Words of encouragement to a wife are like water to a plant.

When I read that quote recently, I thought about how true that statement is, how every wife needs and craves encouragement from her husband.

My husband is masterful at showing me love: he plans date nights, he gives me a box of Junior Mints just when I'm withdrawing, he is an engaged parent, and he leads our home well. But there is nothing like a well-timed word of encouragement from him! Hearing Kyle say that I'm a good mom, that he sees the value of my work with our children, that he appreciates my cooking, that he thinks I'm beautiful, or that he sees God using me -- those words re-energize me for days.

Husbands, especially…

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My bank teller must be a dad.

Every time I go to the bank, he gives my children the exact same colored lollipops. I’ve never asked him to do this, but, without fail, he digs through the lollipop basket until he finds a matching set of Dum Dum lollipops.

He must be a dad because he knows about the fight he is saving me. The one where each of my boys are eyeing the lollipops they don't have rather than enjoying the one they do. The one where they whine for their favorite color. The one in which they are not satisfied until they have what their sibling has.

As I drive away from the bank’s drive-through window, I inwardly thank this man, and I think about this picture of human jealousy: en…

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