Sometimes in marriage we just need to hear it again. We need to hear that marriage takes a few simple guidelines to help it along. With time we tend to forget that marriage needs a bit of TLC once in while. Because of this, I have made a list of a few areas I think all marriages could utilize to bring back that punch that is so vital in marriage.

1) Communicate feelings effectively for spiritual growth

2) Couples who understand themselves and utilize their inner spirit have better marriages.

3) Wives who respect the role of their husbands and allow them to be captain of the ship find its sails steering into many blessings at the shore.

4) Husbands who respect the role of the wife as being the helpmate and co-worker within marriage find it flourishes with abundance and the marriage develops and is happy.

5) Couples who give each other room to grow and just be themselves find their spouses are less stressful and more caring and giving.

6) Learn to utilize every aspect in marriage towards the good of the relationship

7) Forgive by letting go of resentment

8) Couples who pray together stay together

9) Shift your man-made foundation into a spiritual supported one when dealing with marital issues

10) Learn to use your God given talents positively in marriage

11) Detach with love and allow your spouse freedom to be who they are.

12) Pray together and humble yourselves to each other.

The power of our words-by what we say and how we say it becomes a learned "way of behaving" and eventually will break down the structural integrity of the relationship. Following a set of precepts helps us to remember that.

A great marriage involves team players working towards the good of the relationship. This is what "Team Work" is all about. We should help pull together the area in the relationship where our spouse is less practiced then we are. This way the marriage is complimented by each others ideas, goals and working environment.

When we do little things like this for our marriage it flourishes and becomes one institution, instead of two institutions fighting to take the lead.

We can always try and take the easy way out and continually harass and pick and peck at our spouse as we try to take the splinter out of their eye. But it won't do a bit of good, until we take the log out of our own first.

It is by realizing our own actions, and knowing what WE can do to change, that we actually see clearly enough to react in beneficial ways toward the marriage, and our spouse when issues do occur.

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