5 Ways to Spice Up Your Marriage This Thanksgiving (or any time!)!

In this day of hectic schedules and electronic distractions, it becomes more and more important to make the extra effort to put a little – or a lot! – zip to marriage.  Whether we’ve been married for twenty eight days or twenty-eight years (as I have!!) these tips can be a help to us as we try to make this Thanksgiving time even more special.

I heard a preacher the other day mention that Thankfulness is really “Thinkfulness,” taking a bit of time to think about the blessings I’ve received, and also to be thankful for who has benefitted my life.  If we really think about it, everything we have and everything we are comes from someone else.  As Lincoln once said, “All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.”

So today, let’s take some time to think about the most important relationship we have in this world: our marriage.  Here’s an acrostic with five thoughts on giving your marriage a lift this holiday season:

Take time to greet each other with a smile every morning!

                This may sound stupid, but I just started to do this recently.  Every morning I get up earlier than everyone else, so my mind is already on step 5 by the time they all open their eyes.  I often have some big theory, plan, idea, or question working around in my head by the time I first see my husband in the morning.  And sometimes, there’s some irritating thing that has happened.  To greet him with a smile takes an effort, especially if there are pressing matters, but it has made our mornings and whole days much more smooth!

Hug every day!

                Perhaps this goes without saying, but a hug every day is a must!  It keeps the embers glowing.

Inquire how the other is doing!

                Again, this is a no-brainer, but those of us who are married beyond recongnition often forget the most simple – and most important – of things.  Communication is the backbone of marriage, and a simple, “So how did you sleep last night?” can help someone get over the morning grumpies.  Perhaps it’s just a question asked sincerely, “How was your day?”  Little things that show we care are often the best things.

Nothing replaces physical intimacy!

                The hugs, the talks, the questions are all good and have their place, but nothing replaces physical intimacy.  God made you one flesh, and it’s important to keep the embers going and let it flare up…often!

Know that God supports our efforts!

                God is behind marriage!  It was His design for couples to be married – happily.  So understand that, with  every effort you put into strengthening your marriage, God puts more.  It is up to us to do the natural, and He does the supernatural.  Many times, however, we are too lazy or selfish to do the natural part, and so nothing gets done.  “We are laborers together with God” 1 Corinthians 3:9

It’s been said that “Divine Grace works on the lines of human effort.”  It’s not enough just to trust God to work, our own human effort must make an investment.

So let’s put some "Thinkfulness" into our Thanksgiving season this year, and enjoy some of the spice!