Completing Him - and Romancing Him

The summer marriage enrichment challenge Completing Him will wind up today! The challenge for the week is:
"Kiss him like you mean it!"

I have noticed in my marriage, the longer we are married, the blessings of knowing each other so well and knowing our likes, dislikes and what works brings a comfortable state to the home. We just "fit" each other. We have his chair, my chair, our dinner spots at the table, we know the routine of reading the newspaper, when we eat dinner and the go for a walk in the evenings etc.

All of these are good things that bring stability and routine to our home and family. But by never stepping out of the ordinary, we may forget that in our family, we were a couple before we had children and when our children have moved from our home and begin their own home and lives, we will still be a couple. We will be a couple hopefully wiser and blessed through the years with the rich experience of family, but we don't want to end up with an empty house and empty marriage.

NOW is the time to work and keep the marriage alive and thriving. In addition to the daily routine and grind, throw in some spice and romance. When he leaves for work, instead of the standard 'goodbye' kiss, practice a "kiss like you mean it". Instead of the 'roll over good night' kiss, throw in a "kiss like you mean it" every now and again. Catch him off guard with a little extra affection! He will love it and it is a great marriage pick me up!

Intimacy is a vital part of any marriage. I won't dwell on this subject much, but it is so important. Men have a physical need for intimacy and as women, this brings a beautiful bond of the heart and body to our husbands. Our attitude toward intimacy can be the deciding factor of the richness and blessing in this area. As busy women, at the end of the day, we are tired and this may bring inconvenience. It may take some effort to express our love and affection, it may take planning around the children etc. But whatever effort we put into loving one another, it builds up and is a beautiful expression of our love for each other. Our sacrifices will be greatly rewarded with a satisfied husband.

What a challenge this week will be, finding creative ways to complete him with affection and romance. If you are a planner, plan it out, if you are creative, surprise him, but whatever way you do it, showering him with love and attention will bring a blessing to the marriage and enable us as wives to complete him.

Sometimes We Score, Sometimes We Block

Our family is in the midst of little league soccer season. My youngest son is playing and his enthusiasm is contagious. He is pretty good at the sport, but what makes it so great is that he loves it! He counts the days until the next game or practice. He loves his coach and teammates. He has moved up an age level this year and the players are working more like team, passing to each other and watching out for each other during play. During the last game, my son scored two goals, they were the only goals of the game. In today's game the team scored eight goals. My son came up afterwards to me and said, "I didn't score today, but I blocked". What a powerful truth those words can hold. In life, sometimes we score, sometimes we block. Sometimes we do great things, we excel, we achieve, we meet our goal - we score! There are also times we see the needs of others, sometimes they are sad or hurting, we block their hits. We look out for them so they can score. We

Relationships and Redemption

In every friendship or relationship, there is a common hope that they will grow and flourish. There is something inside of us that longs for a 'happy every after' story. We dream about it and work to make that happen. But in reality, relationships are a challenge. The bridging of values, lifestyles, interests and sacrificing for another are simply hard things to do! No matter how much we dream of the perfect fit, some relationships will not endure the stress. When differences appear and tensions arise, prayer can change situations, attitudes and ourselves. For the Christian, we know God can transform, change, heal. We cannot change others, but prayer opens us the door for God to step in and answer. God desires transformation, but does not demand it. The gift of free will allows us to choose to say Yes or No to Him. Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Take notice of the first two words: “If possible …” This implies that some

A Blank Page - A Great Way to Fill It

A blank page - that is the first view of a new blog post. It has been a while since I have faced the blank page of my little blog! A blank page can bring a variety of emotions - emptiness, anxiety, pressure to perform or emotions such as inspiration, encouragement or simply bursting to share something. But there is always something fresh and exciting about the blank page of a New Year. Happy 2023! This is always a time in my life where inspiration and plans are formed and ready to be implemented for greater change. Aspirations may start strong, but alone do not make a difference. It takes consistency to create change. The changing or adding small habits is a key to great changes. A habit that has been beneficial in my life for many years is rising early. It began when the children were small and was the only pocket of time I had to myself. Through the years, mornings have become my favorite time of the day. Now that my husband and I are empty nesters, we go to bed early and rise early.

Mrs. JAugust 9, 2010 at 10:15 AM
I love this post and could not agree with you more!!!

~BA~
Soaring EagleAugust 9, 2010 at 12:49 PM
I also enjoyed this challenge a lot. Even though the challenge is finished, I still need to keep my dh on the top of my list (after God that is) and not go back to how things were. I agree with your post.
HeatherAugust 9, 2010 at 4:23 PM
Love this post and totally agree! It's hard with kids,but I have realized we have to keep our marriage going,our kids will one day be gone and doing their own thing. :) Thank you Joyce!
JenniferAugust 9, 2010 at 9:19 PM
How true - how sad it must be to come to "the empty house" stage of life..and find you have "an empty marriage"! And those years of a full house go by so quickly! Now is the time to spice it up:)

Great post -
AnonymousAugust 9, 2010 at 10:09 PM
A great and valuable post and everything I have ever read tells me the same thing ... all men have this ... need.

But it isn't true. My husband is 7 years older than me. He has been telling me for about 5 years (I just turned 46) over and over that - that part of his life is over. A hard pill for me to swallow. We are very close and very much in love, but that part of life is not a priority for every man. Believe it or not, but I do because I live it.

We complete each other in many ways, but for us and for many (I know I am not alone) romancing is not part of the completing.

Joyfull Living

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