Marriage as a verb

Mr. J and I entered marriage with the understanding that it's hard work. And it takes constant effort from both parties. There was no fairy tale allusions here. One thing we do consistently is date. Not every week necessarily but we try for at least every other week. A few months ago I discovered this website about dating while married called The Dating Divas . They have some really good ideas of different fun dates you can do. Anyways on their site they have a quote that is their inspiration. I really like it as it resounds with some of my thinking of what marriage is.

"Marriage is not a noun; it's a verb. It isn't something you get. It's something you do. It's the way you love your partner every day." -Barbara De Angelis

I am definitely not the easiest person to live with. And heaven knows Mr. J has enough quirks to drive me crazy. But no one person is perfect. As long as we always keep that in mind and strive to act our love out for each other daily, we'll be okay.

Before we got married we read The Five Love Languages. It was SO helpful in learning how to better hand conflicts, why our spouse does what they do, and how to better demonstrate our love to the other person. I totally recommend the book. Anyways, through reading it we realized that one of Jon's "love languages" is Acts of Service. This means that by him doing little things for me, it's his way of showing me in his own way that he loves me. So every time he bleaches the bathroom I know it's because he knows I LOVE  a bleached room. Any time he takes the trash out it's because he knows I HATE taking it out. I also learned a lot about myself. I tend to keep my thoughts inside and not verbalize them. I've had to learn that Jon's not a mind reader and even though I think I'm showing him I love him in my way, with his personality and love language he might not be seeing it the same way.

What it comes down to is:

Marriage as a verb.

Because I love this book so much I've decided to do a giveaway! It's helpful not just for married people, but anyone in a relationship! All you have to do enter is leave a comment below! Giveaway closes Sunday evening, March 27.

 

 

****Disclaimer: I'm not being paid or given anything to promote this book. Gary Chapman and the publisher don't even know I exist. I just love this book and want to give it away! ****