How Much Is Your Marriage Worth?

As previously mentioned, Chris is reading "The Love Dare" with the guys in his accountability group. Each day has been something new and wonderful that we've been able to experience together. It starts out with simple dares such as tell her something encouraging or thoughtful today, or call her just to say hello and tell her you love her. Then, as each day progresses and you get further into the book, the dares become a little more exposed and poignant. One day, Chris was dared to ask me what 3 things are about him that frustrate me the most. He was also challenged to compile a list of the positive and negative attributes about me and do something very specific with each list. Each day he is challenged (and held accountable) to build on the previous days dare. For example, one day he might be asked to find a distinct way to compliment me throughout my day. Then the next day he is dared to do the same thing in addition to a new dare. The point here, obviously, is to become so familiar with this kind of treatment towards your spouse that it literally becomes second nature to always honor your spouse each day with this type of behavior. I would like to be the first to attest to the transforming power of this book in our marriage. Those who know us well know that we have been down some difficult roads over the last 6 years. We've had to go through things that you would never wish on anyone. And as a result of all that, we've had to work really hard at our marriage. But we've never been in such a great place as we are right now. Now, I will certainly attribute much of that to the fact that Chris' new job allows him to be home a lot more. But this book has added a whole new dimension to our relationship. Nowadays, Chris calls several times a day just to check in with me and see how my day is going, or will say "I Love You" countless times for no obvious reason, and (my personal favorite) will spend extra time each day just snuggling with me in the bed at the beginning and end of our days while giving me back rubs until I fall asleep. Hello personal attention!!! This is amazing! There are many ways that we give and receive love, but these last few weeks, it seems as if Chris has been a student of my love languages and has filled my "lovin' tank on a daily basis. How would this kind of attention NOT revolutionize your marriage? And, of course, as a result I aim to be more respectful and submissive to him in response to his treatment of me. It's a new found rhythm that we're operating on and I can't believe that it's taken us this long to understand how a successful, functioning marriage is supposed to be. At least we're here now and I encourage you to take the leap and read this book as well. After all, we have committed the rest of our lives to our spouses (that incidentally God ordained just for us), so why not do all we can to remind that person of exactly how and why we love them so much. So the real question is, how much are you willing to invest in your marriage? Is it worth your time and efforts to revolutionize your relationship? Even if you've failed in the past (and we all have), there's no reason why you can't begin now. I "dare" you to take the leap and watch where God takes you together.