#13 Plan weekly meetings with your spouse {52 bites}

After yesterday’s news, I kind of don’t want to do anything but pray! I want to just walk around asking people what they need and PRAY for them. Wow, seriously.

But in the few spare moments when we are not praying for miracles, it’s also helpful to have meetings with our spouses. Truly, I believe this.  The reason being, unless we are purposeful about setting aside time to download, plan, and get synched with our spouses, the weeks turn into months turn into years and next thing we know we are just constantly reacting to the day’s events without every turning and looking toward the future with purpose and intentionality.

Also, at least for us, when these “business” meetings don’t take place, what usually happens is that date night becomes a business meeting. Business must be taken care of, so if it’s not during a meeting designed for that purpose, it will creep in all over and the fun will be kicked to the curb.

We were so blessed last night to have a special anniversary date. The kids were sent to my parents’ house and we had all evening and this morning to talk, catch up, pray, just be together. So good! Wives, we must pray for and work to make time for this!

A few thoughts:

• Plan a time each week when the kids are in bed but you aren’t completely wiped (some of you are raising an eyebrow wondering when on earth that is?). For us it’s Sunday nights. Jeff is usually home from work around 8pm, so we meet then. I like having it as the start of our week so we’re on the same page with our schedules, plans, goals.
• Pray together.  I dare say we are all convinced that God hears our prayers, yes? (6 minutes to a better marriage here)
• Synch schedules and share expectations for the week.  One thing that has been helpful for us is setting mutually-agreed-upon deadlines. That sounds harsh, but sometimes we ask our spouse to do something, and then get frustrated when it is not done. So we specify: “Can you please have the car serviced by next Sunday?” Yes. Or, “If these things are not sorted by next week may I please do it myself?”  Or, “I understand you are tired and don’t feel like talking about this issue right now. Can we plan to talk about it when we meet on Sunday?” Having a weekly meeting enables you to keep short accounts with each other and talk through any things that arise during the week.
• Ask how you can serve your spouse that week. Does he have any special dinner requests? Are there stressful meetings on his docket and he needs special grace? Does he need prayer for something specific?

Obviously this meeting can look however it needs to for you. But the important thing is having it. (BTW, the same is true for a roommate!)

So tell me: How do you and your spouse remain connected and on the same page? Do you have weekly meetings? How do you maintain great communication? I’d love to hear your tips and ideas for staying on the same track. With just 9 years under our belt, we are still newbies and craving more and more wisdom! Thanks so much. Have a great weekend and thanks for reading.