You learn to phrase things carefully. When your wife asks what's on TV. Please don't tell her dust.

Welcome to Tuesday, April 27, 2010. Tuesday is that day sandwiched between Monday and Wednesday, named after some mythological god who supposedly was connected to the planet Mars, and we all know there's quite a lot of talk about Venus and Mars and how they reflect upon men and women. I don't need a modern bestselling book written on this subject when we have Creator God's clear representation in the bestselling Book of all times telling us that men and women are different. Visit the average bathroom and you will see that difference magnified. Men have a total of between 5 and 10 items, like razor, shaving cream, deodorant, shampoo, etc., and even his towel may have come from a motel. Women have on average 328 items to account for. Go figure. A woman will dress up before she takes out the trash, goes shopping, or even to go fetch the mail. A man dresses up only for a wedding or a funeral. Here's a really big one: Men can do all their Christmas shopping on Christmas eve in 25 minutes. We are different. And I might add, different by design. It can be summed up with that old joke about why Moses wandered in the dessert for 40 years. According to Mrs. Moses, "He wouldn't even consider stopping to ask for directions."

Yeah. We do look at life differently, don't we? Women report that men are like a Swiss army knife, they look like they do a multitude of different things, but mostly end up only opening bottles. They also say that men are like a zip lock bag because they hold everything in but usually she can see right through them. Women also say that men typically have bad eyesight since they seem never to notice any wrinkles in their clothes. On the other hand, men have their own observations about women. Even the words used by women tell a story. They use the word "fine" but for some reason that doesn't typically mean that anything is fine. Women also like the word "nothing" but rarely do they use it to mean "nothing" because most of the time it really means "something" and that "something" is usually a big "something". Confusing as all get out, don't you think? The young man asked his dad about how it works in native cultures. He said he had heard that in some tribes men never really know their wives until they are married. His dad couldn't help himself, "Son, as far as I can tell, this is how it works in all cultures!"

How in the world can we ever get along if these differences are so entrenched? We are able to love and respect each other when we do life God's way. He tells men how they are to love their wives. He tells women how they are to respect their husbands. He also gives us His Spirit to help us to do exactly what He has instructed us to do. This typically doesn't happen on the first day, or the in the first year, but it can happen if we recognize these differences to be inherent in God's design, and we learn to live and laugh on our journey as we seek to honor Him in our relationships. It's no easy task and there are days when we all find ourselves slip sliding around as we fret and fumble through our conversations and connections. However, recognizing that only God can help us to be who He wants us to be is the best way to start every day. I love the fact that my wife is so different from me and that she accepts me even if I use the lame, "May I help you with dinner?" For she knows what this really means. It means this question almost always comes when everything is on the table. Thank God for the person who coined how it's the thought that counts. Always remember that God's word on every subject is readily available as found in His Book, The Holy Bible. Have a blessed day. Amen. ......More later.