Creating Sustainable Rhythms in Your Marriage

Is your marriage in a rhythm? Or in a rut?

Three ruts are common to most relationships:

Seasonal ruts are positive marital rhythms that served you in a past season of marriage but are no longer helpful, such as conversation habits or work schedules.
Inherited ruts are negative rhythms you inherited and brought with you into your marriage. This includes conflict resolution or relationship expectations.
Cultural ruts are societal norms that don’t fit your relationship.

To break out of those ruts and find something deeper, more rewarding, and more meaningful in your relationship as a married couple, find ways to share adventure together, to serve one another, and to speak life to your spouse.

To learn how, listen to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. We’re talking to Chris and Jenni Graebe about their book The Rhythm of Us: Create the Thriving Marriage You Long For, which explains how to turn ruts into rhythms that will sustain your marriage across the years.

We discussed four ways to speak life into your marriage:

Affirm the Good. Praise your spouse for the good that he or she does, even if it’s done differently than you would do it.
Affirm the Gift. Acknowledge, nurture, and prioritize your spouses’ gifts.
Affirm the Truth. Affirm your spouse for who they really are.
Be for Your Spouse. Speak good words to your spouse daily.

Hear my full conversation with Chris and Jenni on your local radio station, online, on Apple Podcasts, or on our free phone app.

While you’re online, why not take a few moments to try our free Marriage Assessment online tool? It will help you quickly determine what’s working well in your relationship and identify areas where you may need some improvement.

Before I close, I’d like to extend an invitation for you to become a special partner with us through our monthly “Friends of Focus on the Family” program. When you do, I’ll send you a copy of Chris and Jenni Graebe’s book The Rhythm of Us: Create the Thriving Marriage You Long For as a way of saying thank you for touching others with the love of Christ. You’ll also receive member-exclusive benefits. To make your pledge, or for more information, click here or call 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459).

And when you help Focus on the Family with a gift, your donation will be DOUBLED for TWICE the impact in helping others through this ministry. Our thanks to generous donors who’ve made that possible.