Marriage Staff Meetings

attention - Marriage Staff Meetings

I will seek the one I love. Song of Solomon 3:2

Developing and maintaining an intimate marriage requires a consistent investment of time and emotional energy. Our intimacy increased and marriage relationship dramatically improved when we began to “seek the one we love” through what we call our weekly “marriage staff meetings.”

We didn’t leave the meetings to chance. For a while we had lunch on Thursdays, and then for a time we met Tuesday nights after the kids were asleep. We made this time together a priority. We made it as inviolate as possible. We gave thought to distractions and interruptions and chose a place that was the most quiet and protected.

Consistency was important, but the emotional benefit of prioritizing each other encouraged our closeness. As I (David) heard Teresa turn down engagements with friends or negotiate appointments so that we could keep our marriage staff meetings, my heart was incredibly blessed. I was reassured that she cared for me and was thinking about me. When Teresa saw that I didn’t even take my cell phone into our staff meetings, she felt loved and reassured that I had concern for her and our marriage relationship.

It may be intimidating to think about spending this kind of time alone with your spouse. You might be thinking, What in the world would we talk about? Here are some topics you might want to try:

Coordinate calendars: discuss kids’ schedules, church attendance, and community events.

Family goals: discuss financial savings, vacation ideas, landscaping plans.

Parenting plans: discuss discipline issues and spiritual training.

Listen to one another: talk about feelings, latest devotions, ideas, questions.

Affirm one another: share appreciation and approval.

What benefits do you think you and your spouse could derive from planning weekly “marriage staff meetings,” starting today?