Pete Wilson, one of the pastors at Cross Point Church, had a great little post in which he said we all either suck the life out of you or breathe life into those around us.
I agree completely, there really is no middle ground, we either give or we take. Sure, we all have bad days, or times when we are just too busy to do what we want, but over time we are either givers or takers in each relationship we have. Some take from everyone, some give to everyone, many do some of each with different people. Those who do some of both are probably doing it based on how much they value certain individuals, or how much power they have over them, or maybe just what they think they can get away with.
So, on the whole, do you breathe life into your bride, or do you suck the life out of her? If you do more sucking than breathing, why? Does she have low value in your estimation? Is it about your power over her? Or, maybe you know she will put up with it?
Be a breather, not a sucker!
Links to blog posts that stood out to me this last week:
Happy one year Stu! My friend Stu, over at The Marry Blogger, celebrated his first full year of blogging. Stu does good work, as shown by the fact his posts regularly show up in my Sunday links.
Winning an Olympic Gold in my Marriage!: Winning at your marriage take a lot of effort. Links to other great posts.
Are YOU on Your To-Do List?: An excellent guest post from Susan of The Confident Mom. Is your bride killing herself in the name of "sacrificing yourself"?
Angry Husbands Produce Depressed Wives: MarriedLife has a few notes on a recent study. If your bride is depressed, you better check yourself for anger.
And they said we wouldn't make it. 
No really, a number of folks did say that - a few to us, most behind our backs. 
If there was a pool on how long we would last, I'm sure no one bet on 25 years!