What Makes a Great Marriage???

Calling all “God, My Weird Spouse, and I” readers!!! We would love some reader input and comments on this question, “What makes a great marriage?” JC and I have read through several excellent marriage books and we’ve both had great examples of good marriages in our parents, and we’ve asked a lot of questions and had some awesome advice given to us. So I think we’ve got a pretty good foundation to build a great marriage relationship on. But hey, we’ve only been married 5 months, and all the book knowledge in the world doesn’t compare to living out a great marriage over time… and I know there are a lot of you out there who have more great advice and thoughts on this. I’m going to share some of the things that we’ve found, and I hope you readers out there will chime in and expand on some of our thoughts or bring up some brand new ideas!

Here are a couple basic things that I think make a great marriage:

• Not to sound cliché and all Christian-ey, but honestly, the best thing you can do for your marriage is base it in a strong faith in God. When both husband and wife are believers and they keep God first in their lives, it truly revolutionizes how they will interact as a couple, because they’re not going to be left to rely on their own strength alone… They’re going to have God’s grace and wisdom ready and available whenever they need it, for better or for worse! My favorite piece of marriage advice so far was from JC’s best man, Reece. He said, “Remember to keep your focus on serving God and serving your spouse. When you do that, marriage is awesome!”
• Communication! You can’t really know or understand your spouse without good, open communication. When JC and I spend time together communicating, whether its 3 minutes or 3 hours, we get that little bit closer to each other, we understand each other that little bit better, and we both end up feeling secure and happy. It truly opens the door to feeling safe and having complete trust between spouses
• All that fun physical stuff! :D Yes, I mean sex…. But not just that. (Yes, I am blushing while writing this… sheesh) I mean all the other stuff too, like holding hands, giving a hug, sitting with your arm around the other one, stolen smooches, snuggling in bed… There is just something about physical affection and intimacy that makes marriage fun! I can’t imagine how a couple could be close and experience a great relationship without it… Everyone needs to feel wanted and desired and attractive to their spouse. God designed physical intimacy to exist only in marriage and there’s a reason for it – it binds you closer together as a married couple… a closeness that wouldn’t happen otherwise. So, make sure you give your spouse an extra kiss today when you see them! I know I will…
• JC and I are both firm believers that humor is essential to our relationship. We discovered early on that we shared a common sense of humor and it has made for some awesome times. Sharing a good laugh together feels good, and makes both people happy! But more than just laughing at the silly stuff in life, we’ve found that laughter makes a huge difference in our ability to deal with issues. Humor helps keep possible conflict issues in perspective. It is so easy to make mountains out of molehills if we let animosity, irritation, or offence rule… so keeping a lighter perspective helps us to see how little and/or silly some of these things are (I find this incredibly useful!) It also puts us in a way better mood to bring the issue up with the other person!
• An attitude of Camaraderie. An online dictionary defined camaraderie as “a spirit of friendly good fellowship” and “mutual trust and friendship among people who spend a lot of time together.” I like that! As a couple, you need to have an attitude that you take joy in being friends and in doing things together. Your spouse should be your best, most trusted friend… the person you love being with and fellowshipping with more than anyone else. We’ve found that even the simple things, when done together at friends, brings us even closer.

And that’s all that is coming to my head at the moment, so there you go…

So, what can you guys add? We want to hear what you think makes for a great marriage!