Intentional Marriage
After having our kids we found no way to get a sitter to go on a date. It seemed nearly impossible. The connection seemed to no longer be there, only for us to both crave more time for one another.
Nursing infants, sleepless nights, laundry piles, house chores, the endless tasks of things to be done. It seemed inevitable. How many of you have felt in the season of connection seeming to be on pause or lost? Or maybe the dating stopped and conversations is about kids and work only? In the 15 Key Tips on Keeping a Faith-Filled Thriving Marriage I shared tips on what helped us and what has seemed to help others.
Why must we be intentional in our marriage?
God created man and woman to be together. To be husband and wife. He knew they needed each other. God knew it wasn’t good for man to be alone but instead to have a partner next to him. Being intentional in our marriage looks different in every marriage couple, but to some it up, it looks like setting a date once a month, once every other month, to spend quality time outside the home without kids, if you have any. It looks like talking about other things such as dreams you each have for the family and together, goals, what to improve on in the marriage. It looks like, everyday after the kids go to bed, setting time to communicate together, praying together, reading scripture together. It could even look like a s’more campfire night outside.
Being intentional is about being there for each other everyday, setting time aside for one another to listen to one another, be a shoulder, laugh, pour into your marriage daily.
In our marriage we want to cover our spouse, our marriage, in prayer everyday that we can.
Questions to Ponder:
- What can you do to begin to be intentional in your marriage? And if you are already intentional, what can you change?
- How often do you date?
- What holds you back from dating?
Verse to Ponder:
- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “Love is patient and kind, love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritate or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”