Monday, February 9, 2015

How to Make Valentine's Day a LIFESTYLE with your Spouse!

Valentine's Day is coming and with it a time for couple's to spend a romantic evening together.
 
How long does the synergy and feeling of togetherness last after just one romantic evening during the middle of February? A couple of days....a week maybe?
 
How does a couple continue in oneness all year long?
 
Genesis 1:27 - "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh."
 
As a high-schooler and college male I was focused on the sexual aspect of the one flesh component to marriage. While being one flesh does mean being physically intimate with one another it falls woefully short of all that God intended the oneness of marriage to be.
 
Being one flesh encompasses not only our physical lives but our emotional and spiritual futures as well! This is where many couple's miss out and start 'falling out' of love because they are not protecting and fostering depth with respect to the oneness of their marriages.
 
While personally missing the mark numerous times here is a short list of ways in which you can foster oneness with your spouse all year:
 
1. Take interest in your spouse's hobbies. For instance, my wife now loves fishing and I love going to hockey games. If an interest or a hobby is important to your spouse make it a priority to encourage them and try it as well. Who knows, you might end up liking it too and have something to do regularly together!
 
2. Be spontaneous. Have impromptu dance parties or just leave your house and drive and explore!
 
3. Desire to know what makes your spouse 'tick'. Plumb the depths of who they are. Make it goal to get to know them and everything about them during your journey together!
 
4. Feed their love language. Every person has a way in which they communicate and want love to be reciprocated. Know what your spouse's love language is and show love in ways that mean the most to them. If you don't know you or your spouse's love language go to http://www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/
 
5. Prioritize time with them. Your spouse is your most important person on planet earth. Period. Guard and schedule time with them. Spend enough time with people in your church or who are your friends that they know you love them. Spend enough time with your wife so that she knows you love her more than your church or your friends!
 
6. Do NOT take your spouse for granted. There are plenty of things your spouse does so be appreciative for those things and verbalize it to them.
 
7. Pray with your spouse. Prayer is a spiritual glue that holds people together. Pray with your spouse at least once each day. We pray every night before going to bed.
 
8. Map out your future together. Have a long weekend get away in which you plan your future together. If you don't intentionally plan your future together you will stray apart.
 
9. Be your spouse's biggest fan. Root and cheer for them in life and make sure you celebrate the win's in their lives as well!
 
10. Serve and be on mission together. Make sure you are trying to reach people for Jesus. Nothing brings people closer together than in being in mission and serving others!
 
Did I miss any OTHER things to foster growth in oneness? Thoughts?
 
To the girl who I pledge to pursue until my death

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