag about my wonderful man. He has encouraged me to get back into fitness and working out. He is an elite Calisthenics athlete and has inspired me to stay healthy and in shape. I appreciate him and love him dearly.
Love this! I love seeing women encourage and praise their guys and yours sounds like a good one 🙂 My hubby is a human garbage disposal too and I love that. Food rarely goes to waste in our house! 😉
Just came from your mom’s site where she shared 10 things she loves about her husband. I will write a post about this which comes at a perfect time because we are actually experiencing a difficult moment.
I still love him after twenty years, He makes me smile, he too has opened up my culinary palette.
Hey Bethie! I just love this idea, and it took mere a scant few minutes to come up with 10 things (well, actually 11) I love about my fella. Take a gander.
http://vomitingchicken.com/ten-things-love-hubby/
Ah, I love your post, Mom! What a great guy. 🙂 You guys must have such awesome kids.
What an awesome idea, especially with Valentine’s day coming up. I love any and every opportunity to brag about my husband; he truly is the best thing to happen to me! I will have to blog about this and link up! Thanks!
I hope you link up, Chelsie! It is a really fun post to write, and even more fun to watch your fella read through the list. 🙂
Beth, I have to say your writing is quite extraordinary! I may be a little biased seeing as you are about to marry my brother-in-law, but he is quite a catch! You both are made for each other, and are such gentle souls. I can’t wait to meet up with you guys! I know the babies miss their uncle dearly. I’m proud to brag about another man from the Lotulelei clan!
1. My husband is not perfect, which means he doesn’t expect me to be perfect. He just expects me to be the best I can offer.
2. He has given me two beautiful, healthy baby boys. I may be a little bias about this as well, but we have some great genes because these little guys are pretty darn cute.
3. He is teaching me to be patient. Love is patient, love is kind. We just had our one year anniversary, and it feels like we’ve been married for centuries. Our patience has been tested several times. I do believe that marriage is sacred between a man and his wife and once you are joined under God, you are bound for life. Divorce is not an option in my case, and my husband has showed me just that.
4. He has amazing work ethic. Whether or not he is in the gym, or at home with the babies he is always giving his full effort.
5. He has the most gentle soul. Yes, my husband is a large muscular Polynesian man and his presence is always known when we walk into a room. People always recognize that he is a football player because of his muscular built, but soon realize he is a gentle giant when they see him playing with our sons.
6. He is very humble.
7. He is always relaxed. We are pole opposites. Before I met my husband I was a very punctual person. I would always have to be somewhere 15 minutes early, and have a panic attack if things didn’t go exactly as planned. He’s taught me to move at my own pace and just live in the moment.
8. He is the fire to my ice. Our personalities definitely level each other’s out.
9. He is an awesome cook. I swear my husband can make any type of saimen (ramen noodle soup) that you can think of.
10. He has an endless love for movies that he has passed on to me. While we were dating we would constantly watch Netflix and every show’s season we would finish within days. When my husband is gone for training or season, I’ll constantly browse through different genres and pick out movies that I think he might be interested in. (99% I forget to tell him about them)
There are plenty of reasons why I love this man, and proud to be Mrs. Lotulelei. I’m glad I had the opportunity to brag about my significant other.
Aw, Nicole, I just teared up as I read this. You are the one who should have a blog, girl, you have a great way with words! I so enjoyed getting to know John while he was here. He is so much like Saia that I just had to chuckle. So much of what you wrote made me laugh, because it sounds like Saia and myself. Especially the part where you used to be 15 minutes early all the time, and he has taught you to chill a little bit. I am still not very good at relaxing, but he has helped level me out a little. You are such a beautiful woman, and your kids are just so incredibly adorable. So glad we will be sisters!
OOOO! I love this plan! I hope to be getting in on the fun next week!
Please do, Brandy! I would love to see your post! Be sure to come back to link up in the comments so we can all see it. 🙂
You made me do it!
http://ramblinwitham.blogspot.com/2015/01/ten-things-i-love-about-my-spouse.html
Love it, Alana! Your marriage is an encouragement to me. 🙂 Thanks for linking up!
Here are my 10. They will go live on my blog tomorrow, as my 1900th post. (Hope you don’t mind the self promotion). I can’t put a link on your blog until then, so I guess I’ll just have to come back and leave another comment. After 40 years of marriage, I hope your One and Only is even more awesome as he is now!
My husband…..
1. He puts up with my snoring. Of course, HIS snoring is much worse. Sometimes, epic. Well, maybe not that epic. But pretty bad.
2. He cooks for me. In fact, he’s cooking for me right now!
3. He puts up with my blogging. Like when I’m blogging and dinner is ready, and I’m totally oblivious to that fact. Or breakfast. (Not lunch. He doesn’t do lunch.)
4. He’s been known to take me to work when the weather is really bad.
5. He remembers birthdays, anniversaries, etc.
6. He takes care of me when I am sick.
7. He puts up with my bad moods.
8. When I was addicted to FarmVille, he put up with that, too.
9. He likes to do many of the same things as I do. Not everything, mind you. But that would be boring!
And last but not least –
10. He loves to travel with me, and I could not have a better travel companion.
What a great guy, and CONGRATS on your 1900th post! Wowie, that is a big one! Time to pull out the cake and sparkling grape juice I think. 🙂 I love that he cooks for you, so sweet.
Here’s my brag!! http://iamruthproverbs31.blogspot.com/2015/01/who-is-this-kingdom-man.html
Love this, Shellye! Any man who does the dishes, and cleans up the kitchen is a hero in my book. That is for sure. I loved reading your post, and seeing the picture of y’all. So wonderful. A good marriage is worth celebrating. Thanks for encouraging us all with yours!
Thanks. Hubby read it and was like… ‘Who is THAT man’? Lol. This was a great idea. He loved it.
Ha ha! That made me laugh. 🙂 After writing my list I have definitely gone out of my way to remember all the great things about my fella during a particularly stressful week. Sometimes I let stress take center stage rather than focus on all the goodness in him. Glad you (and your man) got some encouragement from this. 🙂 Love reading your blog! Keep on writing!
It took me a day but here his my post. Thanks for the idea! I put a click to your blog in there so I hope you get one or two people who read yours. http://snarkymommawithlove.org/2015/01/top-ten-list-spousal-love.html
Loved your list, Snarky Momma! I think that it is so incredibly kind of him to watch Horror movies only when you are not around. What a great guy. 🙂 Thanks for joining in the fun by linking up. So glad to have you here!
This is a great idea. http://www.leeleefindsherself.com/blog/2015/1/27/why-i-have-the-best-boyfriend
Wish I could have been there for the unicorn discussion, Leelee. That peaked me curiosity! Also, I just love a guy who will open a car door. That is a type of chivalry that is largely unseen these days. Thanks for sharing your sweet words with us all!
What a great idea and your man is very lucky that you value him as you do. If you continue to praise each others good points and work on helping each other with the parts that need help you will succeed in your relationship. It took my husband and i some time to find our way back to each other after a big break when we were younger, but I do value him and this will give me a chance to look at how much. Thank you.
Thanks for the words of wisdom, Snarky Momma! Every relationship has its ups and downs, but the important thing is that you are growing every day. Thanks for the great example. 🙂
I LOVE this idea on celebrating what you love about your man and inviting other women to linkup. It’s important to share with each other the value we find in our significant others so that we may learn from one another. Loved each of your ten points!
Kelly
Thank you so much, Kelly! I enjoyed reading your post about Taylor Swift. Loved how you analyzed her song lyrics. So often I mindlessly listen to things without taking the time to think about the types of messages they are portraying. Keep on writing great posts!
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Alright, here is my link: http://www.theengagedhome.com/10-things-i-love-about-my-man/
🙂
Wahoo! Love it, Nathana! That is so neat that he is so intentional with you about your spiritual, mental, etc… growth. Sounds like you have a pretty awesome guy. Way to brag on him!
When I saw your title earlier today I did a double take! I think we may be sharing a brain cell this month or something. To be honest, in my post my first inclination was to brag about Mitch (because that is easier than bragging about myself). I am excited to link up to your blog post soon too. I think bragging on and praising the men in our lives is so important. I remember hearing about how we need to be our husband’s publicist in a ladies’ class at York when we were newlyweds. It always stuck with me, and has been a goal I strive for every day. To many girlfriends and wives get together and complain and vent about their significant others, when we should really be building them up to others. It is a good habit to develop–I am glad you are starting early!
I love the idea of being your husband’s publicist. Thanks for passing on that tidbit of wisdom, Nathana! I agree, so many women bad mouth their husbands, and it can be easy for me to air frustrations rather than hold my tongue sometimes. I think we all, as women, need to be better about encouraging each other to build our fellas up rather than tear them down. Thanks for linking up, and for being such a great source of inspiration in my life!
I’m not currently blogging to join in this linkup, but I love the idea! Some of my favorite things –
1. He helps me lighten up. I tend to take myself and life too seriously, and he helps me to see the fun in things.
2. He’s ridiculously creative. I never know what he’s going to come up with next, and I love being surrounded my his beautiful artwork and creative projects
3. He takes care of me when. Even when I can’t reciprocate. He’s really held up the “for better or worse, in sickness and in health” end of our marriage vows. Through cancer treatment, two miscarriages, a mysterious months-long illness that frequently kept me house bound… he took on way more than his “fair share” and gave me the strength to pull through.
4. He doesn’t let me wallow. In the situations mentioned above, it would have been so easy to wallow in my own hurt, pain, grief, discomfort… but, even while patiently and lovingly taking care of me, he constantly encourages me to see the best in a situation, to look for the beauty, to hope for the future, to push my comfort zone, and actively participate in the healing process.
5. He rubs my head when I’m stressed. 🙂 What can I say, I’m a bit like a cat in my love of having my head rubbed. It’s magical.
6. He cares for our daughter. There’s nothing much sweeter than seeing how much he and our daughter love each other and enjoy sharing in silly games, making art, exploring, and reading books.
7. He makes the best pizza. I’ve long since relinquished my reign of the kitchen when it comes to making pizza. It’s delicious.
8. He warms up my side of the bed while I’m brushing my teeth 🙂
9. He’s smart. I love debating ideas and working through tough issues with him. Learning together is the best.
10. I love going on adventures with him and planning our future adventures together.
Aw, Sonia, thanks so much for writing all this down! LOVE it! You have a pretty awesome guy there. I concur. 🙂 You guys have such an incredibly beautiful marriage. I know you have been through a lot in the past couple years, and the incredibly gorgeous nature of your parenting and marriage style only serves to show how much you two have loved each other and God in the midst of those trials. Thanks for sharing, and for being my sister! You da best. 🙂
I’ve been working on a journal for Daniel with all of the reasons I love him to give to him the night before the wedding! Thanks for the blogpost! I love it!
Aw, Jasmine, that is just the sweetest thing ever. I bet Daniel is just going to LOVE that. You are so creative, and sweet. You are going to make such a stunning bride this summer, can’t wait! Thanks for reading!
What an awesome idea, Bethie! I’m going to start writing . . . !
Yay! I can’t wait to read it, Mom! 🙂
He sounds wonderful. The trials along the way in any relationship make you both stronger. Next month, I will have been married for 26 years. We’re closer now than we’ve ever been. He’s 76 & I’m 73.
Congrats on 26 years, Francene! Good for you! I would love to read a post sometime from you about what your secrets are. 🙂 Thanks for the encouragement, and the comment!
What a fun idea! Hope you get lots of links to share.
Thanks Mary! It has been fun seeing ladies link up. Hope you enjoy your weekend!
I love this. I can’t wait to blog about it. It should be easy since I try to send my husband an email each day to tell him how much I appreciate him and vice versa. So I have loads of emails to pull from!
Aw, I love that you guys email back and forth like that, Shellye. So wonderful. What a neat way to stay in touch, and encourage each other. Thanks for the beautiful idea, and for linking up!
Thank you for the great opportunity! Hope we can do it again one day soon!