Welcome to Replay Friday! This episode had thousands of downloads when it first aired in 2021, and maybe that's partly because people like to hear about how others blew it! Ha! "Dumb Things I Did as a Newlywed" is not just for brand new wives. It's for married women of all stages. The problem with doing things incorrectly is that it may become habit-forming, persisting into the later years of marriage.

Marriage is a "work of heart," including routine maintenance as well as occasional repairs. This episode covers four things that qualify for the "Not to Do" list. Self-directed marriages are filled with struggles, but biblical marriages improve with age.

"Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD." (Proverbs 18:22)

More on this topic here: Rough Patches: Temporary Marital Tensions by Francie Taylor

Apply: Living What We Learn--Daily Devotional by Francie Taylor

NEW! Far Above Rubies: A 31-Day Devotional by Melissa Hedrick

NEW! Encouragement for Young Women: A 30-Day Devotional for Teens by Charity Berkey & Team

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Welcome back to Build Your Bible Habit, where you can listen to a daily chapter from the book of Proverbs in about five minutes. A Bible reading habit becomes a Bible study habit, leading to a closer relationship with God while increasing your wisdom and knowledge. God wants us to know how to live, so He gave us His Word, placing Proverbs right in the middle.

Never underestimate the value of God's Word. It's priceless and proven:

"Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it." (Proverbs 8:10-11)

Is your life on track? If not, maybe you need to invest more time seeking instruction, knowledge, and wisdom from God's Word. Nothing compares to it. You will appreciate the life improvements that come from building your Bible habit.

Here's a helpful tool to use with your Proverbs studies: Apply: Living What We Learn--A 31-Day Devotional by Francie Taylor

When someone says or does something that irritates you, what comes out of your mouth? Unfiltered speech that stings, or carefully chosen words spoken according to the "law of kindness"? We are at great risk of picking up the infections of the culture, including the tendency to open the mouth with unedited harshness.

If your companions, electronic or "in real life" are mouthy and careless, you will be influenced by them. But if your role models are biblically sound, that beautiful soundness will become an admirable pattern for you. The best companions are God-fearing ones, as it says in Psalm 119:63: "I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts."

This episode is an excerpt from Apply: Living What We Learn. Day 31 examines "the law of kindness." People who have learned how to apply this kindness to the way they communicate are precious, encouraging, and rare.

"She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness." (Proverbs 31:26)

Get your copy of Apply here: Apply: Living What We Learn--A 31-Day Devotional by Francie Taylor