Scheduling for a Better Marriage
This Week’s Quick Hits:
St. Patrick
Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and one of the most successful Christian missionaries in history. A Roman citizen of Britain, he was captured by pirates at age 16 and sold into slavery in Ireland. He escaped back to Britain, became ordained as a bishop, and returned to the land of his captivity as a missionary circa 432/433 CE. His death date is celebrated on March 17, but the year he died, as with his year of birth, is unknown.
As we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day today, how many of these can you get right?
The first-ever St. Patrick’s Day Parade in 1762 didn’t take place in Ireland as you might have thought. Where did it take place?
Each year since 1962, the Chicago Plumber Union dyes what Kelly green?
In the 17th century, green became associated with St. Patrick’s Day. What color was associated with the holiday originally?
The most popular St. Patrick’s Day drink is Guinness. Roughly how many pints are served on St. Patty’s Day?
Up until the 1970s, what used to be closed in Ireland on St. Patrick’s Day?
Three-leafed shamrocks were believed to be used by Saint Patrick to explain what?
Apologizing
Listen:
“How To Set Boundaries in a One-Sided Marriage”
We’ve been talking about what to do if you feel like you’re in a one-sided marriage. If you and your spouse are not on the same page and you want to make some changes, what are some appropriate boundaries you can set to help you grow and be at your best? And how can you implement them? Join us as we look at this topic!
Watch:
Addictions kill people, relationships, and marriages. There are a myriad of different addictions. Watch this week’s YouTube vlog, where I talk about the “what ifs” that accompany every addiction.
Read:
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
I think Amor Towles is a great storyteller. I like his scenario and his characters. I like how he develops these characters and weaves the parts of the story together. In this novel, set in 1954, we first meet Billy, then his big brother Emmet, who set out on a quest to find their mother, who left them years before. Clues to her whereabouts are contained in the postcards she sent during her journey to California on the Lincoln Highway. As much as I loved this book, it is apparently not for everyone. Nancy thought it really dragged and had trouble finishing it. Maybe it is more of a guy book. Nancy read the book and I listened to it. That may have made the difference as the voices brought the characters to life. I give it 4.5 stars. Nancy gave it 3. (5 stars is the top rating!)
Insights:
In 2015, Zondervan published my first book, “7 Secrets to an Awesome Marriage.” It was a bestseller when it debuted on Amazon and continues to sell well. For the next few weeks, I want to go through those seven secrets with you. Wherever your marriage is today, I believe these secrets will take it to a whole new level.
Secret #5: “BALANCE: Scheduling for a Better Marriage”
As a kid, I had balance down to an art. I could do tricks on my bike that drew a crowd of neighborhood kids every time I performed. It was awesome. Yet as a young adult, I had no idea what balance in a marriage was all about. The balance in my marriage was awful.
The first time that I heard the analogy of a man being the hunter that pursues the woman of his dreams, I did not get it. As hunters we pull out all the stops to get her but once we do - once she says “yes” and the ring is on her finger - we go out to conquer other things. We quit pursuing her and move on to a career or a hobby or something else. (Thank you Dr. James Dobson. I just wish I had listened.)
I guess the best way to define balance in a marriage is to keep your spouse number two. In the first years of our marriage, I did a really bad job with balance. I pursued a career, tennis, running, working in the yard and friends and Nancy went from number two to number…? You would have to ask her where she felt she fell on my list of priorities.
So the period of time that almost brought an end to our marriage directly correlated to our marriage being terribly out of balance. God gave me a wakeup call and another chance. I had to get this balance thing down. You know what I learned? Getting our marriage in balance took a lot of work, but I found that I liked my life in balance a lot better than a life not in balance. I liked putting Nancy number two and when I put her number two, guess where she put me? Yep, I was now her number two.
This is the cool thing God taught me. I am busier today than I have ever been but if you asked Nancy where she ranked in my life, she would without hesitation say she is number two! I ask God to show me what I need to do each day to let Nancy know how much I love her and how important she is to me. You know what? He does!
Next Steps:
Ask God to show you where you are out of balance in your marriage and then ask Him to help you put your marriage into balance.
Answers to March Madness Trivia:
The United States
The river
Blue
13 million pints
Pubs
The Holy Trinity
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