RECIPE FOR A GREAT MARRIAGE

Listen more, talk less,
"Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." James 1:19

Season your words with grace.
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29

Deal righteously with your anger.
"In your anger do not sin; Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold." Ephesians 4:26-27

Don't keep score.
"love is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs." I Corinthians 13:5

Help each other out.
"Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2

Be a good husband. (The man, of course!)
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word." Ephesians 5:25-26

Be a good wife. (The woman, of course!)
"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies...She is clothed with strength and dignity." Proverts 31:10,25

Give each other time to grow.
"It was he who gave...to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become Mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."" Ephesians 4:11-13


Do not neglect to keep the fire burning towards each other.
"Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.: Song of Solomon 8:6

Stay committed. Do not entertain thoughts of separation.
"So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore, what God has joined together, let men not separate." Matthew 19:6

Adapted from an article in Focus on the Family, written by Tom Neven and inspired by John Gaus