Justin Bieber Marriage Lessons - The Feeling

You might be feeling a bit confused now. Why on earth would I be writing about Justin Bieber? Well, let me tell yah!

Justin Bieber can actually make your marriage better!

The Feeling

I'm just going to come clean and say I've been listening to Justin Bieber's new album. There are couple songs, that have actually spoken to me. So much, in fact, that I knew  right away I had to write about them on my blog. 

In this post I'm going to talk about The Feeling. 

I believe that one of the biggest things, that leads to unhappy marriages and divorces, is that we are so fixated on the feeling. Love should feel good. And when it doesn't, we think it's not love. And if it's not love, what's the point staying together?

When a marriage is based on the feeling marriage is suppose to feel good and be easy. Your spouse is the one! The one who makes you feel good, who makes you happy. Loving him/her is not a chore and it comes easy. Feeling-based marriages don't require work, because love comes naturally. 

But the truth is, love is not easy - it doesn't come naturally. Love is not a feeling, love is a verb. Infatuation is a feeling.

Grass is not greener on the other side. It's green where you water it

I just love that! It illustrates love and relationships perfectly. Love means you water the grass under your feet. And what could that mean in real life, in your relationship? 

1. Make a decision to change your feeling-based marriage into a love-based marriage.

"I am in love with YOU. I am not in love with the FEELING"

2. Start to love. Practise how. Try to do it better everyday.

Be prepared to fail and love your spouse when he/she fails. You're only a human being. But consistently love him/her. Remember, love is a verb! Love your spouse even when you don't like him/her.

3. Remember, other people (read: your spouse) can't make you happy. They can love you.

It's pure stupidity to give up on love, when your spouse doesn't make you happy anymore. Did you say I do to "Do you promise to "love" him till the feeling fades away and he stops making you forget that you're not happy?" or "Do you promise to love him in sickness and in health?" 

What I love about love-based marriages is something my mom and dad have showed me. They've been married over 40 years! When you have a love-based marriage you might go through times when it's not fun and lovely to be with the other person. But when you love someone (VERB) feelings often come back too.

Undercover Jihadi Bride - 2016 Monthly Keyword Reading Challenge

March keywords: Game, fire, darkness, school, like, change

Because the keywords can be tweaked, I chose the word darkness. And the book I chose to read was Undercover Jihadi Bride.

I bought it from Kinokuniya, Singapore (I just love that book store) on our holiday there. And let me just say, I couldn't put it down. A true eye-opener. It really gave me an extra spark to do my best to help my own students to see how valuable and important they are.

Book overview

"Twenty-year-old ‘Mélodie’, a recent convert to Islam, meets the leader of an ISIS brigade on Facebook. In 48 hours he has ‘fallen in love’ with her, calls her every hour, urges her to marry him, join him in Syria in a life of paradise – and join his jihad.

Anna Erelle is the undercover journalist behind ‘Melodie’. Created to investigate the powerful propaganda weapons of Islamic State, ‘Melodie’ is soon sucked in by Bilel, right-hand man of the infamous Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. An Iraqi for whose capture the US government has promised $10 million, al-Baghdadi is described by Time Magazine as the most dangerous man in the world and by himself as the caliph of Islamic State. Bilel shows off his jeep, his guns, his expensive watch. He boasts about the people he has just killed.

With Bilel impatient for his future wife, ‘Melodie’ embarks on her highly dangerous mission, which – at its ultimate stage – will go very wrong … Enticed into this lethal online world like hundreds of other young people, including many young British girls and boys, Erelle’s harrowing and gripping investigation helps us to understand the true face of terrorism."

Lovely Letters Parcel

Do you remember the "It's so fluffy I'm gonna die" scene from Despicable Me? I went through similar feelings on Friday, when I opened the parcel Claudia had sent me. 

"It's so pretty I'm gonna die!"

It was lovely to get a parcel from a different country! Claudia is such a thoughtful friend, that the goodies she sent me were nothing short of wonderful.  

Some chocolate is missing from the photo, because I already ate it. Raspberry and chocolate is a perfect combo!

If you're wondering why Claudia sent my a parcel, go HERE to read more about the Lovely letters snail mail exchange. I send Claudia something too. 

Funny story, though (not really): I was supposed to send my parcel from Thailand, because we were there on a holiday, but couldn't do it because the post office was closed. So I had to do it in Singapore. And all that hassle made me forget some of the things I had made and bought for Claudia. Couple days ago when I was unpacking my bags, I found them. 

I guess, Claudia's going to get a second #LovelyLetters parcel. 

When was the last time you sent someone snail mail?

Words of 2016 - March

Now

This month I've been struggling with restlessness. I've been worrying about the next school year, because I still don't know where I'll be working (or if at all). So instead of worrying, I want to celebrate the glorious now. My now is filled with beautiful blessings. 

A lovely way to celebrate International Women's Day

As you may have noticed,  I am co-hosting the Lovely Letters snail mail program with lovely Claudia. Since I was on a vacation in Southeast Asia, I wasn't able to post this month's sign up post. That's why we decided to give you couple more days to join us! 

Lovely Letters is a perfect way to celebrate the International Women's Day! You'll get to meet and connect with a lady (maybe even from a totally different country) 

Welcome to Lovely Letters! A monthly bi-monthly snail mail pen pal program for bloggers hosted by Mintspiration and My Soul Called Life. That’s right! We made a slight change to the program. In short, we received some feedback from a few participants who participated in January’s exchange and it seems that 2-1/2 weeks is simply not enough time to get to know your pen pal partners. Minttu and I agree. So instead of giving you 2-1/2 weeks to get to know one another, we are extending the swap to 2 months instead. 

  

March thru April 2016 ♡ Lovely Letters Sign-ups

▷ Click here to sign-up for the March thru April 2016 Snail Mail Exchange ― remember sign ups will be open from the 1st thru the 5th the 10th and will close at midnight PST. 

▷ Pen Pal Pairings: On the 6th of March, you will receive an email letting you know who you have been paired with. Thereafter, you will spend the following 2 months getting to know your partner through blog stalking, social media, Skype, or however you like! 

▷ Connect with Your Partner: After receiving your pen pal’s contact information, you will have 2 days to connect with your partner.  If your partner does not contact you or respond within 2 days of being paired please email me so I can attempt to pair you with someone on the waiting list. Bear in mind that communication is key and is essential in establishing a fun-filled pen pal relationship. 

▷ Theme: This swap’s theme is {Invigorating & New} & the color theme is {Pastels}.

▷ Mail Your Lovely Letter Parcel: Your Lovely Letter parcel must be mailed via certified mail no later than the 25th of the April. Please note that because we want this program to be affordable and enjoyable for all participants there is a $7 limit. Here my Pinterest board to help give you some simple, yet meaningful ideas to encourage your pen pal and to make them feel extra special: 

Follow Mrs K's board Pen pal/ Snail mail on Pinterest.

February 2016 ♡ Lovely Letters Link-up Party

I truly hope that everyone who participated in February’s Lovely Letters Exchange had a wonderful time making new friends! If you would like to share your experience we highly encourage you to blog about it and thank your partner via social media using hashtag #LovelyLetters. 

LINK UP RULES

1. Link up a post about your Lovely Letters experience.
2. Link back so others can join in. Feel free to use the button provided below.
3. MOST IMPORTANTLY, comment on the blog linked up before you. This helps to create community. Feel free to give some comment love to the other bloggers as well.

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