Marriage

Here is the truth, marriage is hard. You have two people that are raised in two different ways coming together and trying to blend it all. Somehow everything is suppose to go smoothly and you are immune to anything bad in your life. I hate to break it to you it is not going to happen that way. Nathan and I both know marriage is hard, but we also know it is a beautiful thing that God has blessed us with. It seems as a society we have made it okay to quit when things get hard. Marriage is not one of them. Granted, Nathan and I are in a blissful period of our marriage right now, but I know one day we will face some really tough days. It is inevitable, marriage is under attack with Satan orchestrating it all. When you think of the vows you make when you are married it is not promising to love the person when everything is fine and dandy, it states all the hard times as well.

Right now the local Christian radio station is doing segments on fireproofing your marriage. This is all based on the movie Fireproof that has just been released on DVD. If you have not seen it you must!! It is not the greatest acting in the world, but the story is awesome. Nathan and I left the kids up in Dallas this week to spend time with the grandparents, so I can attend all my teaching in service this week. As we are driving back we got to really talk to each other. By that I mean talk. we shared our hopes and dreams for our family, each other, ourselves, and sometimes we just talked to talk. It seems when we were dating it was really easy to bare my soul to him, because it dealt with just me. Now when I bare my soul the things I am sharing can affect our family, but yesterday was awesome. As we got closer to Houston I kept scanning the radio to see if we could pick up our Christian radio station, because I was really feeling the need to sing praise to our God. When we were finally able to get I was a little disappointed when it was the hour that they use to have Chuck Swindol play a few sermons and talk about certain topics. Although, last night he played a sermon from a husband and wife. The husband spoke to the men and then the wife spoke to the women of their church, in separate settings. As we listen to what they had to say it was fun looking at it each other and asking do you agree with that? We were surprised that yes the things the couple were saying were absolutely true. The points they made are things we both are doing already, we just did not realize it. I have been truly blessed that God sent Nathan to me. Trust me, I know I do not deserve him, but God's grace provided him for me. For that, I am truly grateful and I am going cherish His gift in good times and bad.

Here are some points from the sermon we heard that rang true in our ears. I hope that you try them out if you have not already, and if you have, that you continue to do it. We know that life happens and things get hectic, especially with kids, but your marriage is one thing that needs to be the focus. If you put it on the back burner everything else suffers. I pray that Nathan and I remember this and keep this determination to put our marriage as a priority.

-Study your spouse

Nathan and I joked that we are going to be stalking each other, and just say that we are studying. Studying your spouse is important. It helps you recognize when things are bothering them and puts you in tune when they need you. You also get an insight into the interests they possess. Although, I did not really need to study to know that Nathan loves sports!! Seeing his interest in sports I have chosen to participate in this passion of his as well. Thankfully, I like sports as well, but I know that he likes it when I get tickets to a game or am excited when he gets them. Nathan does the same for me. I like musicals and he always gets tickets to a show at least once a year. He does not care for them but he takes interest in me and loves to see my face when we go. This year for the rodeo he went to get tickets there are two acts that Nathan and I want to see. My favorite, Rascal Flatts, and Nathan's favorite Gary Allan. Which do you think he got? Your right, my sweet hubby got us tickets to Rascal Flatts! He got a ton of praise for that one!

-Just call to say hi

This is true for the husbands. I love it when Nathan calls me from work, to just say he was thinking of me and wanted to hear my voice. My heart still jumps a beat when I see his number on caller ID. I think that this is true for us women as well. It is hard to call your husband at work sometimes, so I resort to just sending him an email, telling him I love him and can't wait to see him that night. This way they don't hear all the craziness in the background, to them all is peaceful and quiet at your house when you send an email!!

-An Overnight

Men, us girls like to get away. It does not have to be expensive at all. Women if you think that your hubby won't do this, do it for them. I think they will appreciate it as much as we do. Ways to do it cheaply. If you have parents that will take the kids for an overnight, that is beautiful, if not ask a friend to take them and you will pay her back by taking her kids as well. If you have more than one split them up possibly. For the hotel go to priceline and name your max price. Choose a 4 star rating. You will be surprised what you can get for $50 sometimes, you might have to try different areas, but you can find one. Nathan and I still stay in Houston, I don't need to drive a couple hours to get away. This will save you on gas as well. I am perfectly content with staying in the hotel the whole time. Just pick up some food and stay the rest of the secluded in the room with your spouse. Awesome!! If you want to do the night up by all means go all out!! I just wanted to let you know it did not have to be something spectacular to make us happy!

-Intimacy

Ladies, I know this is hard sometimes, but it is imperative!! Trust me, I do not feel sexy at all especially, right now being as big as a house! I saw on The Early Show and author whose book is called "Love in the time of Colic." How perfect!! It is so hard for moms of little ones, but we have to do it girls! No matter how bad or tired I feel when I have the intimacy with Nathan I always feel so much better! Just hugging your spouse for 20 seconds helps, you should just try it. The touching, hand holding, hugging, kissing, is all part of it. It reassures both partners. So, I encourage you to just let everything go and focus on your man tonight!

Romance does not have to be expensive, be creative, a little effort into something goes a long way and is worth a lot more than how much something costs. I know this post is long, but as I said earlier marriages are under attack and we need to protect and guard them. So, I encourage you to spend time in The Word and learn how to fireproof your marriage. It is so worth it!

Nathan,

Thank you for always making me feel beautiful. You encourage me and praise me even when I do not deserve it. You are such a fantastic father and husband, but what I admire about you most is that you are a man of God. Thank you so much for leading and cherishing your family. I am so blessed to have you. What makes it even better is that I know you feel blessed to have me too. I love you! Happy late Valentine's Day!

***Do you want to see a marriage that has been fireproofed during some rough times? Check out the Fox Family Blog this post says it all. If you have time to I encourage you to read their whole blog. It is amazing how much they praise God even in the tough times. I worked with Ben in The Woodlands. Ben and Meredith are the first couple that we met in Houston and God was apparent even then. They moved to Dallas and we had lost touch the past couple of years. Nathan and I were not aware with all that they have endured. Ben battled cancer and Meredith is suffering severe seizures. Please pray for this beautiful couple who has God in the middle of it all!***