Expectations

Today, I slept in (til 7am) and decided I am going to do another late run after work tonight. Sometime I just need a little am-sleep and a big pot of coffee to start my day off right.

Let's talk a little bit about marriage/relationships...

Last night we went to our couples group downtown.  I loved it!  We are doing a study called I-Marriage by Andy Stanley and I am finding the content really relatable. Last night the topic was Expectations- both Positive and Negative. 

Source

According to Stanley, sometimes we have preconceived ideas of what we want our partner to be/do that we are never thankful for what the ACTUALLY do.  I can totally relate!  Even simple things like yard-work or taking out the trash- I often expect Bryan to do it and when he does I don't even express my gratitude as often as I would like to.

Source

Stanley said when we live in a constant state of expecting things from our partners rather than desiring things, we make it impossible to give or receive gifts and we also make it an environment where there other partner is always trying to measure up to our expectations.  (like making the bed...)

After last night, I decided I am going to intentionally be grateful and express my gratitude when my desires are met by Bryan. The key is to have desires (we all do), not expectations. When he meets a desire of mine, I will naturally be so thankful because it wasn't expected.

Question:
Have you ever heard of Andy Stanley?  Have you ever done one of his studies?  If so, what did you think?