Marriage is tough on both men and women, and living with another person for years in the same house while facing the challenges of raising children, financing your life, working and dealing with health problems is never easy. So if you want a rock solid marriage, one that will go the long haul - Read these words of advice carefully, and write them on your heart!
99 Tips for a Divorce-Proof Marriage:
1. Always remember what drew you to each other in the first place
2. Make a written and recorded commitment that divorce is not an option
3. Say "I love you" to one another every day.
4. Give a hug or kiss every day
5. Do not withhold sex unless it is mutual consent or special circumstances!
6. At least one date night once a week, and go over and beyond to make it special
7. Become each others best friend
8. Let no one get involved with your marital affairs includes parents, in-laws, and friends!
9. Exercise together (Runs, courses, hikes)
10. Prioritize your children first, your marriage second, and extended family third, with everything else following.
11. Become transparent with one another.
12. Set boundaries for your marriage. It's important that you both know what you can and cannot do.
13. Put aside your pride and ego – the winner of the argument is usually the loser!
14. Make his or her favorite meal.
15. Do things your spouse loves without you basing it on their performance.
16. Don’t go tit for tat. Learn to let go.
17. Don’t let the sun go down while you angry – in other words, try to resolve the issue asap
18. Create a fellowship of friends, and be around other happily married couples, they will remind you what's good about relationships.
19. Plan and surprise your spouse with a romantic vacations as your budget allows
20. Live a healthy lifestyle
21. Don’t keep any bank accounts hidden from one another
22. Don’t lie to each other. A hard truth is always better than an easy lie
23. Do not entertain any relationship with ex-spouses or ex-boyfriends/girlfriends from your past. If children are involved, the relationship should be limited to them.
24. Spend some type of quality time with your spouse
25. Invest in your marriage – do a marriage retreat at least 2x a year
26. If faith is a big part of your life, read your holy book together and discuss God's plan for marriage.
27. Renew your vows – remember your promise to your spouse at the alter – for better or worse in sickness and in health.
28. Be ready to make many sacrifices – things you may not feel like doing – but do them anyway
29. Be ready to make many compromises.
30. Listen to your spouse’s guidance.
31. If your marriage is on the rocks, don’t wait to get counseling
32. Hear one another out.
33. Try to resolve problems and issues when you're both calm.
34. Instead of trying to be right - Always look for the solution that brings peace.
35. Do NOT use sarcasm. Ever. It never leads to anything good.
36. Tell your spouse you can’t live without them.
37. If you know you did wrong, be ready to make things right.
38. Be ready to apologize and be ready to forgive when the situation arises.
39. Fight for your marriage!
40. Understand that you need the love of your spouse and they need yours.
41. Keep good company around you. You want people who can encourage and uplift you. When you feel good it's easier to invest in the relationship.
42. Husbands help out around the house – remember that your wife is a helpmate but that doesn't mean she does everything.
43. Wives encourage your husband give them praise, it strengthens them.
44. Find out your strengths and weaknesses and be ready to help one another with where you are weak.
45. Support each other's goals and dreams. No matter which has the "bigger" or "more ambitious" goal.
46. Always consult one another when making big decisions.
47. Give many compliments to one another.
48. Understand that the neighbor's grass isn't greener. You just have to water your own lawn more.
49. Don’t compare your marriage to someone else’s – you don't know what is going on behind closed doors.
50. Watch what you let affect your mood or cloud your thoughts. Today’s reality shows, our society’s view, and what you see on tv are not good examples of marriage. Find your own path.
51. Never embarrass your spouse in public – deal with your issues in private.
52. If needed seek marital counseling, it can help.
53. Do not verbally abuse your spouse.
54. Do not physically abuse your spouse.
55. Do not bring up your past arguments and disagreements just to win a current one. You may win, but the bitterness you create will be much worse in the long run.
56. Never bring up or use something in an argument, your spouse told you in confidence about him or her.
57. Let your spouse know you can be trusted.
58. Don’t give your spouse any reason to feel insecure.
59. Read books on becoming a better husband.
60. Read books on becoming a better spouse. It's always good to get new ideas.
61. Learn the signs with which your spouse expresses their love. We each have our own way of showing affection.
62. Always be in a learning process with getting to know your spouses likes and dislikes.
63. If you are people of faith, go to a religious bookstore or your church and invest in marriage counseling materials, complete the exercises workbooks, worksheets, etc.
64. Try not to let your children see you in disagreement or arguing.
65. Husbands surprise her with roses and the like, not just for birthdays, holidays and anniversary, but just because
66. Wives, your husband's love surprises also, put on one of his favorite nighties just because.
67. Don’t always try to get your way, but try to find a way that works for both of you
68. Alone time – yes it is needed, but don’t go overboard. Let your spouse know you're thinking of them.
69. It is healthy to spend some of your time with friends, so long as they respect your marriage and the commitment you took..
70. Never cheat. This goes without saying.
71. Never try to justify a wrong. Apologize and take your lumps.
72. Stay fit and stay looking your best for your husband or wife.
73. Hear your spouse out before jumping to conclusions.
74. Don’t keep your spouse in the dark about things.
75. Never badmouth your spouse to anyone.
76. Keep your love life between the two of you.
77. Don’t let single girlfriends or guy friends do anything to compromise your marriage.
78. Open your spouse up to new things that are healthy for him or her.
79. Be open to new things, allow your spouse the chance to treat you like royalty.
80. Communicate – he or she cannot read your mind.
81. Say what you mean, mean what you say.
82. Take your time to cool off, but when you start acting like roommates your marriage is in trouble
83. Love, respect, loyalty and faithfulness should all be a given.
84. Have a vision and purpose for your marriage
85. Keep in mind your spouse is not your enemy but your best friend
86. Don’t look at marriage as an obligation but look at it as a chance to love your significant other unconditionally.
87. Our character should reflect the fruits of the spirit, love, patience and kindness, forbearance is also needed.
88. Your objective should not be to change your spouse, but for your spouse to see your change for the better.
89. You can't change your spouse, but you can change how you love them and how you react to them
90. Your objective should be to make your spouse a better person as a result of being with you not by control but by love.
91. Husbands make love to her mind during the day and the rest will follow
92. Wives spend time encouraging him and supporting him and there is nothing you won’t happily get.
93. Don’t focus on your spouse weakness but focus on their strengths.
94. Work as a team.
95. Ask your significant other for areas they can improve in.
96. Ask your significant other if there are any needs going unmet.
97. Take showers and baths together.
98. Do it by surprise from time to time, leave love notes around the house.
99. Look into his or her eyes, touch their face and give thanks to him or her who puts up with you during the good and bad times.
Images courtesy of: tungphoto, photostock, Ambro / freedigitalphotos.net
