I came across this article and it made me really mad. I take issue with a lot of faith based family advice because it is always advising the woman to settle and compromise herself to be a good wife. I know our name is the Stepford Sisters, but to tell you the truth, I can't imagine anything more horrible than being married to a stepford wife or husband. I need substance, I need passion, I need excitement. Someone who hollows themselves out to be what the other person wants is nothing. I don't want to waste my time with nothing and I certainly don't want to become nothing. Why would I want to spend the rest of my life with someone who prefers that? So I am going to rant about an article that I believe proposes just that.
The article is entitled: 15 Things Wives Should Stop Doing by Mary May Larmoyeux at
Familylife.com
Well, I don't know about the rest of you ladies, but that is enough to set me off right there. It is pretty clear this article is not going to tell me to stay true to myself.
1. Stop thinking that your way is the “right” way. If
he does something differently, it does not mean that it’s wrong. When a
wife insists on having her own way, she is in essence saying, “I have to
be in control.”
Okay, number one makes sense for the most part. There is more than one right way of doing something. There are reasons some ways are better than others though. If someone uses a towel to wipe up raw meat juice and then uses that same towel to dry dishes I think it is okay to point out to them that they should get a clean towel. You don't just sit back and thank them for "helping" and enjoy your next meal of e coli. So yes, there are times it is just a matter of preference, but not always, and if you are a mature adult you should be able to take a step back and realize the difference.
2. Don’t put others before your husband. God
designed companionship in marriage so that a husband and wife can meet
one another’s need for a close, intimate, human relationship. He even
said in Genesis 2:18, “It is not good that the man should be alone.” So what happens when you put your mother, a friend, or even a child
before your spouse? Actually, you take a step (often unintentional)
toward isolation in your marriage. If you choose, for example, to spend
an afternoon shopping with your mom when your husband asked you to watch
a football game with him, you may leave hubby feeling that he has
second place in your heart.
This one is ridiculous. Does hubby want to go shopping with you and your mom? I am assuming in this scenario the wife isn't a big football fan. If she was, she would never choose shopping over the game. Football fans don't do that. I am also assuming the husband doesn't like shopping with his wife and mother in law because no husband likes that. He probably doesn't like shopping with his wife period, so she is sparing him that torture by going with someone else...But because God says it isn't good for man to be alone, woman shouldn't have a life of her own and should just do what the husband wants? You are not his slave, you can have a life and having a life should make you more attractive to him, that is who he fell in love with, a woman with a life. Now, it is possible to reach a point where a couple does nothing together and one or both are cutting off intimacy with the other by keeping too busy outside the home, but the example listed above does not fit into that category.

3. Don’t expect your husband to be your girlfriend.
Most men and women not only look different physically, but also have
unique ways of processing life. One example of this is the need for
conversation. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I’m guilty of
wearing out my husband with countless conversational details that he
doesn’t really care about. Now if he was a girlfriend, all of those
details would definitely matter!
Wow. Your husband may not be a girl, but he sure as heck should be your friend. He might not care about everything that interests you, but the fact that you are interested in it should make him want to hear about it. I can understand if it is all negative getting burnt out on listening for too long, but even then he should still care. If it isn't negative and you are talking about something you are passionate or excited about, he should care about that too...the details of your life should matter. He doesn't get to treat you like your life isn't important just because he is a guy. I can have zero interest in a subject, but if someone I care about is passionate about it and sharing it with me, it becomes interesting because I am interested in them. Their joy becomes my joy. Their sorrow becomes my sorrow. If I don't care about their feelings then I don't care about them.
4. Don’t dishonor your husband. Suggestions included:
Stop all nagging and don’t correct hubby in front of others. If you
finish your husband’s sentences, you may be unintentionally
communicating, “I don’t really care about what you have to say.”
That is mostly true. Sometimes finishing each other's sentences is sweet and romantic, but sometimes it makes the other person feel trampled over. I agree corrections should be done in private whenever possible, but stop nagging? I hate the word nagging. I don't know a single woman who nags. I know women who ask their husbands for help and when he agrees to do so expect him to follow through and remind him if he doesn't. That isn't nagging. Vocalizing your needs is not nagging. How is it any different when you tell him you would like help with the dishes than when he lets you know he is horny? I am not advocating withholding sex for chores, all I am saying is that it is never wrong to vocalize your needs to your spouse. It should never be viewed as something negative. It is an opportunity to become closer and if you hold in your wants and needs you are denying your spouse the opportunity to be intimate with you. Just because his need for sex is pleasurable for both of you (hopefully), doesn't make it more important than your need for help in the kitchen. It is more dishonoring to him to lie to him by pretending you don't have needs.

5. Stop expecting your husband to fail you as your dad failed your mom. “I
spent many years waiting for my husband to give up and walk out on me,
like my dad had years earlier,” said one friend. Her unfounded fears had
robbed her marriage of much joy.
That is 100% true and good advice. Don't project someone else onto your spouse. They are not them.
6. Don’t put your husband on the defensive. For
example, if you are driving around a section of town looking for a
restaurant and he’s obviously lost, does it really help for you to tell
him that he’s been going around the same block for the fifth time? One
wise wife said that she’s learned to be quiet in situations like this.
Now, before she makes a comment, she weighs her words—asking herself:
“Are my words needed? Would they be encouraging?” Proverbs 10:19 says,
“When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever
restrains his lips is prudent.”
I'm sorry, it makes you wise to drive around in circles? You don't have to be a witch with a bee about it, but yeah I think it is a help to point out you are getting nowhere fast as long as you follow up with a suggestion on how to remedy the situation. If our GPS isn't working and we are lost I offer to go in somewhere and ask for directions. Gas isn't cheap and I don't think it is exactly good for his pride to be driving around looking like an idiot. If he thinks he can figure it out then cool , but if he is driving around the same block five times, he isn't figuring it out.
7. Never use sex to bargain with your husband. Some
women intentionally or unintentionally say to their husbands, “When I
get what I want, you get sex.” However, 1 Corinthians 7:4-5 reminds
husbands and wives that their bodies are not their own. “Do not deprive
one another …”
While I agree that is should never be a bargaining chip or a weapon, the scripture part at the end worries me a little. I do think either party has the right to say no and the other person should respect that. Now, maybe it is because I have a history of sexual abuse, but I am a strong believer that my body is my own and I decide who when and how it is touched. I would never say to my husband "if you don't wash the dishes I won't have sex with you" (can you tell we have a lot of dirty dishes?), but if he and I are fighting and he says something that hurts me, I might not be in the mood for sex and that is completely my right. No way no how should you ever just lay there and take it to please your husband, and that shouldn't please him anyway, he should want it to be enjoyable for both of you.
Look for the next eight suggestions and my opinions on them in a future post!