A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he wants; a woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn’t want, but that’s on sale.

A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband; a man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

A successful man is one who makes moer money than his wife can spend; a successful woman is one who can find such a man.

To be happy with a man you must understand him a lot and love him a little; to be happy with a woman you must love her a lot and not to understand her at all.

Any married man should forget his mistakes—there’s no use in two people remembering the same thing.

A woman marries a man expecting him to change, but he doesn’t. a man marries a woman expecting that she won’t change, and she does.

A woman has the last word in any argument; anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

Any long term relationship requires us to:

• Wade through a few difficult seasons
• Work for many things that are necessary
• Wait on some things that take time
• Watch out for those things that are harmful
• Wave goodbye to personal things that are selfish

On Leadership and Teamwork: Down Periscope, Armageddon, King Arthur and The Star Trek Originals.
On Marriage: Cinderella Man, the Incredibles, Fun with Dick and Jane, the Family Man, and Rocky III.
On History: Schindler's List, Good Night and Good Luck, Cinderella Man, Rambo, and Hotel Rwanda.
And on God at work in life: A Walk to Remember, A Nativity Story, The Prince of Egypt, Evan Almighty, Chronicles of Narnia. (there are many more, but this list is already too long)

After this past Friday, we've added another movies to our definitive favorites list: Fireproof.

What's funny, is that Stacy and I don't have much taste for Christian produced movies. We've seen the Jesus film, watched numerous local and crusade productions, and reluctantly added the Passion to our collection...but don't typically find these pictures true enough to life. Fireproof is a HUGE exception, however. We are still thinking of the rich humor, cinematography, and true-to-life depictions in the movie. We'll be quoting the lines from it back and forth for years to come, and highly recommend that you pick it up on your next opportunity for a seriously rich movie. I've included a short clip here, in case you'd like to witness a bit of movie magic. The trailer is also available, and can be viewed by clicking this link, here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

1. Always tell your single friends that marriage is awesome.

2. Start every sentence with "my husband" or "my wife."

3. When they describe their weekend, always reply with "awww."

4. Don't let them throw the Paul (the apostle was single) card.

I must admit that I start a lot of sentences with "Stacy and I".

This post begins a multipart series of tips for marital bliss. I hope you appreciate my suggestions, and that they contribute to a smoother ride for you and your beloved companion.

Read the previous posts here:
Part 1 -http://www.journeymanproject.org/?p=81
Part 2 -http://www.journeymanproject.org/?p=93
Part 3 -http://www.journeymanproject.org/?p=96

Park the Car, Rent a Limo, and Leave the Kids with Your Parents:
On your fifteenth cup of Texaco coffee? Tired of hearing the kids ask, “Are we there yet?” Starting to count the lines in the middle of the road? Good. It’s time for some extreme action. That’s right, ditch fiscal and domestic responsibility for the weekend. Park the Car, Rent a Limo, and Leave the Kids with Your Parents for a few days.

Life always tends to spiral into the steady plodding of humdrum responsibilities and habits. That’s a great thing! Habits and responsibilities are what raise children, provide a comfortable home, and built dynasties. Unfortunately, they don’t nurture motivation and perspective. Every now and then, you’ve got to get a fresh view of your life. Every once in a while, tragedy or reward will provide that opportunity for you…but these circumstances hardly provide opportunities to nurture your marriage. So plan them yourselves.

Stacy and I get away once every four months, three times a year. We check out of the apartment and into a nice hotel, even if it’s only 10 miles away. We spend a few days eating out, visiting new places, and pursuing new interests. Because we’re together 24/7 away from home, we stop discussing bills and work, and start talking about struggles, insights, and plans for the future. As a result, we starting getting that romantic feeling again, and just enjoy one another’s company. While we wish the vacation lasted longer, we feel better about going back to work after it’s over. And it tends to keep that feeling of “us” alive apart from the bills, the kids, and the home that tend to define us for the over 350 days of the year.

A lot of people talk about doing a date night once a week, where you get out of the house once every week or two. While I agree that this is a great idea, you need more than a couple of hours a week to kindle the flame. My suggestion: do both.

This post begins a multipart series of tips for marital bliss. I hope you appreciate my suggestions, and that they contribute to a smoother ride for you and your beloved companion.

Read the previous posts here:
Part 1 -http://www.journeymanproject.org/?p=81
Part 2 -http://www.journeymanproject.org/?p=93

Drop Expectations & Welcome the Adventure:

Sometimes the worst enemy of a great road trip is lofty expectations. Have you ever followed one of those grand travel center brochures to a complete waste of time? Ever visited the world’s coolest shopping center in Atlanta, Denver, or Austin? We’ve seen them all. Our review: “underwhelming”.

Marriage can be like that too. What’s sex like to someone who’s watched prime-time television? Underwhelming. What’s romance like in marriage compared to the thrill ride of dating? Underwhelming. Why? Expectations. Life, both secular and sacred, can give us unrealistic expectations for the future. There is nothing harder on a spouse than expecting him or her to live up to the example of your father or your dream husband after one year of marriage. Change takes time. Change takes encouragement, not condemnation.

This is not to say that you should expect the worst for your marriage, or that you shouldn’t consider it a relationship with a lot of thrills in store for your life. But be realistic, and plan to let the best parts of married life surprise you. Celebrate the flowers when he brings them home for you. Thank her for dinner, even when it’s not as good as Olive Garden. And find something worthwhile to talk about around the world’s largest Cast Iron Skillet. The more you allow the contributions of your spouse to thrill you, the more that you are thankful for them, the more they will want to do them for you.

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