TIme. The greatest gift is Time.

Have you heard the saying, Love is spelled, T-I-M-E. Marriage takes time. I know this is something that you already know. Time is an essential part of building a healthy marriage. If you don't put time into your marriage, you will not learn the person you are married to, you will not create memories with eachother, and you will not develop a healthy line of communication.

My precious husband has taken a new position at his job. He is having to go through 12 weeks of training which means working around 50 hours each week. Weekends are spent at the job. This has been a hard adjustment for us as a couple. In the last 3 years, we have built importance in time spent with each other. Time spent alone with each other. Right now we are going through a season that our time is limited and family time is having to come first. But we are still creating time with each other as often as we can.

You need to be intentional in taking time to create memories together. Memories that you can laugh at, talk about, share with others, and day dream about. Memories with your family is important, but special memories with your mate is important. Memories don't have to involve a airplane, beach and a large credit card bill. Create memories in your own home, at local parks, on a golf course, etc. A great book that we have and enjoy reading to refresh is Doug Fields book called Creative Romance. I just check on Amazon.com and you can click on the book title and order it for as low as 1.93 new. This book is old but still an awesome resource. Create memories with your spouse. Journal about them, scrapbook about them. What a history you will leave for your children. The best gift you can give them is a healthy marriage.

If you don't spend time with each other, your communication will break down. You can use text, phones and email but face to face communication is the best. If you are face to face, you can read the body language of your spouse. Talking through your day with your spouse is important. Even is you don't work with each other, you spouse needs to be a part of that life also. When you start saying to each other, you never told me that, that is a sign that you are not spending time with each other and sharing your life with them.

You need to spend that time with your spouse. You need to be your spouses biggest listener and adventure partner. Start carving out time during the week to just spend with each other. Don't fill it with friends and family all the time. Guard that time. Family and friends might not understand why you guard it so tightly but I would rather explain that then explain why we are splitting up. I would rather show my children that their father is important to me and we are striving to have a healthy marriage.

If you don't do this with your spouse, I challenge you to mark off an evening this next week and plan something. It can be small. A walk around the neighborhood with each other or a dinner out at a semi fast restaurant. Start writing you spouse notes, letting them know you desire to have time with them alone. Start building that desire.