By Beth Branstetter, Contributing Writer

Social media can be a great thing.  I love being able to keep up with my high school and college friends, seeing pictures of their weddings and new babies.  I love being able to post pictures on there and my family members that are states away can still see what is going on in my life.   I love it for the reason that we can keep in touch quicker than writing letters back and forth via the snail mail.  However, not all things posted on the internet are very friendly or encouraging.

Lately I have seen a lot of posts on Facebook and Instagram from wives that are “venting” about their husbands.  Ladies, as Christian women, this is not okay! We have to lift our husbands up, not degrade him!  I know that every now and again, husbands can do things that aggravate us.   Sometimes it is important to have a friend that we can talk to about important issues and trust that they will give us good advice and will pray for us and with us.  It is important to have those types of friends and for that very thing to be done in private.  Airing dirty laundry for the entire online community to see is not the thing to do.

So how can we lift our husbands up?  How can we encourage them?

Ways to Encourage Your Husband

1) Pray for your husband

We should always be praying for our husbands.  They are the head of the household, and we need them to be able to make the best, informed decisions for our families.  I pray for my husband every morning on my way to work.

I ask for protection for him as he makes his way to his various appointments during the day.  I also pray for his spiritual life, that He will be growing in the Lord.  Lately, I’ve been asking God to show me how I can be more supportive of him in our marriage.

2) Take time to listen to him

How many times does he start talking to you and it goes in one ear and out the other?  I’m so completely guilty of this.  If we took time to actually give our husbands our full attention, we could identify how he’s hurting, what he’s looking forward to, and how to pray for him more specifically.  Not only that, but he will feel like we actually care enough to stop whatever we’re doing and listen.

3) Tell him why you love him

It’s one thing to say, “I love you,” to your husband.  But to tell him exactly why you love him is important, too.  It encourages those special little things that you love about him.  It makes him feel that he’s doing something right, and it makes him feel a little more respected.

Have you seen those picture frames on Pinterest?  The ones that say, “I love you because…” and you get to fill in the rest?  I finally made my own!  I wanted to be able to use this as a way to encourage my husband and to make him feel special.

4) Encourage him

Not only can you use the “I love you because…” frame as an encouragement, there are other little ways you can encourage your husband.  When we were newly married, I would make my husband’s lunches and stick a little note in his lunch bag.

I wanted to let him know that I was thinking of him and how proud I was of him.  Now, he doesn’t take his lunch near as often, but I can still encourage him by giving him verbal praise, thanking him for helping out, or just telling him how much I appreciate him.

5)  Lift him up publicly

Whatever you do, don’t talk bad about your husband in public.  Like I mentioned before, don’t talk down on your husband in front of others.  It’s one thing to go to your best friend or someone you often confide in and ask for advice, but it’s another thing to talk bad about him in front of all your Facebook or Instagram friends to see.

Let’s rise up and be the wives that God has called us to be.  Let’s make an effort each day to encourage our husbands!  See how your marriage will bloom when you do.