Love is a choice

“Love is a choice first, feeling second. ”

There will be days when you don't always feel like loving people but you can always choose to love them. Whether it be your significant other, your mother, or a co-worker you can always chose to love them, even when you don't feel like it. Bob Goff, author of Love Does talks about treating people like Jesus would 30 seconds at a time. Regardless of what your faith is, everyone could benefit from choosing to love people 30 seconds at a time. During your next disagreement,

Taking life 30 seconds at a time forces you to be present and respond rather than react to every situation.

Below are 3 ways to choose to Love Intently

Be Intentional

After you and your partner have been together for a number of years, it's tempting to shut off when you're together. This week Love Intently challenges you to spend 5 minutes every day to take notice of your partner. What are they appreciating? What makes them smile lately? What shows are they into? What's been frustrating? What are they listening to or reading lately? What have they been praying about? What's their current favorite treat? These little things often go unnoticed but can lead to fun ways you can care for them. We understand time is limited and more time isn't always possible. However, we believe your time together should be of high quality. Rather than shutting down, choose to connect this week even for a few minutes.

Start Small and Go Home

Contrary to the saying "Go big or go home" being intentional doesn't need to be a production. Rather, it's the mundane little things that matter most in a relationship. Go home and begin small with your partner. Are there tasks that stress out your partner? Is there a way you can make their day 10% easier? Not sure? Try asking them, "Is there something I can do for you that would make your week a little easier?". Knowing you are there to support them is one of the greatest gift you could give. A long meaningful hug or kiss doesn't hurt either ;)

Embrace Curiosity

Each season of life creates inevitable growth and change. A mistake couples often make is to assume they have their partner all figured out. However, something meaningful today could become irrelevant a couple of years from now. You might know them better than anyone else, but your partner is always evolving. It's important to stay curious and continue discovering each other. During your next date night, treat it as if you're getting to know them for the first time. A good place to start is to go through their rose, bud, and thorn of the week. This framework is excellent because it's ever evolving and forces you to focus on what's happening now.

Rose: What's been the best part of your week?
Bud: What's something you're looking forward to?
Thorn: What was hard or sucked this week?

Is there anyone that has chosen to love you even in moments when it was ridiculously hard? How do you choose to love people? Let us know in the comments below!