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A couple of weeks ago Mom and Dad celebrated 45 years of marriage. My heart overflowed with pride as I watched them mark their anniversary by renewing their vows, once again. They do this once every 5 years or so, as a reminder of the precious gift of their union. It also serves as a wonderful inspiration for other couples who aspire to a marriage that lasts a lifetime.<\/p>\n
So many people left positive comments on my Facebook video of their vow ceremony<\/a> that I decided to go a bit deeper. A divorcee myself, I wanted to figure out how they were making this marriage thing work for so long, and on top of that – enjoying it!<\/p>\n I challenged my Mom to come up with her top 10 tips for a happy, healthy marriage. Not because she knows it all or because their union is perfect. Mom and Dad will be the first to tell you that it’s not. But rather because like many of you, they brought experiences and circumstances to their marriage that impacted the way they viewed life, love, and each other. Here’s a few that might surprise you.<\/p>\n I could list a hundred more things, but I think you get my point. They are two normal people, with colorful pasts, that have charted a path to an extraordinary and lasting love.<\/p>\n They’ve experienced many of the things that sometimes tear marriages apart – blended families, history of domestic violence, the lasting impact of an absentee Dad, and PTSD – and yet, they have remained vigilant through the years to fight for their marriage. I believe there are some lessons in how they did that which might be relevant for us too.<\/p>\n So without further ado, here’s Mom’s top 10 marriage tips for happily ever after.<\/p>\n Of course, this is not an exhaustive list. Mommy wanted me to be sure to tell you there are times when counseling is appropriate and necessary. Y’all there’s just some stuff we need help figuring out, and there’s no shame in seeking assistance.<\/p>\n A lot of this is also not easy. It takes a whole lot of discipline to make it safe to talk and to keep it quiet. But it is doable, especially when you do two things. First, surround yourself with other couples committed to maintaining healthy, happy marriages. You can encourage and uplift each other, as well as hold each other accountable when you’re trying to “do better” in a certain area.<\/p>\n Second, consistently pour into your union through conferences and other events that allow you as a couple to grow together. Many of us have not been taught basic principles of good communication, or how to resolve conflicts in a healthy fashion. Good marriage conferences or couples counseling can help you sort through a lot of those issues, giving you tools you can immediately put to use.<\/p>\n So what do you think? Feel like you’re ready to fight for your marriage? What tips would you add to the list? Leave us a comment, and let’s learn and grow together.<\/p>\n For those reading that are married, I send my prayers and fondest wishes for the health and vitality of your marriage. For all the single ladies, I’m praying for us too. I believe as long as we’re still here, God can hook us up with just the right “boo.” Let’s not ever give up on love!<\/p>\n Hugs and Blessings\u00a0\u2665<\/p>\n PS – If you’re interested in more, Mom suggested two books for you –\u00a0Kingdom Marriage<\/em> by Tony Evans<\/a> and 4 Days to a Forever Marriage<\/em> by Dr. Gary & Norma Smalley<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A couple of weeks ago Mom and Dad celebrated 45 years of marriage. My heart overflowed with pride as I watched them mark their anniversary by renewing their vows, once again. They do this once every 5 years or so, as a reminder of the precious gift of their union. It also serves as a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":12832,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sharing_disabled":false,"switch_like_status":false,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[204998052,114917237],"tags":[406,22297,204998019,204997647,204998099,204998098],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Mom-and-Dad-Marriage.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4eAxC-3kB","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12809"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12809"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12831,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12809\/revisions\/12831"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lovingonme.com\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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