{"id":21356,"date":"2023-06-27T08:00:45","date_gmt":"2023-06-27T12:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21356"},"modified":"2023-06-17T12:48:53","modified_gmt":"2023-06-17T16:48:53","slug":"ways-to-strengthen-the-importance-of-marriage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2023\/06\/ways-to-strengthen-the-importance-of-marriage.html","title":{"rendered":"Ways to Strengthen The Importance of Marriage"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A cell phone started ringing in the middle of a couple\u2019s wedding. The minister who was marrying the couple was\u00a0not\u00a0amused. As he started chiding the congregation about turning off their phones, he realized it was his cell that had been ringing. Oops.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s that time of year when wedding stories are the topic of many conversations. Positive or negative, marriage ranks #7 on the Holmes-Rahe stress scale; martial separation ranks higher at #3 and marital reconciliation is #9. Therefore, the work of getting married and staying married can be stressful but is definitely worth the effort and commitment. When marriage is done right, the benefits outweigh the negatives. For example, married people live longer and are generally healthier than single people.<\/p>\n

Despite all the known marital benefits, the number of people who cohabitate continues to be on the rise. \u00a0Surprisingly, the biggest rise is among those 50 and over. This group has grown 75%, possibly due to relaxed attitudes towards living together, divorce and legal issues. Whatever the reasons, know that marriage is still God\u2019s plan for couples and families. Both God and science confirm marriage as a better alternative than living together.<\/p>\n

To understanding marriage is to know that it was designed to be a covenant, not a contract as our current culture now defines it. A covenant is an unbreakable promise. Marital love is more than a feeling. The biblical love chapter (1 Corinthians 13<\/a>) so often read at weddings tells us that love is patient and<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>kind; love<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>does not envy or boast; it<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>is not arrogant<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>or rude. It<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>does not insist on its own way; it<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>is not irritable or resentful;<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>it<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>rejoices with the truth.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things,<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>endures all things. Love never ends. <\/em>Imagine applying this definition of love to your marriage. It would be a game changer.<\/p>\n

When you recognize the importance of marriage, do everything you can to strengthen it. Here are 6 ways to keep a marriage strong:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Touch is powerful<\/strong>. Most married couples hug for 3 seconds or less each day. You can change your biochemistry for the positive by hugging your spouse daily! And cuddle in bed. Couples who cuddle and touch skin-to-kin have more relationship satisfaction.<\/li>\n
  2. Spend time together as a couple<\/strong>. Whether it is a staycation, a short weekend or vacation away, focus on each other and reconnect. Take time to relax and enjoy each other without distractions.<\/li>\n
  3. Focus on the positives of your relationship<\/strong>. What are you grateful for and what about your spouse do you love or like? This positive focus improves mood and feelings towards your partner. It is characteristic of healthy couples.<\/li>\n
  4. Create goals and meaning together<\/strong>. What do you both care about and could involve yourself in doing that would bring you together? That might be ministry in a church, starting a business, remodeling, working for a charity, etc.<\/li>\n
  5. Have your spouse\u2019s back<\/strong>. Your spouse should feel you will always be there to support them. The more security you have in the marriage, the more esteem and feelings of romantic love you will have.<\/li>\n
  6. Love deeply<\/strong>. 1 Peter 4:8 says, \u201cAbove all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” Marriages are not perfect. Spouses have bad days and make mistakes. Forgiveness is key, but love will keep you strong.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A cell phone started ringing in the middle of a couple\u2019s wedding. The minister who was marrying the couple was\u00a0not\u00a0amused. As he started chiding the congregation about turning off their phones, he realized it was his cell that had been ringing. Oops. It\u2019s that time of year when wedding stories are the topic of many…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[913],"tags":[517,2025,7169,300,1210,125,311,7172,4845],"class_list":["post-21356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-couple-relationships","tag-cohabitation","tag-couples-relationships","tag-importance-of-imarriage","tag-love","tag-marital-covenant","tag-marriage","tag-partners","tag-strengthen-marriage","tag-touch"],"yoast_head":"\nWays to Strengthen The Importance of Marriage<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It\u2019s that time of year when wedding stories are the topic of many conversations. Marriage ranks #7 on the Holmes-Rahe stress scale.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21356\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ways to Strengthen The Importance of Marriage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s that time of year when wedding stories are the topic of many conversations. Marriage ranks #7 on the Holmes-Rahe stress scale.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21356\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doing Life Together\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-06-27T12:00:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-06-17T16:48:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2023\/06\/marriage-4226896_1280-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Mintle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drlindamintle\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ways to Strengthen The Importance of Marriage","description":"It\u2019s that time of year when wedding stories are the topic of many conversations. Marriage ranks #7 on the Holmes-Rahe stress scale.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21356","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ways to Strengthen The Importance of Marriage","og_description":"It\u2019s that time of year when wedding stories are the topic of many conversations. Marriage ranks #7 on the Holmes-Rahe stress scale.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21356","og_site_name":"Doing Life Together","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","article_published_time":"2023-06-27T12:00:45+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-06-17T16:48:53+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2023\/06\/marriage-4226896_1280-scaled.jpg"}],"author":"Linda Mintle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@drlindamintle","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21356","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21356","name":"Ways to Strengthen The Importance of Marriage","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21356#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21356#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2023\/06\/marriage-4226896_1280-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2023-06-27T12:00:45+00:00","dateModified":"2023-06-17T16:48:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142"},"description":"It\u2019s that time of year when wedding stories are the topic of many conversations. Marriage ranks #7 on the Holmes-Rahe stress scale.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21356#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21356"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21356#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2023\/06\/marriage-4226896_1280-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2023\/06\/marriage-4226896_1280-scaled.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=21356#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ways to Strengthen The Importance of Marriage"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/","name":"Doing Life Together","description":"Relationship Doctor, Mental Health, Emotional Wellness, Relationship Advice & Entertainment","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142","name":"Linda Mintle","description":"It is rare that a trained academic who speaks passionately to the heart of people providing real answers to real life problems is so relatable. Dr. Linda\u2019s fun personality and expertise comes through whether she\u2019s helping her audience stress less or make peace with their thighs! Dr. Linda has her Ph.D. in Urban Health and Clinical Psychology and is a national expert on mental health. She has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety, depression and pain management. With 30 years of clinical experience working with couples, families and individuals, she brings her common-sense approach to people who want to live in positive mental health. Dr. Linda is also a bestselling author with 21 book titles to her credit, a radio host of the Dr. Linda Mintle show, professor, national speaker, winner of the Mom\u2019s Choice Award, a national news consultant, featured writer for Beliefnet and hosts her own website. Her academic appointments keep her abreast of current research in her areas of expertise. Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family\u2019s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to everyday living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought-after speaker on college campuses, conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and integrate faith and mental health in everyday living. Check out her latest book Hope and Healing for Anxiety, a whole-person approach to eliminate anxiety. .","sameAs":["https:\/\/drlindamintle.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/x.com\/drlindamintle"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/author\/lmintle"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21356"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21365,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21356\/revisions\/21365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}