Marriage – Page 4

Family Life Survey

Happy 2003! The beginning of a new year is a good time to take a look at the condition of our marriage and family relationships. As we all know, living cross-culturally does add stresses to the marriage relationship and to rearing children. But it can also afford opportunities we would never have in our home culture.

We did a survey of our members a few months ago to help our organization create an evaluation tool for field directors and families living cross culturally. We want to share some of the insights we gained through the survey.

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Enjoy Marriage

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It’s February, Valentine’s Day is around the corner. So this is a good time to think about ways to strengthen our marriage relationship. We are going to share some insights from Marriage Works! Seeds for growing a great marriage by Mike Constantine. In Marriage Works!, Mike describes the doldrums marriage can slip into.

“In some parts of the American west, and in most of the Australian outback, you can drive almost forever, on perfectly straight roads, through a featureless landscape. Nothing unexpected, nothing interesting, nothing but you, the car, and the long, long road. After a few hundred kilometers you start craving something, anything different and exciting.

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Valentine’s Day 2001

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Women all over the world are longing for Valentine’s Day to be a romantic and special event. But Valentine’s Day is just once a year! Why not make your marriage relationship so special that you won’t have to wait all year to experience those cherished loving moments? Here is a simple acrostic …making it easy to memorize the pointers that will make every day Valentine’s Day in your life. The LORD will help you with this project…it is of special interest to Him!

V	Value your husband …don’t take him for granted.
A	Admire his manliness.
L	Love him unconditionally…the way GOD loves…and the way that you want to be loved.
E	Enjoy the time you get to share together…
N	never, ever say, “divorce.”
T	Take time to really listen to what he is saying.
I	Intimacy is just for the two of you, created by GOD to richly enjoy.
N	Nestle in his arms whenever possible.
E	Each and every day say and do one thing you know pleases him…

by Gail Dunbar...February 3, 2001

Thank you, Gail, for sharing your acrostic with us for Valentine’s Day. When we are living in a different culture than our own, it is easy to forget the simple things that make for a good, strong marriage.

Gail has a web site you should visit at: www.joythatlasts.com

Keeping Romance Alive

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Living in a culture other than you own adds stress to marriage. It is already tough when you are busy and tired and constantly interrupted to remember to keep the spark alive. It’s important to take a few minutes every so often to just think about romance and its importance to your marriage.

Distractions from work, children and even your calling can squeeze any romance out of us. Unsettled disagreements cause tensions to rise. Sometimes we just get too busy to deal with the little irritations. Disappointment over what our mate fails to do chills romance. In some situations we look like we are shirking our responsibilities or not taking our work seriously if we take time to be alone together. Let’s look at each of these problems a little closer. When we have spent the whole day putting out fires it can be hard to spark romance. Many times though, if one of you begins wooing, the other will find there really is a little left to share.

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