Marriage Quotes:

Jentzen Franklin - Real Marriage has to go Beyond Moonlight & Roses to Daylight And Dishes. Real Marriage has to go Beyond Sex to Sensitivity. Real Marriage has to go Beyond Romance to Responsibility.

Joseph Barth – Marriage is our Last – Best Chance To Grow Up.......

Tom Mullen – Happy Marriages Begin when we Marry the Ones we Love – And They Blossom When We Love the Ones We Marry.

Phyllis Diller - Never go to Bed Mad - Stay up and Fight....ha

Scott Stanley - The challenge is to help couples turn "I Do" into "We Can."

Linda Miles -  All those "and they lived happily ever after" fairy tale endings need to be changed to “And they began the very hard work of making their marriages happy”.

Zig Ziglar - I have no way of knowing whether or not you married the wrong person, but I do know that many people have a lot of wrong ideas about marriage and what it takes to make that marriage happy and successful. I'll be the first to admit that it's possible that you did marry the wrong person. However, if you treat the wrong person like the right person, you could well end up having married the right person after all. On the other hand, if you marry the right person, and treat that person wrong, you certainly will have ended up marrying the wrong person. I also know that it is far more important to be the right kind of person than it is to marry the right person. In short, whether you married the right or wrong person is primarily up to You.

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This Blog I wanted to discuss some practical things that husbands can do to help rekindle the romance in their marriage. 

Jesus said to the Church tt Ephesus: I have seen your works – Your Labor – Your Perseverance – Your Patience but I have this against you – You have left your first love. In other words Jesus was saying – I see you going through the motions of going to Church – Serving in the Church - Helping the poor – But in the midst of this you have left your first love. Truth is - It Is Possible To Go Through The Mechanics or the Motions of Something and Your Heart Not Be in It and this is when our relationship with Christ or our spouse begins to plateau and level off.  To the point where it begins to stagnate, lose its lustre and freshness and we become too content, too familiar, and begin taking our spouse for granted.  

To remendy this, Jesus thadmonished the Church to remember from where they have fallen - repent - and go back to doing the things you did at first or the things you were doing when your heart was in it.  To get different results in our marriage or our relationship with Christ we must do new things.  It's foolish to think we can get different results doing the same things we have always done.  Romance is all about keeping things fresh, exciting, intimate.  It’s the little things we do and say in love thqt make a huge difference in our marriage.

1> Make Time For Her A Priority:

• Romance and court her with date night, flowers, phone call, and notes. 
• Nobody gets divorced worrying about what his spouse needs or by putting his spouse first.

2> Making Time For Her – Means Listening To Her:

• Listening is Loving – Listening shows you care & you are concerned with the other person. 
• While it Is possible to say too much – Very rarely is it possible to listen too much.

3> Speak Words Of Life To Her:

• Words that build her up – words that value her and encourage her.
• Men don’t bark – Be Patient – Be Gentle – Be Soft with your words
• Build her up in front of others – She is great woman – She is a great wife – great mother.
• Always complement her work & effort – Always complement how pretty she looks - Express your love to her – Express your gratitude for all she does - She wants to hear it.  If you don't others may.
• Give her hope for the future with your words.  If there is hope for the future there is power for the present. 

4> Create A Memory That She Will Remember:

• A special weekend- Something fun she likes to do.
• Men to romance her and create a memory that she will remember - Enter her world & do something she enjoys in her world.

5> Treat Her With Gentleness & Tenderness:

• Proverbs says that an excellent wife is the crown of her husband.
• She is a gift from God to you – She makes you better – Next to Christ in your life she is the most valuable gift you have – And things that are valuable & costly you treat & handle with gentleness & tenderness. 
• Don’t shake her & handle her rough because she is fragile – Her value makes her fragile.

I Peter 3:7 - Husbands, Likewise Dwell with them with Understanding – Giving Honor to the Wife as to the Weaker Vessel and as being Heirs Together of the Grace of Life - that Your Prayers May Not Be Hindered.

6> Stay Committed – Fame Can Come in a Moment – Greatness Comes With Longevity:

• Our wives thrive in an environment of where she knows her husband is committed to God – Committed to love her unconditionally – Committed to teach & train their children in the ways of God – and committed to the local Church.
• Vince Lombardi Said – The Harder You Work – The Harder it is to Surrender. The Same is true of our Marriage and Family. The More You Put Into It – The Less Likely You Will Surrender It.
• Men Our Marriage is as Strong as We are Committed to God – Committed to Prayer – Committed to Love and Committed to Serve.  STAY COMMITTED TO THE THINGS THAT HAVE ETERNAL VALUE. 

7> Serve Her:

• Jesus Said – I have not come to be served but to serve & to give my life as a ransom for many.  Great marriages are a result of two people fully comitted to loving and serving each other.
• When you see her overwhelmed – Step in and help lift her arms up - Men your presence should bring her comfort and strength.
• Men Jesus is our example and Paul said, husbands love your wives even as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her. 

Next week, I will discuss some things that wives can do to rekindle the romance in their marriage.  These are very practical but can make a huge difference in our marriages. 

Pastor Danny