Now, I want you to know that I don’t ordinarily look at other women. I’m not the kind of guy who notices them. In fact, I don’t notice much of anything around me unless it’s really in my face. For me to notice something, it’s really got to be right up in my face. I don’t notice half the things that go on around me. Let me tell you what I’m talking about.
There was a woman at a department store Cathy and I went to one time, and she was just beautiful. She had just finished cutting a commercial for the store, and she was looking great. There were men standing around with their mouths hanging open and everything. You could hear their wives saying to them, “Close your mouth, honey.”
Now, if Cathy thinks I might be looking at another woman, she always says the same thing: “Are you enjoying the scenery?” Well, Cathy saw this beautiful woman, but I didn’t see her. The woman was tall with long legs and a short dress. She was a gorgeous woman.
Cathy said, “Just look at that girl.”
I wasn’t even trying to look at a beautiful girl; I was looking for a Chinese vase. I get my mind on something, boy, and that’s what I’m focused on. I wanted to go get that vase – I didn’t want to look at a beautiful girl.
But Cathy told me to look at this beautiful girl, so I said, “Where?” Then I saw this lady, and I saw all the men going, “Hoooooo hoooo.”
All the women were going, “Pffft, pffft, pfff.” You know how women are. They’re like cats – their fur comes up a little bit, bless them. You can tell when they get territorial. They just go along looking distracted, saying, “Hmm, humm, humm.” But you’ve got to watch them. You can hear them muttering, “hmmm, hummm,” and all of a sudden, whack! They’ll just slap a man in a second for looking at some other woman.
Anyway, I looked at that beautiful woman and said, “Boy, look at her. Cathy, she’s the kind of woman men love.”
Cathy looked a little distracted as I said that. She started going, “Hmmm, hmmm.” That’s when I knew I had to be careful. She was acting like a cat beginning to flex its muscles before the strike.
“Cathy,” I said, “men go crazy over women like her. Men love that kind of woman, Cathy.”
Boy, by that time I knew Cathy was getting stirred up. I could see it coming. So I said, “Cathy, you don’t have to worry about that sort of thing with your husband here. I don’t like that kind of woman at all.”
She kind of smiled.
I continued, “I like short women, with fat, stubby legs and veins hanging out. I like those varicose veins; that’s what I like.”
“So why do you like varicose veins?” Cathy asked me.
“Well,” I said, “if you’re driving your car and you lose your map, all you’ve got to do is just read your wife’s legs. Just follow those veins. Turn right. Okay. Now left.”
I looked at Cathy, and she was saying, “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” and laughing.
I got myself out of trouble that way. I had to play down the beauty of that woman, and I used humor to do it. I wasn’t telling my wife she had ugly legs or anything like that. I was just making fun of that situation. Sometimes humor is the best way to get you out of a bad situation. Humor can be your friend.
I made a joke out of that situation, but I still had to make my wife feel loved. Women need to be honored by their husbands. The Bible tells husbands to love their wives. That means husbands need to make their wives feel special.
Husbands, you need to make your wife feel like she’s the most important girl in the room, even if there’s a TV model in there with you. You’ve got to let her know that she’s beautiful. That’s called loving your wife, and she’ll thank you for it. You’ll see, I promise you!
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Jesse Duplantis, minister of the Gospel, motivational speaker, television personality, and best-selling author, has been in full-time ministry since 1976 and is the founder of Jesse Duplantis Ministries, located in the Greater New Orleans area of south Louisiana in the United States of America. With over four decades of sharing his unique blend of humor and faith around the world, generations of believers have been inspired by his messages and countless numbers have come to know Jesus Christ as Savior through his ministry.
Known for his unflinching, status-quo-breaking messages and humorous take on experiences in the life of the believer, Jesse continues to draw large audiences of believers through social media, television, and meetings held around the world. With speaking engagements booked years in advance, Jesse Duplantis continues to keep an intense traveling schedule, flying throughout the United States and the world preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With no booking agents pursuing meetings for him and no set fees imposed upon churches for speaking engagements, Jesse chooses his outreach meetings based on the same two criteria he always has: invitations that come in and prayer over each one. This uncommon way of scheduling in today’s world means Jesse’s many followers may find him speaking in some of the largest churches and venues in America and the world, as well as a great many small and growing congregations, too. No church is too big or small for the Holy Spirit, as he says.
Side by side with his wife Cathy Duplantis, the co-founder and chief of staff of Jesse Duplantis Ministries and the senior pastor of Covenant Church in Destrehan, Louisiana, Jesse continues to fulfill his life’s calling by daily taking up the Great Commission of Jesus Christ: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Through social media, television broadcasts, books, and other ministry products, as well as through many evangelistic meetings, the JDM website, the JDM app, and Voice of the Covenant magazine, Jesse Duplantis continues to see growth in his ministry and expand each year while maintaining his roots. Jesus is the center of his life. The salvation of lost people and the growth of believers is the purpose of his ministry. And for both he and his wife, every day is another day to “Reach People and Change Lives, One Soul at a Time.”