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By: Donna Martin
As the New Year begins, once again we have a clean slate, a fresh start, a new opportunity to do better and be better. Take a minute to think about your marriage. Is your marriage stronger today than it was this time last year? Do you love your spouse more today than you did on the day you were first married? Have you grown closer together and closer to God as a couple?
Hopefully you have a wonderful, strong, “happy together” marriage. However, even the best marriages need a little spark once in a while. As you make your New Year’s resolutions we hope that you will add to that list plans for making your marriage stronger. Be careful not to become complacent just because you have no problems. Keep your marriage interesting and alive.
Here are a few suggestions for improving your relationship this year.
1. Compliment, compliment, compliment. Everyone needs encouraging, especially our spouses. Be sure and give your spouse at least 2 compliments every day.
2. Be thankful for what you have. Instead of comparing your spouse or your marriage with other marriages, look for the good in what you have. Be thankful for your spouse’s good qualities. Thank your spouse for the way he provides for your family’s needs. Thank your spouse for the good meals she prepares or for the way she takes care of the children. Thank your spouse for keeping the car or the house in good repair. Each day thank your spouse for something and thank God for your spouse.
3. Plan special times together. Get out the calendar and set aside a time at least once a month when you and your spouse can go on a date. Try to plan a few overnight outings so that you can be alone and rekindle your romance.
4. Always be willing to forgive. If God can forgive us, we ought to be able to forgive our spouse.
5. Laugh more and complain less. Enjoy life together.
6. Read the Bible and pray together every day. Attend church together with your family.
When I was a child we would sing the chorus “Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before, every day with Jesus I love him more and more.” Life is fragile and time is short. Make the most of each day and each moment. Just as you make every day with Jesus sweeter, do your best to make every day with your spouse sweeter than the day before.
The Martins are available to present “Happy Together” Marriage Enrichment Events for churches and organizations. To schedule an event call Michael at 940-735-1515. They are certified “Prepare/Enrich” Facilitators and are available to work with couples on an individual basis using the “Prepare/Enrich Assessment.” They publish a weekly “Happy Together” Blog about family and marriage issues. You can order copies of their new books Dancing With Death and 366 Tidbits We Have Learned in 14,610 Days of Marriage, read, and subscribe to their “Happy Together” Blog by logging onto the Martin’s website at www.happytogethermarriages.com.