Celebrating Marriage

(I can't find a picture of just Pete and I from the past year!!  A family pic will have to due.)

It's easy to remember to celebrate our marriages on holidays and anniversaries.  Given the state of marriage in our society it would seem prudent to celebrate and rejoice in our marriages more often.  This is the most important relationship outside of the relationship we have with God.  Do you we treat it as such on a daily basis?
Pete and I are in the process of planning a 10 year anniversary vacation.  As I plan I am wondering why I don't put more effort into celebrating each day?  It's so easy to let the ways of life get away from me and put my marriage on the back burner.  So I brain stormed a few ideas on how to celebrate my oneness with my man.

• Happy hour!  I love to surprise Pete with an appetizer and drinks (you could do tea or lemonade) when he gets home from work.
• If you can, have a bonfire after the children are in bed.  We have a second hand metal fire pit that serves the purpose.
• Have a movie night after the kids are in bed.
• Play some card games together.
• Listen to music and make a meal.
• Join your hubby in his work or a hobby he is doing.

There are so many ways we can take special time out to nurture the most important earthly relationship we have.  The time serves so many purposes.  We set an example of our heart's priorities to our families.  As women we have a time to refresh and step aside from our focus on serving in other areas.  Perhaps the most surprising benefit of taking time to enjoy my husband is the amount of refreshment I get from being with him.  That alone should spur me to set aside my daily duties and enjoy my man more!

With the crazy life I can be tempted to lead, it is so vitally important to make wise and well thought out decisions on how to spend the little bit of time I have on this earth.  I don't want to get to the end of my days and look back at the frazzled way I swung through life, but the special times I took to make certain God, marriage and family were were placed in proper priority.