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“I need to love you better.”

This statement is something Chad and I say to each other a lot. Love, sacrificial love, needs to be stated, but mostly it needs to be displayed. I’ve been thinking about this a lot because most of the time, I don’t really know what I mean “love you better.” How do I know it’s better than it was before? What am I going to do to make it better?

Because I love categories and lists, I’ve simplified this concept for myself. I’ve broken down my loving actions into two categories.

Ordinary Love:
My definition of ordinary love are things you have to do, or are doing anyway. Like, keeping a clean house. If I were still single, I’d still want to keep a clean house. Making dinner – I’m doing it anyway, so the fact that I made an extra portion of what I was already going to make, is love, but it’s just ordinary. Yes, there is forethought and planning and the knowledge that he’ll probably be pleased and happy to have a meal ready when he gets home from work… but I didn’t necessarily go too far out of my way to do it. Washing and folding our laundry. To me, that’s love. But it’s only two extra loads of something I have to do anyway. See what I’m saying? Here is a list of a few ordinary love items:

Ordinary Love
picking up after yourself… or each other
taking our the trash
making lunch + dinner
washing and folding laundry
doing yard work
etc…

Extraordinary Love:
The things you don’t have to do, and wouldn’t do otherwise. I’m ashamed to say I had trouble thinking of examples of this in my own life. And so I’m challenging myself to find ways to love Chad in extraordinary ways. Because whether you’re a boy or girl, your dream isn’t to have ordinary love. You want to love and be loved in extraordinary ways. Am I right? I know Chad’s dream girl could not have been a girl who would do his laundry and make his dinner. Sure, those things are what a nice and loving wife does…

So, let’s +1 some of those Ordinary Love items to make them extraordinary and maybe add some as well…

Extraordinary Love
write a love note for the lunch box
take your spouse OUT to dinner… like, a DATE!
let your spouse decorate a room [probably more for the ladies…]
throw a surprise birthday party
forfeit your favorite show for a more intimate evening in the bedroom
bring home flowers
keep a “slurge for him/her” budget… perhaps a new dress or ping pong table?
etc…

What are some ways you extraordinarily love your spouse?