Friday, January 14, 2011

Romantic Marriage / Suggestions on How to Serve the One You Love

TIPS FOR A MORE ROMANTIC MARRIAGE
Give seven compliments a day.

Best tip: Give your spouse at least seven compliments a day. It works.   Some days you may wonder if you can find one, let alone seven. But when it becomes a lifestyle, it becomes easy to look for the good in your spouse.  When you compliment each other with words of appreciation and affection, it projects acceptance and creates trust and security.

Examples:
   * You do such a great job with the lawn. You even look great in your old, sweaty work clothes.
   * It's wonderful just to be near you.
   * Thanks for being such a great dad to our kids.
   * Thanks for a lovely meal.
   * Thanks for taking out the garbage.
   * You are my best friend. I can tell you anything.
   * No one touches my heart like you do.  Practicing seven-compliments-a-day goes a long way to warding off strife. But when tiffs begin, remind yourself that marriage is for the long haul - for keeps. Many divorces develop through strife, and most of them are avoidable. Don't pick at each other over petty annoyances. Before you criticize your spouse, ask yourself how important the issue is. Ask if that comment is going to help or hurt your relationship. Ask yourself if the issue at stake is more important than your marriage, or your spouse's probable reaction to your words. ~ Author unknown

SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO SERVE THE ONE YOU LOVE
*1.  Admit to your spouse that you have made mistakes and that you desire to change.
 
*2.  Ask your spouse to tell you one thing that you could either begin doing or stop doing that would make life easier or more meaningful for him or her.

*3.  Write your spouse's suggestions on a card or a poster for future reference.
 
*4.  Ask God to help you serve your spouse better. 
 
*5.  Continue to ask for suggestions, building them into your life-style. This will require thought, prayer and discipline, but the satisfaction of genuinely serving your spouse in worth the effort.

- Gary D. Chapman, DECISION, June 1998
(Magazine: DECISION http://www.graham-assn.org/decision/)
 

THANKING THE LORD FOR FORTY YEARS OF MARRIAGE!
by Lois Breneman - 2008

I'm so thankful to the Lord for the forty wonderful years of marriage He has given me with my dear husband, John.  The Lord had always been the glue in our dating relationship and our marriage.  We both continue to say we would choose each other all over again.  Neither of us is perfect, although I must admit it took me a few years before I realized that he wasn't!  There is always something to work on to improve our marriage. 
 
A few keys to marriage, I believe, are these:
 
Keeping Christ at the center of the marriage and staying in the Word of God
Making time for yourselves a priority, even during the busy years of having children
Not getting too busy
Finding ways to creatively express love to each other
Spending time praying together
Spending time playing together - sailing, walking, watching good movies, etc.
Using good humor, but never sarcasm
Giving compliments to each other
Showing consideration to each other - "in honor preferring one another"
Wives showing respect to their husbands, and husbands loving their wives

No comments: