Building a Great Marriage

I have read a lot of blogs about marriages this week.  Maybe with a new year folks are trying to focus on relationships, that is a good thing.  Last year our oldest niece married and this summer our second oldest niece has a date picked (and a guy) for their wedding, so I have them in mind as I give a little marriage building advice.

Bricks that Build Marriage

• Love: Eph 5:25,28, 33.  Love includes Trusting Each Other and being worthy of that Trust.
• Leaving Parents: Gen 2:24.  Consider Marriage Permanent as you enter in.  Do get married thinking about divorce if it doesn't work out.  Plan for and work for success.
• Learning: Titus 2:4-5.  Learn from those whose marriages are successful.  We have a couple at Parrish Church of Christ who celebrated 73 years of marriage in September.  Her comment, "Tell young couples to stay together, love gets sweeter every year."
• Letting: 1 Cor 10:24.  Accept the Imperfections and Unchangeable in your spouse. Those annoying habits in marriage were cute, adorable characteristics when you were dating.  Let them remain that way.
• Lift: Gal 6:2. Appreciate the dependency of marriage.  God made man and woman as each others' companion and helper.
• Lord: Amos 3:3; 1 Pet 3:7.  We need to make God the center of our lives and of our relationship.  If we are individually trying to please the Lord we will be the spouse we should be.  When we serve the Lord as a couple, then our marriage and family will be what God wants it to be.

Have a great marriage!

Scott