After 25 years of ministering along side my husband to couples and leading numerous conferences on marriage, I have realized we all have to work at our marriages.
Wayne and I have had our struggles but one thing we both know is, we love each other and we are committed to our marriage.
I love being married to Wayne and we both want the best marriage possible so here are our 5 Tips For A Healthy Marriage.
1. Make Christ a Priority-Many people today try to have a healthy marriage without Him but dare I say more than ever, we need Him.
I’m not talking about going to church every once in a while but I’m talking about a real relationship with the One who created marriage. (Genesis 2:20-25)
Truthfully, if it hadn’t been for Christ and grace, Wayne and I might have quit on our marriage. We had difficult seasons!
(If your spouse is not committed to a relationship with Christ, pray for them. I have seen many spouses come to know Christ through faithful prayers.)
2. Pray together-Wayne and I regularly pray together. For some reason, couples have a hard time praying together.
But let me encourage you to try it. There’s something very intimate about praying together and it’s hard to be mad at each other when you’re praying together.
3. Laughter is good medicine-Marriage is hard and we sometimes disagree, but laughter has always been good medicine for our marriage.
There are lots of serious issues in the world but taking a break from them and just finding time to belly laugh has been such a blessing in our marriage.
Today, maybe things are a little crazy around your house. Let me suggest laughter, it really does do a marriage good! “A joyful heart is good medicine” Proverbs 17:22
4. Celebrate Your Differences-One thing we hear a lot of married couples say is “we have nothing in common”. I laugh as I write this because Wayne and I are complete opposites too.
I often feel like singing the theme song to Green Acres.
{Wayne} Green acres is the place for me.
Farm livin’ is the life for me.
Land spreadin’ out so far and wide
Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside.
{Cyndi} New York is where I’d rather stay.
I get allergic smelling hay.
I just adore a penthouse view.
Dah-ling I love you but give me Park Avenue.
We laugh all the time about how different we are as individuals. Wayne loves to fish and I love to shop. But, I go fishing with him (well I go, I don’t actually fish, I take a good book) and he goes shopping with me. It works for us!
So today, celebrate your differences rather than trying to change them.
5. Dream Together-Wayne and I love to talk about things we want to do together. Even things we want to do with our grown children.
Dreaming keeps our marriage fresh and exciting! So take some time this week to dream together.
This is not an exhaustive list but these are 5 things that we believe has kept our marriage strong and healthy.
Wayne and I will be married 25 years this year and we can both say we are more in love with each today than ever before.
When we married in 1991 we had a Steven Curtis Chapman song called “I will Be Here” sung at our wedding. This song called “Together” is a newer Steven Curtis Chapman song after he has been married for years. I think it says how we feel now, still Together.
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Great tips Cyndi! What I find encouraging is the number of those commenting with 20 years or more under their belt!!! We will be celebrating 28 in May.
Thank you for this. I didn’t ready any email this weekend until today. This is an email I will keep for a very long time in my In Box! You just never know what’s around the bend in the road or which path you will take together or separately at the Y…
Sincerely,
Leslie
I am very new to this. I’ve only been receiving emails for 3 days now. But, I love them. I’ve been married for 16 years as of February 23. My husband and I are so very different but it brings us closer in some ways. It’s nice to look back and see what you have gone thru to bring you where you are today.
Happy ❤ Valentine’s Day ! Love this post !
We’ve been blessed with 36 years of marriage. Believe me, we’ve had our struggles along the way too, but we never gave up! I think all your tips are great, Cyndi!
I love the words to the Steven Curtis Chapman song! I’m going to suggest this one to my niece for her wedding.
Blessings
Love your post, Cyndi. Hubby and I celebrated 25 last June. What a blessing. So awesome that two very selfish kids have grown up to be adults who are still sometimes selfish – though thanks to God’s grace, much less than before – but who adore each other more and more and would do anything for each other. We are each other’s best friend, too. I wish he walked in relationship with Jesus, and I’m praying for that. But for now, I’m trying to be as godly a wife as I can and love him just the way he is. Hugs!
But when that awesome day of his choice to follow Jesus comes – I’ll be shouting for glory, and you’ll probably hear me all the way in KT.
You Need to listen to the Joey & Rory song “I Loved the hell Out of Him”. It can happen! And if your relationship is good now just imagine how much better it can be when you walk in faith together!!
My husband and I were married April 27th, 1991 also. So here’s to 25 years as well!! We’ve had our share of troubles and friction! It’s inevitable with this world. But we, too, are committed to our marriage and he’s a wonderful man. We had Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers play at our wedding! <3
Ironic that an ad for divorce lawyers came up above the comments, just after you talked about your tips for a healthy marriage! I completely agree with your tips! Thanks for your insight.
My hubby and I have been married for32 years. Thanks, Cyndi, for all of your Godly insight to a successful marriage. I couldn’t agree more !!!Happy Valentine’s day to all of you here at Grace and Beauty!!! Blessings Ladies !!! xoxo
55 years this coming May.
My husband Tom and I have also been married 25 years this June and God has blessed us in abundance. Marriage has not always been easy, and we are also quite the opposites, but we both love the Lord, love our children and have fun together every day. I love all your tips, and need to say that life is too short not to laugh and have fun! It is a comfort to know that there is always that one person in my life who loves me “just the way I am” 😊
Our 20 year marriage wouldn’t have been 2 without all these points.
Thank you for sharing. We just celebrated our 22nd wedding Anniversary and by a daily cup of coffee and a morning bible verse we are said to have saved our marriage…God is Good
Thank you for the lovely post. You have shared some very sound advice. We also were married in Sept of 1991. Greg asked me to marry him on February 14th 1991. All these years later I can honestly say he is my best friend, there were some hard years mixed in there, but through it all we have never given up on each other or on our faith. Laughter is a vital part of our life together. We have 4 children and as they grow up and are now beginning to leave us for college it is more important than ever for us to find new ways to connect.
I have been married for 24 years and the same song was performed at my wedding.
Thank you for sharing this message and song today. We’ve been married 43 years and are quite opposite also but we agree on the important issues. It keeps things intetesting as we share each others interests. Like the song said we’re together because of God’s mercy and grace. We’re so very grateful he’s the center of our lives. Blessings to you and your family this Valentine’s Day.
My husband and I will celebrate 40 years of marriage this June. We have never understood when people say marriage is hard, it’s the easiest thing in our lives. We couldn’t be happier or more in love. We’re partners, we don’t keep score, we love doing nice things for each other, we talk a lot, laugh a lot, doesn’t matter what we’re doing just as long as we’re doing it together. If you treat your spouse the way you would want to be treated, it’s not work.
Thank you for this post. We were married in 1991 also, and we had the Mark Heard song “Two Trusting Jesus” played at our wedding. I especially appreciate point #4, about celebrating your differences instead of letting your differences drive you apart. Happy Valentines Day!
Hey Cindi ! We will be married 24 years in May ! We also had I Will Be Here sung at our wedding. We had a rough patch early on but I truly married my best friend . We have grown in to each other and through surrendering our relationship toChrist have learned to love each other the way we should. Love these tips we laugh together a lot too😊
Such a beautiful post and tribute to your marriage! Thank you for sharing…
Thank you for sharing this today, ESPECIALLY!! Been married 13 years-and yes marriage good, and even when it’s good, it’s still hard!! 😊
Today, we are trying a new church, a Christian church-we are Catholic! My husband is uninterested however, I’m hoping that this new church, welcomes him in and he can understand why I appreciate faith soo much!! Thank you for your words! It really stuck with me…and we also have been giving each other the cold shoulder the last couple days…😢…praying praying praying!! 🙃🙏🏼
Happy Valentines day Cyndi to you and Wayne.you two are an adorable couple!!!congratulations for coming up on 25 years of marriage!!I thanks for the marriage tips.Enjoy your day together!
Cyndi, you post has spoken to me. I have been married 33 years and we love each other. But our marriage has gone through a dry spell for many years. We enjoy each others company, go on trips together and have been blessed with two beautiful granddaughters. But, I long for the romance and affection that is missing in my marriage. And, I pray that God will bless my marriage.
Happy Heart Day Cyndi & Wayne! Your tips are great and so true Cyndi. My husband and I have had some tough times too. Keeping Christ at the center, praying together and reading God’s word together really keeps us close. May HE get all the glory! have a beautiful day 😉
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY
To y’all from the warmth of
SouthTexas.
💗💗💗
Cyndi, I agree with your marriage tips. George and I have been married 34 years! Jesus is the center of our marriage, our family. We are also opposites, but I’ve found over the years, our opposites complement one another. When I’m freaking out about something, and he is saying, “Now honey”😊. Happy Valentines Day💕
Love the dress. Where is it from? Thank you for the tips. Happy Vlentine’s Day.
That song is absolutely beautiful! My husband and I are married for 37 years and are in love much, much more than we were when we were first married in 1978. We have had so many ups and downs, but through it all, those trials and tribulations have made our love so much stronger. What a beautiful song to put it all into perspective . Thank you, Cyndi!❤️