Relationship Resolution for a New Year

So as we bring 2014 to a close, have you made any resolutions for the New Year?  Eat better, exercise, quit smoking, get out of debt, get back to church are a few that I have heard.  I'd like to encourage you to think about the important relationships in your life and what you can do make that relationship a higher priority in 2015. Your spouse, your children, your boyfriend or girlfriend, your fiance.  It is so easy to take that relationship for granted and be complacent about it.

Here are some ideas to consider to make that relationship stronger.  Pray for your relationship, and also pray for that person regularly. Make it a priority to spend more meaningful time together.  That may mean giving something up to carve out more time for that.  Ask him/her what you can do to improve the relationship.  You may be surprised at what you hear!  Think of what you can do or say to encourage them with what is important in their life, their schooling, their work, and important goal they are seeking to achieve, etc.  

There are lots of practical things you can do, what matters most is deciding that the relationship is important enough to give it your time, attention and effort.  If there is one thing I have learned in 30 years of marriage, ministry, and marriage counseling, it is this:  marriage takes work, it doesn't just happen.  And this is true of any significant relationship in your life.  How much effort will give it in 2015?

Blessings,
Dr. Paul