We often make resolutions for ourselves, tackling a list of personal goals we want to see achieved in the new year, but we rarely think about creating some resolutions for our marriage.
This year has been a challenging year for my marriage. My husband and I have faced a number of different tests that could easily have seen us break apart, but instead, we chose to cling to each other.
In the lead up to the new year, I’ve considered what kind of marriage I want with my best friend. I want to see my marriage flourish to ensure it’s the best partnership possible. We want to grow individually so our girls benefit from growing up in a strong and loving relationship.
Here are five new year’s resolutions we are making for our marriage this year. Maybe your marriage could benefit from some resolutions too?
1. Pray together. You may have heard the saying ‘a couple that prays together, stays together’? I wholeheartedly believe it. I want to have a strong prayer life with my husband where we can be united in praying for things that affect our personal lives and those around us. It’s an attractive pull to hear your loved one share what’s in their heart, presenting their requests to a God who they believe has the power to answer.
2. Read a devotion together each morning before the day starts. Earlier this year when my husband and I realised we needed to work on our communication more, we started to read one page a day from Dr James Dobson’s ‘Night Light‘. It was a book we bought when we first got married and we never really touched it. But the daily readings have included questions that have helped us reflect on what is and isn’t working in our marriage. The book includes tips on how to have a godly marriage. I’ve learned something new from my husband every time we read a page together. I really want to see us turn this occasional interlude into a daily habit. I know it will do wonders for our marriage.
3. Monthly date nights. We started to get better at date nights later on this year, but next year I want to put a monthly date night in the calendar. It takes some organising and our budget needs to be considered (because date nights can be expensive if you go out for dinner and have to pay a babysitter). We are going to make a list of experiences and restaurants we want to visit during the year and book them in – one a month so we have something to look forward to every couple of weeks. Consider it a Date Night Bucket List.
TRY THIS: 101 Cheap and Fun Date Night Ideas
4. Learn our lover’s love language and do it. There are various ways I know my husband loves me – and it’s from doing things that speak my love language. I love it when my husband does things without me asking, I love surprises and spontaneity and I love when he tells me how much I’m appreciated. I know my husband loves my touch (and no, not just in the bedroom). He likes me to spend time with him and he loves it when I do things he doesn’t have to think about. Learning your partner’s love language and doing it because you love them will add a new intimacy to your marriage. I definitely want to continue to do this in the new year and discover new ways to show my love to my husband.
5. More intimate action. Sex can be hard to make work when you have young kids. You’re exhausted and time is restricted to getting things done during kid-free hours. But I’m committed to getting more action next year to ensure our marriage is more hot than not. I will be doing tips from this post on getting in the mood and making sure I do a few spontaneous acts to get my husband in the mood too. They say sex can draw a couple closer and I definitely want to be closer to my mate.
The resolutions for our marriage are basic, but I know they will do wonders for our relationship. In a world where divorce occurs 1 in every 3 marriages, I want to ensure our marriage isn’t added to that statistic.
Do you make marriage resolutions? What would be on your list?
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