Marriage Builder Monday

I began Marriage Builder Mondays out of necessity. I realized I was allowing the daily grind to take priority over the growth of my marriage. Ouch! That was not an easy pill to swallow. The funny part was, I would definitely be the first person to tell you that marriage is not easy, it requires work. I grew up with that notion and completely accept it as fact. I accept it as fact…yet here I was putting the task at the very bottom of my list! Why? I haven’t really figured that out yet. It’s easy to neglect the quiet parts of your life I guess. The parts you don’t have to share outside the walls of your home. Alas, Marriage Builder Mondays are here and I have accountability. Hooray! Not only has building my marriage taken a starring role in my life, I feel like it’s been bumped up a few notches among you, my friends, and your marriages. I can physically see each of us growing by leaps and bounds. What could be better than being surrounded by a group of women who are striving for the same goal as you? Not much! I thank you all for your support and my heart leaps with joy as I read each story of a marriage growing stronger! I’m looking forward to the continued growth within each of us…the best is yet to come!

For the past two weeks I’ve worked towards being kinder to my husband, making sure he could relax after a long day at work and taking a few chores off of his plate. It turns out allowing him to have some quiet time each day was a huge thing! Our evenings were so much smoother as he really had a chance to switch gears and unwind. I think this will become part of our normal routine from here on out! I think that I will also try to surprise him every once in awhile by doing his daily chores for him. I think I’ll have to incorporate that one into My Husband Rocks at some point…”Poop Patrol,” is one stinky (pun intended!) job and he definitely rocks for never complaining about it! All in all the last two weeks have been a massive success! I’m curious as to what kind of results you’ve seen from your efforts. Will any of the gestures you’ve made become permanent fixtures in your marriage?

For this weeks Marriage Builder Monday, I want to focus on strengthening our bond. We’re both so tired at the end of most days that we crawl into bed having hardly said anything to each other of any importance. Some days all we talk about is work, the house, the animals, did you take the trash out? Lol Nothing too deep! Does anyone else have this problem? This week I want to learn more about my husband, let him learn more about me. My plan is to broach a new icebreaker question each evening. I think that using some of these questions will lead us into focusing on each others thoughts and opinions as opposed to focusing on a TV program or story on the Internet. I’m going to list our lineup below in case any of you want to try this as well. Some of the questions will be a bit silly and others a little more serious. I’m pretty sure it might be awkward at first but who knows what kind of meaningful conversation this might lead to!

Monday: What is something that happened today that made you feel satisfied?

Tuesday: How are you feeling about yourself?

Wednesday: If we had unlimited funds, perfect pet sitters, and three days of vacation, what would you want to do?

Thursday: Is our marriage more like a river or an ocean? In what ways?

Friday: If we could relive our dating period, what would you like us to do differently? The same? Why?

Saturday: What is you favorite word? Least favorite?

Sunday: What were your favorite holiday traditions growing up? Do you still think they are important?

There they are! Do you think you already know what your spouse’s answers would be? I won’t ask any of you to share your answers but I would love to know if you try this out and if it leads to any great conversations I’m looking forward to reading about how each of you will build your marriage this week! Bring on those creative ideas!

Sarah