Why It's Important to Communicate With Your Spouse

{Via "4 Steps to Better Communication}

We all know that guys aren't typically the ones to talk about their thoughts and feelings (but despite that stereotype) it is still essential to have an open dialogue in your marriage. Without communication you aren't friends, lovers, or spouses...you are just roommates! Communication helps to create a forum in which you are safe to talk about your fears, dreams, and frustrations with one another.
So, why exactly is it important to communicate with your spouse?

1. It Brings Emotional Intimacy
With emotional intimacy you feel secure, loved, needed, and understood by your spouse. With emotional intimacy comes physical intimacy, which will help to reinforce the love and commitment you have with your partner. This circular pattern of emotional and physical intimacy is what keeps the flame in your relationship still strong and bright!



2. You Learn Each Others Love Language
How does your spouse feel loved? In talking with them, you can start to piece together what will make them feel loved and special (Is it acts of service? Words of affirmation? Receiving gifts? Quality time? Physical touch?). You'll then be able to readjust how you communicate and interact with them, so your spouse feels like you completely understand him/her and feels on top of the world!
Take the 5 Love Languages Test!

3. You Can Better Understand Him/Her
Without constant communication, how do you get to know one another? The tools of communication are something that needs practice, and they need to be used frequently in order to be refined. A simple "how was your day?" when your spouse comes home from school or work can serve as an opportunity to listen and really work to understand what your spouse is all about and what makes them tick. Then you are more prepared to react in a manner that promotes healthy communication between you and your spouse.

How do you open up the doors of communication with your spouse?

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Date Your Spouse

 Set aside time for you and your spouse to go out and experience something new together. I know it's easier to grab a Redbox movie and heat up some pizza {I'm guilty of that from time to time}, but your relationship will benefit so much more from dating your spouse! You are able to see your spouse in a different situations which will help reignite your passion for one another!

 Need a date idea?

1. Go to a carnival or a fair in town 

2. Bake cookies together

3. Set up a fort in your front room to watch a romantic movie and have an indoor picnic

4. Grab your favorite soda and just drive around and talk

5. Plan your next vacation together

6. Go to a drive-in theater or a movie in the park in your community

7. Be a tourist for a day in your own city

8. Go salsa or country dancing

9. Invite other couples over for a board game night

10. Have a themed night: bake and eat French food then watch Ratatouille

11. Make a pizza from scratch together

12. Plan your next concert/NBA game/college football game you'll be going together and create a piggy bank to save money together

13. Attend a Home Depot workshop together

14. Plant flowers/trees together in your yard {or in your home}

15. Teach your spouse your favorite sport {I taught him tennis, he teaches me how to throw a football} 

16. Go rock climbing

17. Go listen to outdoor music in your city

18. Hit the beach/lake and relax together

19. Research and find new restaurants to try out together {thai, chinese, korean bbq, japanese, etc}

20. Visit thrift stores and look for new treasures

21. Grab hot chocolate early Saturday morning and hit local garage sales together

22. Laser tag group date

23. Make tin foil dinners and cook them along with s'mores over a cozy bonfire

24. Have a 3 course fondue meal together 

25. Watch the sunrise then make breakfast

Also check out this article 148 Romantic Date Ideas for some more date inspiration!

Have fun!

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Relieve Stress As a Couple

With all of the technology available to us today it seems to keep us more connected than ever. That could be considered a good and a bad thing. The good part being that we can catch up with family or friends whenever we'd like, the bad being that we miss out of the simple joys in life because we are so caught up in our phones. What can also come with being so technologically connected is that we are far more stressed than we ever were before. Constantly checking our to-do lists, responding to emails, and keeping up on our social media accounts. It's exhausting! Here are some different ways you can relieve stress and start to reconnect with your spouse sans technology:

+ Talk a walk outside {leave your phones at home} and talk about your day

+ Teach each other how to play a sport {teach him a tennis swing & her how to throw a football}

+ Hit the jacuzzi with some friends to catch up

+ Go on a mini-date to grab some frozen yogurt

+ Plan a low key BBQ together in which you invite friends and family

+ When you both come home from work, charge your phones in the other room and talk over dinner

+ Kiss him/her more! {Become intimate more often}

+ Take an impromptu trip to the pool/beach/lake

+ Take a cooking class or learn new recipes together

+ Focus on giving service to one another {i.e. making lunch before he goes to work, helping to do dishes, doing laundry, helping with the kids}

+ Go on a bike ride and explore new parts of your neighborhood

Do you have any other stress relieving ideas that work for you?

Leave them in the comments!

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