An essential part of building a lasting marriage is being able to collect good memories together. You will want to enjoy many things together, achieve your goals together, grow in many areas together. You get it. It is about being together doing something productive. One good way to achieve this is by practicing generosity as a family. For example, you may want to save up 5% of your income for use to help others generously. You can go over 5% or you may even decide on an absolute amount. 5% is not really big but it is a good number to start with. If you decide how much you are willing to give, you are still in control of your budget. Your giving may not hurt your savings or your means to provide for your family’s future.

What’s in it that will help you save your marriage?

1. You will achieve something valuable every month.

Have you watched how a basketball team celebrates a championship? I am very sure every championship help cement the team’s relationship. Something surely happens when you achieve something together. This is the principle behind this tip.

2. You will learn together. You will grow together.

Do not be content with who you are right now. Strive to be better, to give more to learn more, to grow. Do this together with your spouse and you will achieve a beautiful synergy – one that will not only nourish your relationship but will also inspire others.
3. You are sowing for eternity.

God will surely be pleased with your family. It is part of following the example of Christ. Jesus loves generously, even to the extent of giving his own life.
4. You will teach your children a valuable lesson on generosity.

As for me, I would like my son to live a life of giving, instead of always being on the receiving end. This tip will help your son or daughter learn from your example.
5. It is best to live life unrestricted.

It is best when you are able to love generously. I believe it will also have a rippling effect on your relationship as well. It will unlock your potential to also love your spouse generously.

Where can you use your giving fund?

1. You can use it for partial or full scholarship.

Find a student you can help. This is one of the best use of your money. Your extra will actually help someone achieve a better future.

2. You can use it to honor your parents.

You can try investing in the relationship of your parents. For example, give them some money to spend on dates. You can also buy new furniture. You can help pay for their bills. You can help pay for their medicines. You can also help send your own siblings to school.

3. Use it to sponsor a child in less fortunate areas.

There are some mission organizations who have optimized their strategies in helping communities. Investing in them will give more mileage for your money.

4. Use it for sponsoring missionaries

Missionaries work full-time spreading the gospel, planting churches or discipling new Christians. Given the demmands of their vocation, they have little if any time to spend on earning for their living. You will help them continue in their mission by sponsoring part of their monthly or annual expenses. 

I had this unique chance to review the pre-launch copy of Relationship Recovery e-book. After reading the book, I believe it will help a lot of couples get started on saving their own marriages. Throughout my married life, I have learned some valuable lessons on how to relate to my husband in a way that will not create unnecessary pain for both of us but still be able to get my message across. I learned them the hard way. Now, I am wishing that if the other couples will read this book, they will not need to learn the hard way. They can read the lessons in this book and then apply to their own marriages.

Here are a sample of the things you will learn from it.

1. Where or how do you start saving your marriage or recovering your relationship?

You can find the answer on the 1st chapter of the book.

2. When did your marriage problems started?

Do you sometimes get confused on what happened in your relationship? You started out really passionate about each other, very eager to marry. Now that you are married, you are not getting what you wished for. What actually happened? You can find the answers to your questions in Chapter 6 of the book.

3. Do you feel that after getting married, you got lost somewhere and now you no longer know who you really are?

Discover how you can re-connect with yourself in Chapter 2 of this book

4. Do you sometimes find yourself envious of other couples who seem to be very happy and content with each other?

Discover the secrets of successful couples in Chapter 7 of the book.

5. Do you find yourself incapable of relating to your partner in a way that will make him love you more?

This book will teach you how to develop relationship habits that will ensure a good foundation for your marriage on the coming years in Chapter 8.

6. Do you feel like after living months or years under the same roof, you still do not know your partner well enough?

Then you must read Chapter 10 of this book. It will teach you how to know your partner and anticipate his needs and wants.

7. Do you feel that you are the only one wanting to recover the relationship?

If you are alone in the journey of saving your marriage, Chapter 11 of this book will mean a lot to you. Note, however that maybe, your partner is also trying to save your marriage in his own ways. Maybe, your efforts are just not yet aligned.

8. Are you in a sexless marriage?

Do you feel insecure because of this? Chapter 12 of this book discusses Sex and Intimacy.

9. Do you have some practical issues to deal with like finances, in-laws or your children.?

You can help on how to deal with these issues in Chapter 13 of this book.

10. Do you feel that you have an abusive partner but you are unsure and shy to seek outside help?

Chapter 14 of this book will help you get started on identifying abusive patterns in your relationship. I hope that by the time you finish reading Chapter 14, you will have the courage to seek help.

I have listed 10 of the most common issues that this book is able to address. If you can identify with any of the above, I strongly suggest that you get a copy of the book here: Relationship Recovery.

Along with the joys of marriage are the responsibilities to provide and care for the family. Unfortunately, sometimes, your need to pay the next month’s bills prevent you from spending the much needed time together. If you do not do something about it, you will grow apart. You can prevent this from happening to your marriage by intentionally spending regular time with your partner. This discipline will actually save your marriage from having “irreconcilable differences” which is now being used as legal grounds for divorce on some states.

We have listed here 10 useful tips so you can actually “create” time for each other. Think of these as your way of saving your marriage.

1. Prioritize.

This means you will spend less time on matters that are less important What is less important? You have to spend some time thinking about your activities. You maybe very busy doing a lot of things and not really achieving what you really want. Trim down your activities. If you need to cut your working hours so you can spend time with your family, do it.

The other side of this is to spend time on what is most important to you. For example, schedule weekly dates with your spouse, without the kids.

2. Delegate whatever it is you can delegate.

For us, it worked very well that someone is helping us clean the house and do the laundry. We agreed that there are only 2 things I can not really delegate – that of taking care of my son and cooking the family meals. The second cannot be delegated because my cooking makes my husband feel special.

3. Let your partner join you in your activities whenever possible.

My son and I join my husband in all his speaking engagements. We spend time together while watering the plants. We bring our son to our meetings whenever possible. They join me as I practice songs for Sunday worship.

4. Consider working at home..

I used to work as a Project Manager in a multi-national company. When I got pregnant, we decided that I really have to leave my office job. We decided that I will only work if it allows me to take care of my son. I am now a work-at-home Web Project Manager. My current job is really a big blessing to us. It allows me to take care of my son personally. It also helps us save up.

5. Consider when is your most active state.

Are you an evening or a morning person? Schedule your activities accordingly. You will accomplish more if you work while you are at your most active state. When you are not alert, you may spend more time than needed to finish your tasks.

6. Instead of scheduling work shifts, consider blocking certain hours or days for your loved ones.

This is especially helpful for the workaholics who can’t seem to leave work. My style is to schedule breaks in between 2 hour shifts. This gives me time to refresh and bond with my family. Also, for us, Saturdays are “Ethan days”. We strictly reserve each Saturday so we can spend the whole day with our son, Ethan.

7. Plan long-term.

Look for opportunities to earn passive income. Aside from our regular work, we also spend a few hours each week, setting up sites. We are looking at setting up sources of passive income. We are doing this because we are thinking we will need more time and more money for our son when he is older. Also, we want to have more time for ministry soon. Planning ahead of time will help you avoid working long hours to provide for immediate needs.

8. Focus on your current task or activity.

While multi-tasking may look like you are doing more, focusing on a single task on every chunk of time will enable you to finish your tasks early. Imagine the times when you had to re-do your work because you got distracted by another task.

9. Enjoy your time with your family.

Avoid thinking about work. Enjoy whatever it is that you are doing together. Listen to their stories attentively. Give them focused attention instead of just being present. Make it a habit to return their calls or text back even when you are busy.

10. Plan vacations.

Schedule one or two vacations within the year. Consider these times as investments on your relationship. Invest on good memories. These will help strengthen the marriage bond. You will be able to recall these times during times of conflict or problems and these will help you stay married.

The same team behind Save My Marriage Today book is launching their new book: Relationship Recovery. They asked me to review the book and I found that the content of the book will definitely help married couples, young and old alike.

Now that you are much more in tuned to reality, you maybe more ready to listen to some practical advice about marriage. I suspect that you actually found this site because you are in search of marriage help. I encourage you to continue reading this blog because we are actually investing in this site so we can help save marriages. In addition, I strongly encourage you to check out the book: Relationship Recovery book.

First, you can download their free report here: Togetherness. Please scroll down the bottom of the page to download the free report. I have read the free report, Togetherness, myself. I am surprised with the quality of content they have put together for FREE. They over-delivered. I am sure the free report itself will already give you a good head start on recovering your relationship.

On this same page, http://www.marriagejourneys.com/relationshiprecovery/ , subscribe to their newsletter. This brings us to the 2nd step. Read the e-mails they send you. These emails, together with the free report will help you know what to expect from the Relationship Recovery book.

The third and final step is for you to actually own the book. The book will be available starting on April 7, 2010. Since they are offering a high quality product, they are backing it up with a 60-days money back guarantee. This means there is really no risk for you. You can own the book and see if it helps you save your marriage. If not, you can actually refund your purchase. This is not to encourage you to refund your purchase. My simple principle here is: If I benefit from the product, I will not refund because I would like them to continue their good work.

Hey, owning the book or reading marriage help articles are just part of the 1st step. At the end of the day, it is not what you read but what you do that will actually make a difference. God bless you on your pursuit to recover your relationship.

I posted this in one of the forums, wanting to know the thoughts of the public about this question: “What is God’s role in marriage?”. The answers I got reflect the unbelief of many as to God’s involvement in marriage. Many assume that God does not care about marriages. I kept this in my heart until I have found the answers while my husband was speaking about the role of God in the church. This I am sure, God is not distant from us. HE cares about our marriages. Read on and discover how and why God will help you save your marriage.

1. God is the author of marriage.

God was the one who determined that it was not good for man to be alone. God gave a suitable partner for Adam. That was the very first marriage ordained by God himself. The Bible also says of marriage: “What God has put together, let no man separate.”. This means God is against divorce. HE has ordained that marriages be lifetime unions. This also means that God can and will help you save your marriage.

2. God fills our utmost need for Him so we will be capable of loving our partners.

God has set eternity in the heart of man. He has made us to long for eternity. That longing, that desire can only be filled by God. It is impossible for our partner to fill our utmost need for God. Our need for security, for ultimate unconditional love can only be met by the author of love. If we try to get all those from our partners, we will only be disappointed. Our partners may eventually burn-out if we insist. It is not because our partners do not love us, they are simply incapable of giving the security, the peace that ONLY God can give. If we set our hopes on Him, we will be like trees planted by the streams of water. When we have found our security in Him, we can give positive contributions to our marriage instead of us draining the energy out of our partners. You can help save your marriage only if you are basing your security on God.

3. God is our model of what true love is.

Our best models and most effective trainers on how we will love our partners are our parents. However, no matter how good our parents are, at one point or another, they will fail to model true love. This may cause us to bring unhealthy relationship habits into our marriage. God is the only One capable of living out true love perfectly. This is why He is asking the husbands to love their wives as He loved the church.

4. God guides us through His Word on how we should live our lives, including how to be good wives and husbands.

Allow me to quote God’s instruction on the dynamics of marriage. Ephesians 5 says:

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

God’s word instructs us to save our marriage by following His blueprint of leadership in His church.

5. God sends us counselors.

God works all things together for the good of those who love the Lord. I have seen God working in my life and in my marriage by consistently sending godly mentors to me and my husband. I was never without a good counselor. I also see this among other Christian couples. Sometimes, we tend to think we meet these good people by chance. No, these are not by chance. They are blessings from God. They are part of God’s plan to save your marriage.

If you are in search of marriage help, you can seek help from my friends in Save Your Marriage Today. They have helped hundreds of couples already. I am subscribed to their list and I also learn a lot from their marriage-saving tips.

6. God is sovereign in our marriage.

We live because of God. Our every breath is from God. God holds everything in His hand. In the same way that HE holds the universe, HE keeps our marriages intact. There are many things we cannot control but God is able to help us and sustain us. If we follow His commands, HE will help us nourish and enjoy our marriage, one that testifies of the goodness of God in our lives.

Much of what have been said assumes that we have faith in God. On the next article, we will explain to you why we have faith in God, why we believe what we believe.

This article is a testimony of how God works in our marriage. HE has been saving our marriage by His loving hand. By God’s grace and through your faith, God will also save your marriage.