THE LOVE DARE FOR COUPLES WEEK 2. Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. (James 1:19)

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1 THE LOVE DARE FOR COUPLES WEEK 2 Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. (James 1:19) Love is Patient Love is built on two pillars: patience and kindness. All other aspects of love flow from this foundation and without them we cannot build truly loving relationships. What s your first reaction when your partner does something that offends or upsets you? If you respond in anger, what happens next? Maybe the situation snowballs, or perhaps one of you clams up. Either way, how does your relationship feel afterwards? Do you feel closer and kinder? This week s first dare is deceptively simple: be patient. Resolve to say nothing negative to your partner this week at all. Even if you get annoyed, even if you get angry, let the emotions pass without lashing out. You can t expect yourself to change how you feel right away in an uncomfortable situation, but you can change how you react. Sometimes it may be a matter of not saying anything at all, rather than saying something you ll regret later. I accept this challenge. Was this an easy dare for you? Did anything happen this week that caused you to feel annoyed or angry with your partner? Were you tempted to lash out? How did you handle these situations?

2 THE LOVE DARE FOR COUPLES WEEK 2, CONTINUED Love Is Not Irritable Imagine this situation: today is the one day when you re home alone without anyone around to distract you, and you ve made yourself a great to-do list all the things you just haven t had the time for this past week. You start one chore and then quickly move to another, because double-tasking is the way to get things done, right? You realize things are taking a bit longer than you thought, but if you plan it right you should be able to finish off the whole list. Then your partner calls. They need to talk; they need your time. How do you respond? If you re annoyed right now, you re not alone. Irritability is not born out of patience and kindness. What sorts of things can cause you to be irritable towards your partner? Are you stressed? Too much work? Not enough sleep? Too many appointments to keep track of? Take this week and invite a Sabbath, a time of rest, into your life. It doesn t have to be a Sunday it doesn t even have to be an entire day. Consciously open up spaces in your life when you are not bound by your own needs. I accept this challenge Were you able to set aside times of rest this week? How did it impact your mood? Did you struggle with thoughts of things you could (or should) be doing instead? Have you noticed any change in the way you react to unforeseen circumstances?

3 THE LOVE DARE FOR SINGLES WEEK 2 Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. (James 1:19) Love is Patient Love is built on two pillars: patience and kindness. All other aspects of love flow from this foundation and without them we cannot build truly loving relationships, of any type. What s your first reaction when someone does something that offends or upsets you? If you respond in anger, what happens next? Maybe the situation snowballs, or perhaps one of you clams up. Either way, how do you feel afterwards? Do you feel closer and kinder? This week s first dare is deceptively simple: be patient. Resolve to say nothing negative this week at all. Even if you get annoyed, even if you get angry, let the emotions pass without lashing out. You can t expect yourself to change how you feel right away in an uncomfortable situation, but you can change how you react. Sometimes it may be a matter of not saying anything at all, rather than saying something you ll regret later. I accept this challenge. Was this an easy dare for you? Did anything happen this week that caused you to feel annoyed or angry with someone? Were you tempted to lash out? How did you handle these situations?

4 THE LOVE DARE FOR SINGLES WEEK 2 CONTINUED Love is Not Irritable Imagine this situation: today is the one day when you re home alone without anyone around to distract you, and you ve made yourself a great to-do list all the things you just haven t had the time for this past week. You start one chore and then quickly move to another, because double-tasking is the way to get things done, right? You realize things are taking a bit longer than you thought, but if you plan it right you should be able to finish off the whole list. Then the phone rings; perhaps it s a friend or a family member. They need to talk; they need your time. How do you respond? If you re annoyed right now, you re not alone. Irritability is not born out of patience and kindness. What sorts of things can cause you to be irritable? Are you stressed? Too much work? Not enough sleep? Too many appointments to keep track of? Take this week and invite a Sabbath, a time of rest. It doesn t have to be a Sunday it doesn t even have to be an entire day. Consciously open up spaces in your life when you are not bound by your own needs. I accept this challenge Were you able to set aside times of rest this week? How did it impact your mood? Did you struggle with thoughts of things you could (or should) be doing instead? Have you noticed any change in the way you react to unforeseen circumstances?

5 THE LOVE DARE FOR KIDS WEEK 2 Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. (James 1:19) Love is Patient Love is built on two main qualities: patience and kindness. All other aspects of love come out of these two qualities and without them we can t build truly loving relationships. What s your first reaction when your one of your parents does something that makes you mad? If you respond in anger, what happens next? Maybe the situation snowballs, or perhaps one of you clams up. Either way, how do you feel afterwards? Do you feel closer and kinder? This week s first dare seems simple: be patient. Don t say anything negative to your parents this week at all. Even if you get annoyed, even if you get angry, let the emotions pass without lashing out. You can t expect yourself to change how you feel right away, but you can change how you react. Sometimes it may be a matter of not saying anything at all, rather than saying something you ll regret later. I accept this challenge. Was this an easy dare for you? Did anything happen this week that made you to feel annoyed or angry with your parents? Were you tempted to lash out? How did you handle these situations?

6 THE LOVE DARE FOR KIDS WEEK 2 CONTINUED Love Is Not Selfish How many times have your parents told you to share? Did you really want to? Why do you think they might tell you this? It s normal to think of yourself first. In part, we re born that way: the only things we know are the things we can see. It s why young kids can get upset if a parent walks out of the house if they can t see them it seems like they don t exist anymore. Only as we get older do we become more aware of the world around us and of other people. Slowly we start to realize that, it isn t always about me, but we still want the same love, the same attention that we got when we were babies. That s normal. You know what? Your parents want that same love and that same attention, too. This week, ask yourself some questions: How do I think my parents would like me to treat them? Do I want them to feel loved by me? Do I know what things they like, and what they like to do? Then do or make something special for your parents that lets them know that you were thinking about them. I accept this challenge How did you answer the three questions? Were they hard questions to answer? What special thing did you do or make, and how did they react?