Perusing and Purpose

I am so not a morning person and after a day of run, run, run, some slow down time is in order. This morning I kind of rolled out of bed (only because I needed a trip to the potty) and then sat down to check mail before Caitlyn woke up. I get online devotions and sometimes I hit links inbedded in the mail. This morning I went to one of the author's pages and persused through that. I discovered a 3 part article of marriage. They were short so I printed them.

While I was doing that, my hubbie was getting ready for work. I am still in my pjs which I plan to be in for a hot minute this morning (they are cute anyway, and I am not indecent!) He bent over to kiss me goodbye and.......(so not telling). He came back in just a minute ago to change his shirt so I got to see him (and kiss him) again this morning!

I went and got the article off the printer and set about reading it. (Caitly is up now so it is a little more challenging doing anything!) The article brings out some points that Steve and I have already discovered in our relationship, but because we are creatures of habit, don't always implement. We KNOW what we need to do, but life gets in the way, and that is STILL true even at this stage of our relationship.

She, Mary Southerland, says in part 2, "We all exchange our lives for something. We just need to make sure that the exhange is a worthy one." She is taling about the busy schedules, the things we invest in that become our lives. After all minutes turn into hours, hours into days, and days into years-before we know it, we have lived our life, and it is coming to a close. Our life is busy-with rebuilding the house, having house guests, working and going to college, yep, busy, and it always has been (as far back as I can remember). That busyness gives way to exhaustion, and there is no more time left over for us as a couple. So....we did indeed make a decison this past year.

This time is for us. We are going to spend it doing what we do together. We are rebuilding our house together. (Now, if he would only do my homework!) We are having to say no more often, step back from church ministry more often than we used to (remembering that we are only two people), and having to separate ourselves from relationshps that "suck the life out of us." We have a lot of those, and those relationships rob from our time, our energy and our thought life and keep us from enjoying what should be intimate times in our relationships. We are having to purpose in our life that we will put our marriage first, and we will say no to whatever gets in the way of our "us."

Here are the points Southerland makes in "Making Marriage Work."

1. When the going gets tough, stay put.

2. Accept your mate and change yourself.

3. Spend time alone with your mate.

4. Laugh a lot.

5. Guard your mind.

6. Make communication a priority.

7. Discover your mate's love language.

8. Meet your mate's sexual needs.

9. Become your mate's strongest fan.

10. Cultivate replenishing relationships.


You can read the entire article at: http://www.marysoutherland.com/content/view/45/65/


You and Me baby...You and Me! (And Branson in two weeks! Yay! Finally!)