Spice Up Your Marriage

A surefire way to strengthen your marriage is through the regular usage of sincere compliments. What makes a compliment sincere? When your spouse recognizes that you’re not just saying something out of obligation, or to manipulate a situation, or to get yourself out of trouble, or to impress others who may be listening. A compliment should arise from a personalized appreciation of your spouse and become an expression of your praise to them.

Successful songwriters understand the emotional intensity and importance of compliments as they capture this in not only their lyrics, but even in their song titles:
     -How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You
     -You Are The Sunshine Of My Life
     -God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You
     -You’re The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me

Think about the power of a compliment. What happens when you say something kind and complimentary to someone? Outwardly they usually smile, hold their head just a littler higher, and walk a bit taller. Inwardly that person is given incomparable strength and encouragement to move forward.

Kind words are like honey – sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. (Proverbs 16:24)

When our children were young, we did our best to teach them about the power of paying compliments within the family. Sitting around the dinner table, each was required to say something positive about the other family members. Sometimes it might be directed toward the sibling or parent sitting to their right or left; at other times they might have to find something uplifting to say about each person present. The guidelines were simple. It had to be spoken in the first person while making eye contact with the individual they were addressing. Although complimenting on appearance and behavior is very important, we tried to steer them to look a bit deeper and learn how to compliment each other's character.

A person’s words can be life-giving water. (Proverbs 18:4)

Experts tell us that it takes twenty-one days of repetitious behavior to forge a new habit. Take the next three weeks to practice complimenting your spouse. See what it does for your marriage. Giving a heartfelt compliment is free so we are left without excuse when we don’t utilize this wonderfully convenient relationship enhancer.