And that’s the point. There is so much to be grateful for in the life God has given us together. Proverbs 21:9 and 19 say that it would be better to live on a corner of the roof, or even in a desert, than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife. I want my husband to look forward to coming home to me each day. We got married because we found much to like about each other, so why would either of us choose to dwell on the few picky things that irritate us?

Oh dear. Does that mean I’m going to have to bite my tongue and ignore the fact that somebody just left three squares of toilet paper on the roll without changing it? 

Discussion:

Read Proverbs 26:21, Proverbs 27:15-17;  and 2 Timothy 2:23-24.

1. What are some pet peeves about your spouse that you need to let go?

2. Do you have any annoying habits that you could choose to change as an act of love for your spouse?

3. Do you and your spouse have other issues that truly need to be dealt with? How can you determine the difference? How can you deal with either type of issue in a loving manner?

4. What does the Bible have to say about how we should handle petty annoyances? Read Proverbs 19:11, Proverbs 15:1 and Ephesians 4:2.

5. Read Proverbs 27:15-17 and discuss how verse 17 could be a “remedy” for verses 15 and 16.

Pray with your spouse that you won’t allow anything petty to come between you.

Deborah Raney has been writing for almost fourteen years and is at work on her seventeenth novel. Her first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title. The book was recently reissued in an updated version for the ten-year anniversary of its first release. Deb and her husband, Ken, have been married for thirty-three years and live in Kansas. They have four children and are enjoying being new grandparents. Visit Deborah's website at http://www.deborahraney.com/.

Tobi Layton is a fifth grade teacher and freelance writer in Missouri. Tobi has been married for six years to Ryan Layton, a high school biology teacher. Tobi and Ryan successfully defended their master’s theses this summer at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau. The Laytons have a toddler son and are expecting another baby in October.

Tobi Layton is the daughter of Ken and Deborah Raney. The Raneys and the Laytons share an August 11 wedding anniversary.