Honor God and Family...me first?

Learning how to honor others can be particularly hard sometimes, especially when you don't know how to accept honor for yourself. 
I think as human beings, we tend to lean toward extremes.  For example, we might expect those around us to do this or that and get all in a tizzy if they don't, even when they have no idea we even wanted them to do something.  Be very cautious of the "I deserve" attitude.  It can sour quickly and cause you more trouble than you need.  The other extreme is to say, "oh it doesn't matter" or "I don't care" or "whatever you think" all the time to other people.  This can cause you to constantly get walked on, pushed around, or maybe even bull-dozed by others.  This is also VERY dangerous because eventually you might switch to survival mode which can just throw you back to the other extreme. Sadly, I have been guilty of both extremes and have suffered the consequences of both. :(
The happy medium is  realizing that every blessing we have is only given by grace, not because we deserve it. Along with that we all have to give ourselves permission to state how we're feeling and to let our loved-ones know that we need something from them.  If you let them know what you really think, your honesty will give them a chance to honor you, which will in turn bless them.  It can be a beautiful circle.
The Bible calls for us to be bold like lions (Proverbs 28:1) and innocent like doves (Matthew 10:16), and Jesus Himself tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:39).  Funny how we catch that neighbor part; we dissect it and discuss it, asking who is our neighbor and all that jazz, but many of us miss the SELF part.  When you really hear what Jesus is saying, He is telling us that we must love ourselves first-- not in a narcissistic way but in a good stewardship, taking care of our heart, mind, body, and spirit way.  Our bodies are His temple, remember (1 Corinthians 6:19).  We should take care of what He has given us. 
When we take care of ourselves, feeding our spirits well with scripture, nourishing and nurturing our bodies with proper food, exercise, and rest, we are so much better prepared to honor the wonderful family and friends God has given us.  AND we are honoring God when we spend time with Him and follow His direction.
When we are content, we can "always be eager to practice hospitality" like the Apostle Paul tells Christians in Romans 12:13.  We can "love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other." Romans 12:10
Grace and Sunday SunSHINE to you and yours on this lovely weekend!