\n<\/p>\n
My husband, Jesse, and I recently taught at a beautiful Valentine\u2019s Day event hosted by a local church. As we studied through scripture, talked about our marriage and prayed about what to teach on, we kept going back to two things that felt most important to us and made us a \u201chappy couple\u201d: Foundation and Friendship.<\/p>\n
Jesse and I know that our marriage is at its peak when the two key components of friendship and foundation are a priority. Our marriage is to be founded on God and God alone and our friendship is at its strongest point when we are running side by side toward God and His mission. We will fail if we rely on one another for our joy, our hope or our contentment. Jesse will never be able to give my life true purpose, and I will never give that to him. But God does. He is our foundation and our rock.<\/p>\n
Matthew 7:24-27 says, \u201cEveryone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although the tips below are fun and practical ways to maintain a friendship in your relationship, God\u2019s gospel and word on marriage reign in my life. Above all, my number one tip on keeping marriage healthy is to keep it Christ-centered.<\/p>\n
I believe that it is more important to thrive in this area, by God\u2019s strength. Read the Bible together, pray together, pray for one another, attend church, remain in community and accountability and listen to the Holy Spirit as He guides your heart.<\/p>\n
Image courtesy: Unsplash.com<\/p>\n
\nIn every strong relationship, intentional communication is key. Happy\u00a0couples\u00a0tend to work past the basic \u201chow was your day?\u201d conversations. They speak openly about the good topics,\u00a0as well as the hard, just as they\u00a0would with their best friend.<\/p>\n
\nThey aren\u2019t afraid to\u00a0ask\u00a0questions that they\u00a0don\u2019t necessarily want to hear the answer to. For example: \u201cIn what ways do I make you feel unloved and how can I change that?\u201d They put their guards down and allow vulnerability in their relationship because their primary goal is to grow closer to their spouse.<\/p>\n
\nPhoto Credit: \u00a9Unsplash.com<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \nIt takes a strong person to ask for forgiveness and a stronger one to forgive. Couples who have a healthy friendship think the best of one another. They also aren\u2019t afraid of admitting\u00a0when they are wrong and they know how to argue well and in a loving way.<\/p>\n \nThere is no reason to tear one another down (they\u2019re on the same team, aren\u2019t they?!) and they work toward reconciliation quickly to prevent bitterness from affecting\u00a0their relationship.<\/p>\n \nPhoto Credit:\u00a0\u00a9Thinkstock\/nd3000<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \nWho doesn\u2019t want to be\u00a0reminded that other people go through the same\u00a0silly arguments (like which direction the toilet paper roll is supposed to go)? It\u2019s also important to see that the bigger disagreements that you and your spouse face are dealt with\u00a0by other couples as well. It is beneficial to find friends that you\u00a0both enjoy because you\u00a0are\u00a0allowing other people to offer advice and a fresh perspective regarding\u00a0your\u00a0relationship.<\/p>\n \nAnd isn\u2019t it true that you\u00a0are often more aware of how you\u00a0speak to\u00a0and act\u00a0with one another when there are people around? It\u2019s a win win!<\/p>\n \nGod has called us into community and never intended for us to live our lives on our own.<\/p>\n \nPhoto Credit:\u00a0\u00a9Thinkstock\/jacoblund<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \nBFF\u2019s have relationships based on trust and the same goes for couples who live as best friends. Happy couples don\u2019t feel the need to hide things from one another. Secrets breed problems \u2013 and let\u2019s be honest, who has time for more of those?<\/p>\n \nSo as far as that hidden internet history goes \u2013 happy\u00a0couples aren\u2019t\u00a0about that.\u00a0They don\u2019t keep their phones from one another.<\/a>\u00a0They may\u00a0even go so far as to share\u00a0passwords (we do!) \u2013 because why not? They\u2019re in this together. \nPhoto Credit:\u00a0\u00a9Thinkstock\/satura86<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \nRemember the days of the honeymoon phase when you couldn\u2019t get the butterflies out of your stomach? The nights when you would go on fun adventures, just because, and stay out way too late? It\u2019s so important to keep that fun and romance alive, even in small ways.<\/p>\n \nTake weekly date nights, write short and sweet notes to each other and hide them throughout the house or send flirtatious text messages throughout the day.<\/p>\n \nPhoto Credit: \u00a9Pexels<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \nWhen you come home and the dishes aren\u2019t done or your spouse doesn\u2019t hear something you said, it can be easy to immediately think they worst. \u201cThey\u00a0always<\/em>\u00a0fail to do the dishes and just don\u2019t care about how hard I work\u201d or \u201cThey\u00a0never\u00a0<\/em>listen to me.\u201d However, couples who assume the best about one another immediately jump to the best conclusion rather than the worst.<\/p>\n \nThey understand that their spouse may have just been busy or became distracted in their conversation. They don\u2019t allow themselves to generalize their spouse as a person who \u201calways\u201d<\/em>\u00a0does something wrong\u00a0or\u00a0\u201cnever\u201d<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0gets it right.<\/p>\n \nThose words don\u2019t belong in their vocabulary. They want the best for the marriage, so they think the best of their spouse.<\/p>\n \nPhoto Credit:\u00a0\u00a9Thinkstock\/monkeybusinessimages<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \nI believe that\u00a0waiting for\u00a0marriage<\/a>\u00a0is totally worth it. But I also\u00a0know that for some couples who have been married for a while, it can be difficult\u00a0to keep the fire burning\u00a0as much as you\u00a0would like. Happy\u00a0couples don\u2019t let the busyness of life get in the way of their sex lives.<\/p>\n \nSo don\u2019t let intimacy begin in the bedroom. Touch one another, kiss one another playfully while dinner is cooking, give one another a hug every time someone comes home, sit next to each other on the couch and hold hands whenever you walk together.<\/p>\n \nOnce you begin to create that intimacy outside of the bedroom, the desire to be in the bedroom more often will grow. \nPhoto Credit: \u00a9Unsplash.com<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \nChecking out after a long day to scroll through social media or work on emails for hours\u00a0<\/a>doesn\u2019t help to create a BFF relationship. \u00a0When couples treat one another as\u00a0they would their best friends, they make the daily choice to put electronics down and talk with one another face-to-face.<\/p>\n \nBy putting everything away, they are saying: \u201cI am going to give you my attention. You are\u00a0home and I see you. You are important to me. I am devoting this\u00a0time to you because I want it to be evident\u00a0that I appreciate you and love you.\u201d<\/p>\n \nPhoto Credit:\u00a0\u00a9Thinkstock\/YakobchukOlena<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \nIt is proven that when you affirm your spouse, you are likely to strengthen those same qualities that you are praising. You have the opportunity to build them up and make them better.<\/p>\n \nHowever,\u00a0when frustrations do arise, addressing them immediately helps to prevent any future\u00a0nagging or criticism\u00a0of\u00a0those same behaviors in later settings. BFF couples deal with\u00a0issues head on, giving\u00a0more opportunity to praise and compliment one another. Why? They\u00a0aren\u2019t blinded by one another\u2019s\u00a0faults or frustrations.<\/p>\n \nTearing one another down, especially in public, is a quick way to damage the\u00a0\u2018best friend\u2019 relationship that you\u2019re working toward.<\/p>\n \nPhoto Credit:<\/span> \u00a9Thinkstock\/SiriStafford<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \nFor married couples, night time is a time for deep conversations, cuddling, movie watching and, you guessed it, sex. Happy couples go\u00a0to bed together to create opportunities for closeness. Even\u00a0if\u00a0there are a million\u00a0other things that they\u00a0could be doing,\u00a0they are showing one another that they\u2019re\u00a0carving out time to make them a priority.<\/p>\n \nGo to bed together! Have sex! Enjoy one another.<\/p>\n \nContent taken from the article, 10 Habits of Happy Couples Who Make Friendship a Priority<\/a>, written by Lindsey Maestas.<\/em><\/p>\n \nPhoto Credit:\u00a0\u00a9Thinkstock\/Dave&LesJacobs<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \nOriginally published Thursday, 09 May 2024.\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n2. They forgive quickly<\/h2>\n
3. They have strong friendships with other couples<\/h2>\n
4. They don\u2019t keep secrets from one another<\/h2>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n5. They keep the romance alive<\/h2>\n
6. They assume the best about one another<\/h2>\n
7. They don\u2019t expect intimacy to begin in the bedroom<\/h2>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n8. They put down their phones<\/h2>\n
9. The compliment one another more than they criticize<\/h2>\n
10. They go to bed together<\/h2>\n