REFLECTION & PRACTICE (Day 6 of 7)
(Need to start at the beginning? Day 1)

Our three concepts:

regular prayer – invite God into your marriage
remember the good – be grateful for the good in your spouse
value others – see your spouse’s needs as important

Years ago, my husband came up with this prompt for praying for your spouse.

It’s a simple tool that can help you remember to pray daily (and if you forget, it’s easy to jump back in). Each day of the week has its own focus.

Sunday – pray for his Spiritual walk
Monday – pray for his Moods and Mental health
Tuesday – pray for his Thought life
Wednesday – pray for his Weaknesses to be healed
Thursday – pray for his Time usage
Friday – pray for his Friendships
Saturday – pray for his Sexuality

And really, you could assign any prayer need to any particular day. The idea is to have a pattern to fall into and remember easily.

Yay, Tractor Supply! They’ve started getting their spring chicks and we managed to snap up a dozen Plymouth Barred Rock chicks (they’re mild-tempered dual-purpose chickens).

I removed the heat plate to take the picture. They’ll be there for a few days and then moved to a larger brooder in our bird barn.

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Image credits – days of the week © Gerd Altmann / Pixabay, baby chicks © Lori / Doing Marriage Well
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REFLECTION & PRACTICE (Day 5 of 7)
(Need to start at the beginning? Day 1)

Our three concepts:

regular prayer – invite God into your marriage
remember the good – be grateful for the good in your spouse
value others – see your spouse’s needs as important

Do you have a prayer partner?

It could be your spouse or a good friend. If you can’t get together often for prayer, yay technology. 🙂 Text, call, or set an alarm to pray at the same time (I don’t think God cares if you and your partner are in different places when you pray).

Having someone pray with and for you is just so encouraging. You’re not alone. You can stand with each other.

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Image credit © palidachan / Adobe Stock
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REFLECTION & PRACTICE (Day 4 of 7)
(Need to start at the beginning? Day 1)

Our three concepts:

regular prayer – invite God into your marriage
remember the good – be grateful for the good in your spouse
value others – see your spouse’s needs as important

How easy is it to listen to your spouse voice their needs? Does a lack in their world make you feel like you are failing as a spouse?

That used to be my struggle (and sometimes still is). Paul would say I need this or more of that, and I’d immediately feel like it was my fault he didn’t have what he needed. Turns out Paul just likes to talk and much of it is just talking about what he sees, hears, and thinks (sort of like one long run-on sentence).

Now I listen and from time to time ask if there is something I can do. I’m also getting better about being more specific about what I can and can’t do. I leave room for discussion of creative options.

As an exercise, you might try asking your spouse about something they want and do your best not to be defensive (you’re not responsible for everything in their life). Ask, listen, ask more questions. Do what you reasonably can, but if the need is way too hard for you to meet, talk about taking some time to pray and consider options.

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Image credit © kasheev / Adobe Stock
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REFLECTION & PRACTICE (Day 3 of 7)
(Need to start at the beginning? Day 1)

Our three concepts:

regular prayer – invite God into your marriage
remember the good – be grateful for the good in your spouse
value others – see your spouse’s needs as important

Do you have a journal, planner, or calendar you use daily (or nearly so)?

Try giving yourself one line to write down something each day that you are grateful for about your spouse. Gratitude changes our heart attitudes and, on those days you struggle in your marriage, you’d have a ready-made list of good things to remember. 🙂

Today, I am grateful for my husband’s techie skills. We’re doing some work by Zoom and he makes it all so easy. 

What are you grateful for today about your spouse?

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Image credit © Steve Buissinne / Pixabay
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REFLECTION & PRACTICE (Day 2 of 7)
(Need to start at the beginning? Day 1)

I just got to thinking …

regular prayer – invite God into your marriage
remember the good – be grateful for the good in your spouse
value others – see your spouse’s needs as important

An easy marriage prayer reminder would be these emails.

Every day, you get an email about how to build your marriage. Read it and then talk to God about your spouse and marriage. Easy peasy.

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Image credit © Jenny Ueberberg / Unsplash
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Over the last three weeks, we’ve considered these three concepts and worked them into our lives and marriages.

regular prayer – invite God into your marriage
remember the good – be grateful for the good in your spouse
value others – see your spouse’s needs as important

Let’s spend a little extra time reflecting on what we’ve learned and then practice each concept some more as well.

Which week was easiest for you? Which week was more challenging? What did you learn? What worked? What didn’t? Where would you like to focus today?

I’m really pleased with my prayer reminders and generally being aware of the good Paul does. I would like to spend more time thinking about how I can show that I value him and the things he does.

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Image credit © ptnphotof / Adobe Stock
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