Everyday Romance.....

I noticed recently that my husband of 8 years and I spend the majority of our life side by side.

At breakfast:
We work side by side to get our kiddos fed. He grabs the milk while I pour the cereal.

In the car: 
Obviously we're side by side!

At church: 
Almost all of our responsibilities on a Sunday morning require us to be next to each other.

I play the keyboard while he plays the drum or guitar.
Every other week when he's not preaching, we sit side by side on the third row from the front.
We stand together by the back door to greet our church family as they leave the auditorium.

When counseling: 
It's such a privilege when I get to counsel with him to help someone from God's Word. Usually it's done with me by his side.

In the living room: 
Once the kids are in bed, we relax in the living room. Most of the time, he reads and I blog or catch up with my online reading. When we occasionally cuddle with a movie, we're side by side.

I could go on and on, but the point is that 95% of our daily life is spent without ever really looking at one another. While this kind of teamwork is vital to a healthy and functioning family, some of the romance gets lost when a relationship takes place shoulder to shoulder this much of the time.

When Adam and I occasionally get to go out to eat by ourselves (every couple months or so), we sit across from one another and hold hands across the table. I love it. Time actually stands still for a little bit while I reconnect with my best friend and the love of my life. In fact, sometimes I even feel butterflies in my tummy like when we were dating. 

Something about looking right into the eyes of the person I love more than anything is incredibly romantic. 

The problem is that I wait for those few and far between times to reconnect with him. Obviously, my husband's eyes (as gorgeous as they are) aren't a magic potion for a perfectly romantic marriage, but I do believe that to keep that spark of romance alive its important to look at my spouse more than two times a day!
I don't need to be sitting at Outback on a date to look into his eyes.
I can stop stirring the pot on the stove and reconnect with him on any random Tuesday night.

 Everyday romance is possible when we prioritize our romance higher than our to-do lists.  

I plan on striving to really look at my sweet husband as we do life together. How do YOU keep romance alive in your marriage? I'd love for you to share in the comments below! 

This post is linked to Gospel Homemaking, Gracelaced Mondays, and The Better Mom

Happy 8 years!

Eight years ago today, I married my best friend. 6 houses, two ministries, and two kiddos later, I'm more in love with him than ever. I thank God every day for allowing me to marry such a tender, grace-filled, funny, and talented man. Happy Anniversary, Adam!

6 years!!!

"Only love can be divided endlessly, and still not diminish!"

~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Happy 6th anniversary, Adam!! 

I can't wait to spend 66 more years with you!

Find Your Porch...

The past couple of Tuesdays, I have been able to participate in an online conference for pastor's wives at Leading and Loving It. The JustOne Virtual Conference has been amazing!! It's incredibly encouraging to fellowship (even online) with other women just like me!
The topic for Week 1 was friendship, and last week's was marriage. While TONS of things touched my heart, there was one phrase that stood out to me.....

"Find Your Porch"

In the busy world of ministry, it is VITAL to carve out time to work on the marriage relationship. It is OK to say, "no" to other things for the simple purpose of a weekly date night or cuddle-time on the couch. 

One of the speakers mentioned that she and her husband had always had some sort of porch on all of the houses they lived in together. Each porch became a special place to fellowship and share with one another. When they needed time alone, they headed to their porch. 

She then went on to encourage each of us to "Find our Porch".....a special place for us to grow closer in the midst of a hectic life. "Our porch" could be the couch, a bench in the backyard, maybe even the kitchen table. The point was to be purposeful in strengthening that important relationship!

I realize most of my readers are NOT pastor's wives, but this principle applies to all marriages! If you don't have a regular time of bonding, sharing, and holding hands, your marriage may not be as strong as it could be! 

How do you strengthen your marriage?

Do you have a PORCH??