Finding ways to connect

I'm so glad to be posting again. It has been quite a weekend celebrating my daughter's birthday and then I spent Monday making up and catching up! Now I'm back on top of my game, blogging. I recently asked around about the current challenges of being married these days. I heard a few things and decided to start with this challenge as well as it resonates so well in my house.

Kids. Yes those beautiful little bundles of joy we bring home with a great big smile. Finding time to carve out between raising them can be challenging to say the least. However, in order to maintain a solid marriage we have to find ways to connect. So what's a couple to do?

Here are a few tips to get you started.

Have a movie night after putting the kids to bed.

Once a month, have date night. If funds are a challenge, try bartering with another couple.

Decide on a time period to sit down uninterrupted for 15-20 minutes by sending the kids to quiet time or putting on a short movie for them. This is important because they will understand that you are using this time to connect, eventually they will learn to appreciate and respect this practice.

If you have an older responsible child, allow that child to watch the other children while you take a few minutes to connect. Sweeten the deal by allowing a special privilege or perk of some sort.

I'm big on eating together as a family, however, a couple can eat dinner with the family and have dessert together alone.

Set aside money in the budget just like any other financial commitment and start a dating fund. This can cover the outing as well as money for a potential babysitter.

Sometimes you just have to put the kids in bed early and connect before going to bed.

Always find time to pray together before going to bed for the night.

Again these are tips to get you going in the connecting direction. While we love our children they can drain us of our time and energy. If you're homeschooling as in my case there is hardly any time to do anything in terms of connecting with your spouse.

Older children have so many activities which requires a parent to run all over the place, there's no energy left. This requires another post. Sometimes we as parents have to limit the number of activities our kids are involved in. Remember, we have to take care of ourselves in order to take care of others.

My thoughts are once the children are gone to start families of their own it will be the parents left with each other. Will you find yourself with a stranger because nothing was invested into the relationship?

If we don't set boundaries on the time spent running around and caring for the children only, we will find ourselves living in one house but in two different worlds living two separate lives. We must meet the challenge of balancing parenthood and our marriage by praying for wisdom and direction. This mixed with the practical application of connecting on a regular basis will help to strengthen our homes and our marriages.

To be continued...

Do you have any comments or suggestions? We are always glad to hear from you. Remember if you find this blog helpful or insightful, please share it with others. Thank you.

Here's an additional resource, click on the link below.

www.focusonthefamily.com


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