Marriage Advice...

I read a quote today that if you build a strong foundation for your marriage, it will withstand anything...especially the schemes of the devil that try to pull you apart.

If there's one thing I've noticed in marriage, the devil is all over the place, pulling, tugging, annoying, reminding, forgetting, infuriating, and meddling where he shouldn't be.

So how do you build a strong foundation...no seriously, how?

And don't give me the sweet christian answer of "on Jesus" - I'm tired of the goody, goody answers. Don't worry, I'm not bashing Jesus, I need Him everyday and especially in my marriage, but in this case, I need some meat and potatoes to sink my teeth into, because as I've heard it said before "marriage is not for wimps". Think more tactical, more proactive, more what you've done that's worked, or what you've done that didn't work...that'd be fun too.

So here's my two cents for those reading this that aren't married. If you are praying and desiring a marriage, think about all the things that you are dreaming of, then think of the opposites. For example, cuddling and sleeping together every night oh so dreamy...the opposite...sleeping in separate rooms and not talking because you can hardly stand the site of each other. Why think of something so terrible? Because that's how you prepare for all the ups and downs in marriage...and you need to be better prepared. Life is hard...then you add jobs, finances, kids, in laws, family, travel, unexpected expenses, other people? You get the point, but no one talks about the hard stuff, they only talk about the dreamy stuff. How will you handle a fight, how will you handle many fights? How will your spouse handle them? These are great questions.

I'm not trying to be a Debbie downer here (no offense to Debbie) - but "marriage is not for wimps" right? So, let's get back to how you build that foundation...no fluff please! Leave me your advice because I'm curious! And when you do, tell me how many years you've been married...and/or how many times, not because I'm going to judge you (not publicly anyways), just because I'd be curious to know.