Christmas Joy For Two

The holiday season has arrived! I love this time of the year. The decorations are up at our home, our calendars are filling up with opportunities to share fellowship with family and friends and there is excitement and anticipation in the air. Cool evenings are here and often spent by the fireplace and a good book.

This is such a wonderful season for families as they connect through cards, letters, visits and enjoying time together. Activities such as shopping, cooking, creating cards involve families working and sharing together and create wonderful memories.

However, in the midst of all the joy, fun, parties and added festive activities, a couple may struggle to find that 'special time' together. A time for just the two of them. Quality, uninterrupted time is vital for a marriage and when stresses are high and our to do list grows, our mates may get neglected or tossed to the side in the midst of all the activities. Some time alone can soothe, relax and rekindle the spark of love in a marriage. There are beautiful opportunities for togetherness that the Christmas season offers. A few ideas to bring some joy for two may be to:

Take a ride and enjoy the Christmas lights
Leisurely walk through the mall, enjoying the festive sights and sounds.
Enjoy a special candle light dinner.
Take a brisk walk together.
Go out alone to dinner and a movie.
Take in a craft show or Christmas concert.
Make eggnog.
Enjoy some together time at a coffee shop.
Go ice skating.
Stay home and enjoy some classic Christmas movies.

A tradition my husband and I have is to leave the kids in the loving care of Nana, and enjoy a trip to the mall, followed by dinner out. Through the years, I've learned not to make this a big shopping trip (with more stress!!), but to just enjoy the festive sounds and sights and being together as a couple. It's something we look forward to each Christmas season. Our boys don't seem to enjoy the little things that used to bring excitement to them when they were younger. Driving through neighborhoods looking at Christmas lights doesn't thrill them anymore. Hot cocoa isnt' such a treat to them. But, I've never outgrown these things and plan to use this year to enjoy these things with just my sweet hubby!

May we embrace this season with a spirit of joy, peace and giving, especially carving out some special holiday time for our husbands!

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

Top 10 Workout DVDs

Prevention Magazine is a leader in health and fitness news and products. They recently came up with the top 10 list of workout DVDs. They have examined the many fitness DVDs out there and narrowed down a list of the best ones. There is a DVD for every fitness level. If you are looking to incorporate some exercise into your day in the convenience of your own home, take a look at this list. Here is an additional money saving tip: If you see a DVD that you are interested in, check out Amazon or Ebay before ordering. Many times they have pre-owned DVDs at a fraction of the cost of a new one.

Word Filled Wednesday – Act Justly

He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 Sometimes we struggle so hard with the question “What does God want us to do and be?” This verse is a simple yet powerful reminder of some simple things that God requires of us. Act and do justly, love mercy and walk humbly before God. There are numerous opportunities each day to do justly, to do the right thing or to make the right choice. We love mercy when we show kindness or mercy oftentimes to those who do not deserve it. Walking humbly before God is acknowledging He alone is God. He is the I AM – no one else is. When we give Him the glory He is worthy of, it will humble our heart before Him. Obeying God doesn’t have to be unattainable or impossible, but can be a joyful, beautiful journey as we go by step and follow Him.

April J HarrisDecember 6, 2010 at 1:30 PM
What you wrote is so true - we need to be careful not to do too much and to treasure time with our spouses. I liked your suggestions for things to do together - and thank you for reminding me about Courtney's Peace on Earth challenge :)
BobbiDecember 6, 2010 at 2:50 PM
Thank you for some new ideas...I hadn't thought of ice skating...that'll crack him up! Love and Smiles to you today!
bettyDecember 6, 2010 at 4:13 PM
good ideas on doing things together as a couple! and lots of those were not expensive things either! Also liked the idea of taking care of ourselves during the holiday time too! thanks for all the good advice today :)

betty
Mac an RothaichDecember 6, 2010 at 4:36 PM
Love it! We work so hard at all the other stuff it should be easier to work at making the marriage stuff work this time of year. I adore skating with my man and we have already booked evenings at the rink to share!
StephanieDecember 6, 2010 at 8:06 PM
My husband and I enjoy sneaking out for a nice lunch while Christmas shopping, it's so fun! I love your ideas :)
Julie ArduiniDecember 6, 2010 at 8:26 PM
I love it, it's been awhile since we've snuck away for dinner while shopping. Thanks for the reminder!
SusannahDecember 6, 2010 at 10:53 PM
LOL, I love your idea of walking together in the mall. We did that last week, and had a blast! No shopping--just enjoying each other and the festive decorations. I wish e-Dad enjoyed eggnog... we might have had eggnog lattes. Instead, we got one gingerbread latte and shared it. So romantic!

Thanks for joining us for Marriage Monday today in the midst of all your seasonal revelling. (Sounds fun!)

Merry Christmas,

e-Mom ღ
geminiDecember 7, 2010 at 9:57 PM
The reminder: Don't overload..is for me...I've been so busy but I have to take time to be specially with hubby this crazy Christmas season! Thanks for the post...it gets me into thinking, Marriage is really for real!

Joyfull Living

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