Although it's not an official anniversary, or one we celebrate, it is noteworthy (or blogworthy) that as of August 31, 2011 Austin & I will have been together for ten years! I was in Bible class this week and we were going over tips for a successful marriage, and I realized how many of them we have incorporated into our marriage in our own fashion. We have been asked by many other couples over the years what our secret is to seeming to be so successful. Here are my tips!
1) Have God at the center of your lives as an individual, then it will be a cinch to keep Him at the center of your marriage
2) Pray
with and
for each other
3) When you want to argue, ask if you will care about the outcome next week, whether you win or not
4) When someone starts to raise their voice or get an attitude, the other person leaves the room - no one needs to be treated disrespectfully, even in an argument
5) One law we put into practice years ago was that we can't leave each other without a kiss, even if it's just to run to the store
6) When you walk by your spouse, grab their butt, or cheek, or bicep, or whatever so they know you are thinking about them even when the mundane day-to-day activities are in progress
7) At least pretend to enjoy each other's hobbies, maybe not ALL of them, but at least the ones that are most important to your spouse
8) If you both work, clean the house together - at the same time. You'll see the progress you both made and you are genuinely helping each other for a positive outcome (even if you hate cleaning)
9) If you have a Saturday afternoon open, get out and do something! Throw the frisbee, go window shopping, throw the kids in the stroller and take a walk, get some yogurt, buy some "just because" cards for friends, take some silly photos in the booth at the mall, etc
10) Say "I love you" (and mean it) every morning before you get out of bed, every night before you drift off to sleep, and at least 5 other times during the day. Guys, if you can't say it, text it!
11) Continue to write each other sweet nothings, that's not just for the hook & bait of dating
12) Two words: Nap Cuddles
13) Make time to spend a couple hours a week together, and turn off the TV, laptops, ipods and phones - talk!
14) Laugh at every instance possible! This is the worldly glue that holds us together!
