It wasn’t anything I did. At least nothing I could pin point.
The only thing that changed for me was my attitude.
It happened some time ago. I was reading a marriage article when one sentence stood out to me more than the others. I don’t even remember exactly what it was that I read, but I do remember that the love this woman had for her husband was undeniable. He was the love of her life, and it was evident.
I got to wondering, Does Michael know that I love him even half that much? Am I affirming him as often as I should be?
He’s captured my heart. He’s got a strong hold on this girl , but does he know that?
My passion for him was kindled like a fan to an open flame, and I started looking at him a bit differently. I didn’t say anything, I was just thinking about it, really. I was noticing things like how attractive he was, how great he was with the kids, and how much he was making me laugh.
Less than a week later, the two of us were sitting on the edge of our bed talking about nothing and everything all at the same time.
“Thank you,” he said.
And of course, I was puzzled.
“You’ve been really great this past week,” he continued, “I really appreciate it.”
I was completely taken by surprise. Like I said, I didn’t do anything differently. The only change was within me.
And so I’ve come to realize this powerful truth is at work in my life, “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” – Matthew 12:35
I’m reminded of a friend of mine–a professional singer–who once told me that when you’re standing on a stage you have to believe in what you’re doing, because if you don’t the audience will sense it, and you will fail.
Passion stems from the heart. When you’re passionate about something it’s obvious to everyone around you–there’s no mistaking it. Therefore it’s important that we encourage each other to seek God with everything that we’ve got, and then to glorify Him by reflecting that love in our marriage.
I also came to realize a second powerful truth, which is that encouragement is an incredible force. Our words can make a difference to someone who is searching and and hungry for truth. Even a small word of encouragement can go a long way.
Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. – Proverbs 27:17
I’m often looking for quotes on the internet, or little ways that I can find to inspire you. But you know what I’m finding instead? A whole lot of junk. There’s this dark cloud hanging over the topic of marriage under which men are either typified as being a barbaic buffoon, or women are shopping maniacs. Neither parties are happy, and both are miserable fools.
Sometimes you have to dig through a whole lot of dirt to find a diamond. But trust me, it’s there. Marriage is an incomparable union designed by the hands of an almighty God. There’s nothing more beautiful on this earth than walking through life with your best-friend by your side, unless it’s making a family with that best friend which is one blessing on top of another.
Pulling out 10 of my favourite marriage quotes (some I’ve written myself), I hope to encourage you in the same way that I’ve been encouraged. Enjoy!
- “Don’t compare your love story to those you watch in movies. They’re written by scriptwriters, yours is written by God.” – Unknown
- “My husband is one of my greatest blessings from God. His love is a gift that I open every day.” – Darlene Schacht
- “The difference between an ordinary marriage and an extraordinary marriage is in giving just a little ‘extra’ every day, as often as possible, for as long as we both shall live.” – Fawn Weaver
- “A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.” – Mignon McLaughlin
- “Love is all of the moments–the good and the bad–and knowing that through them all, we’ll still be together.” – Darlene Schacht
- “I feel like I can conquer the world with one hand, when you are holding the other.” – Unknown
- “When I tell you I love you, I don’t say it out of habit, or to make conversation. I say it to remind you that you’re the best thing that ever happened to me.” – Unknown
- “If he makes you laugh, kisses your forehead, says he’s sorry, makes an effort, holds your hand, works hard, attempts to understand you… then believe it or not, he’s quite perfect.” – Unknown
- “Relationships blossom when sacrifice takes the place of selfishness.” – Darlene Schacht
- “I can’t promise you that marriage will be easy, but I can say that marriage, the way God intended it to be, is a treasure worth fighting for.” – Darlene Schacht
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You are loved by an almighty God,
Darlene Schacht
The Time-Warp Wife
Check out my book, available in both print and digital format: The Virtuous Life of a Christ-Centered Wife: 18 Powerful Lessons for Personal Growth
If a wife continues to demand, dominate, and manipulate her husband, she will never have an intimate marriage, however, if she gives up ALL control of her husband and simply gives him her input and cooperation, she is on her way to an intimate, passionate marriage.
Wow Lori! I needed this today!! Thank you!!
Best quote that changed my marriage was from Dr. Laura Schlessenger
Be the kind of person you would want to come home to.
Woohoo! Yes!
I am being blessed by these Godly article. All I am doing is to replace the word husband with the word wife.Thank you.
Perfect! Thanks for your flexibility! I’m sure your wife appreciates you!
For better or for worse, your choice!
Not quite for marriage but I think it is something that should continue on through marriage. “A woman’s heart should be so lost in God a man must seek him to find her.” – I’m not sure who the author is…
I LOVE that one!!
These are great! My plan is to print them off and cut them out individually to hide in my husband’s shirts and other areas in the house he will come across as surprises!
A wife’s attitude sets the tone in the home…Let’s make sure we have a good and loving one!
One day I was waiting at the front of my church when an elderly man started speaking to me. He asked if I was married and I said it would be 4 years in August and he told me he had been married for 40 years. He told me that the key to marriage is when tough times came up he remembered that Jesus had picked this women to be his wife and he said that was all he needed to know. I thought that was very sweet and encouraging and he said so much with so few words.
Lovely article. As always! Thanks for sharing. This came at just the right time. 😉
You are such an encouragement to me! I always love to read your posts! One of my favorite quotes is: “All true love originates in the heart of God.” I’m not sure who the author is, but I so love to think of our story in that way :). Thank you for being such a blessing!
Thank you for this post. I, too, have a heart for beautiful, Godly marriages. It was difficult to choose a favorite, but I think #9 speaks the most to me because I have seen that make a difference in my own marriage. Thank you, again, for your beautiful words of encouragement. Please keep them coming in order that your readers are encouraged and our God is glorified!
My husband and I were just married in April 2014 and we wrote our entire ceremony. One of my favorite parts was when our pastor read this quote: “Marriage is the perfect union of two IMPERFECT people, sustained by one PERFECT Savior.”
That’s beautiful!! I’d love to quote him sometime, but I don’t know his name. Love it!
“Stop looking for your husband to be perfect. If he were, he might start looking for the perfect wife.”
Might not be a quote, but an expressed desire: I want to lavish extravagant love on my spouse, as if I was married to Jesus. And when you consider, “Whatsoever you do to the least of these, my brothers, you do to Me,” it kind of fits.
I want to be my spouse’s “Jesus with skin on”.
I’m not sure, but I believe quote number one comes from the book, When God Writes your Love Story by Eric and Leslie Ludy. If not identical, I believe they say something very similar.
My parents told me that many people think in a marriage each person gives 50%, but they key to a good marriage is when each person gives 100% all the time, regardless of how much they feel the other person is giving. Then you don’t keep score and hold expectations over each other, you just give all of yourself all the time.
Love that one!
thank you for sharing positive uplifting quotes,it reminded me of a talk or sermon called The eternal blessings of marriage and quote , “Do you tell your wife often how very much you love her? It will bring her great happiness. I’ve heard men tell me when I say that, “Oh, she knows.” You need to tell her. A woman grows and is greatly blessed by that reassurance. Express gratitude for what your spouse does for you. Express that love and gratitude often. That will make life far richer and more pleasant and purposeful. Don’t withhold those natural expressions of love. “Richard G Scott ”
We as women can apply the same principles talked about to the men .Do we tell our husbands how much we appreciate them ? They need reassurance too .instead of our nagging about what they don’t do we should help them feel accomplished for the the things they DO well .like being a great dad ,providing for the family etc.thank you for the added reminder to not take our spouse for granted !
My husband and I were married in January. He has had a hard life and has never had anyone show him what real, true, agape love is. One day in Sunday school, God made this revelation come to light in my heart. God urged me to make it one of my goals to show my husband every day the kind of love Christ showed us. Some days are harder than others sometimes lol 🙂 I am truly blessed to have such a precious husband though <3
Love number 8. It accurately describes my husband. <3
#7 & #8 are my favorites! #7 is so true for my husband and I. We say I love you to each other all the time and really mean it, sometimes 2 or 3 times in a basic phone conversation, and we just passed our 16th anniversary. 🙂 One thing we started at the very beginning was not to say I love you “too”. For both of us, both being on our 2nd marriages, we didn’t want the other to say I love you back to us as just an automatic reaction to the first person saying it. Like “me too”. I hope that makes sense, it’s hard to put into words on paper. lol. And my husband IS #8. 🙂
Wow, this post stirred my heart in so many ways. Sadly, marriages have been bogged down as “not worth the fight”, which is documented as marriages are on the decline in America. But the impact we wives can have on a marriage by first changing ourselves is profound! I recently wrote something to this agree, but in a letter form to my husband, expressing my love for him. I would love if you’d read it. http://www.rebuildingthewell.com/i-love-you/ Thank you so much for sharing this post. I am going to share it with my Facebook group today.
my husband is my best friend. We have each other and most importantly we have God!! I pray for my life with my husband and our life with our 6 children God blessed us with. Recently I have learned just how very blessed I am to have a husband who loves God like I do. I realized how blessed i am to have this. And I also realized how very much I am in love with my husband of 13 years. Only God can keep us together and in love. God brought me to and he will see us through it!!