Well, been working a bit more than usual, but getting used to it. Which would probably make it more like “Been working like normal.” Hm

In far more interesting news than work (which is interesting to me, but really, not for anyone else), Frank and I started the Love & Respect series with our small group. I highly recommend the series for anyone who is even considering one day possibly maybe getting marriage. I think that it not only helps with marriage/dating, but it also helps explain men and women in ways I hadn’t thought about before. The key learning from the first session was that guys and girls see the world through different lenses (duh), but the new piece of information is that men want to be respected and women want to be loved. So basically, a guy is hurt by disrespectful things (ie. encroaching upon their physical/emotional space uninvited) and women is hurt by unloving things (ie. being unappreciated, etc). Respect is a guy’s oxygen while love is a woman’s oxygen and when either messes with the other’s oxygen, fireworks explode.

The really interesting thing about this was how often women respond to unloving overatures in a way that offends the man’s need for respect, so he responds to that offense in a way that seems unloving to the woman, thus a vicious cycle is born. I have seen this at work, and I never understood all the elements of it. Now that I heard this talk, it has made me really aware of that crazy cycle (crazy being any action that is repeated with consistent ill-effects). It also made me want to better understand ways that I can show Frank that I respect him. He is so good about showing me ways that he loves me and I never considered that his “oxygen” might be so different from mine.

I can’t wait for the next session!! 🙂

Aside from that – Frank is attending a Lock-In with the High School Ministry at Church on Friday night and Saturday we’ve got nuttin’.

Hope everyone has a great week!!