When my wife, Ashley, and I got married 15 years ago, we were young and in love, but we were also pretty clueless (me especially)! Along the way, we’ve had so many people share wise advice and life experiences with us, which has helped guide our family through good times and hard times. Through the years, we’ve been collecting some of the best marriage advice others have shared with us (and some we had to learn through our own mistakes).
We have one powerful and practical marriage tip for every day of the month. Keep referring back to this list to give a daily dose of encouragement to your marriage. These 30 timeless truths have shaped our marriage (#26 revolutionized how we communicate with each other)! If you’ll apply these 31 principles below to your relationship, it could make a life-changing difference in your marriage! These timeless truths have revolutionized our own relationship and they could do the same for you.
In no particular order:
1. Choose to love each other even in those moments when you struggle to like each other. Love is a commitment, not just a feeling.
2. Always answer the phone when your husband/wife is calling, and when possible, try to keep your phone off when you’re together with your spouse.
3. Make time together a priority. Budget for a consistent date night. Time is the “currency of relationships” so consistently invest time into your marriage. There are no shortcuts. Building a strong marriage takes time.
4. Your friends will impact your marriage, so choose your friends wisely. Surround yourself with friends who will strengthen your marriage and remove yourself from people who may tempt you to compromise your character.
5. Make laughter the soundtrack of your marriage. Share moments of joy, and even in the hard times, find reasons to laugh.
6. In every argument, remember that there won’t be a “winner” and a “loser.” You are partners in everything so you’ll either win together or lose together. Work together to find a solution.
7. Remember that a strong marriage rarely has two strong people at the same time. It’s usually a husband and wife taking turns being strong for each other in the moments when the other feels weak.
8. Prioritize what happens in the bedroom. It takes more than sex to build a strong marriage, but it’s nearly impossible to build a strong marriage without it!
9. Remember that marriage isn’t 50-50, divorce is 50-50. Marriage has to be 100-100. It’s not splitting everything in half, but both partners giving everything they’ve got!
10. Give your best to each other, not your leftovers after you’ve given your best to everyone else.
11. Speak lovingly and respectfully to each other. Your words matter, but the tone of those words matters too. The tone of your words can set the tone for your entire marriage.
12. Don’t put your marriage on hold while you’re raising your kids or else you’ll end up with an empty nest and an empty marriage.
13. Never keep secrets from each other. Secrecy is the enemy of intimacy.
14. Never lie to each other. Lies break trust and trust is the foundation of a strong marriage.
15. When you’ve made a mistake, admit it and humbly seek forgiveness. You should be quick to say, “I was wrong. I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”