4 Habits Of A Joy-Filled Marriage - A 6-Day Devotional Sample

Habit 4: 

Nurture Rhythm. 

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He worked for six days and rested on the seventh, instituting the Sabbath. From the very beginning, God nurtured a rhythm of rest for humankind. Human beings cannot sustain a constant pursuit of production. We were made to have a rhythm of work and rest, learning to trust in the sufficiency of God during the Sabbath. Rest is the greatest predictor of mental health throughout a lifetime.  

Life can be hectic. It is easy for your marriage to turn into a business partnership. Sometimes we spend all our time cleaning, working, organizing, parenting, and crashing. We don’t have a rhythm to life that creates margin. Instead, we have a rhythm that creates distance in our marriage and burn-out in many areas of our lives. Couples who share joy on a daily basis generally have healthy marriages. It is essentially impossible to have sustained joy in your marriage without a rhythm that includes rest.

Couples who nurture rhythm by incorporating times of resting together, as well as playing together, create a foundation for joy that is sustainable for years to come. One couple I know always sits on the back deck together for half an hour or more in the evening and watches the sun set. Another couple plays cards every evening before bed. Habits we develop that allow us to rest together create security in our relationship and promote the kind of rhythm that helps us keep our love fresh.

Fun with Friends  15 MIN

Here is a chance to have fun while you share some joy with your friends. Creating a narrative (telling a story) helps your brain add more value to something important to you and it gives your brain the opportunity to spread joy.

Go on a date with another couple. Tell some stories, share what you are learning about joy, and invite them to try one of the four habits: Appreciate Daily.

1. Before practicing, highlight the effect on your marriage from learning the material and trying the four habits. As an example, you may want to share your favorite exercises so far and explain why these were helpful for you.  5 MIN

2. Give your friends the opportunity to enjoy the power of appreciation by doing the following exercise during your time together. Follow the steps below, and be sure each person has the chance to contribute.

• Share three highlights from your week.
• Share three qualities you enjoy about your spouse.
• Share three characteristics you appreciate in the other couple.
• Share what you notice after you practice this appreciation exercise.
• For homework in the comfort of your own home, talk with your spouse about what you enjoyed from your date night, then close with quiet cuddling and resting together.  10 MIN

We hope you have enjoyed this devotional.  We believe that great marriages are built day-by-day with small acts of kindness and consideration.  To help you build a great marriage, we'd love to send you a free chapter every other week from some of our favorite books on marriage.  Sign up here.