July 23, 2021

Fall 2021 Marriage Supplement

Couple offers tips for making marriage work

By Natalie Hoefer

Troy and Kathleen Billings—Catholic marriage ministry leaders, bloggers and authors—recently offered tips and advice on making marriage work at All Saints Parish in Dearborn County on June 12. (Related story: Marriage event provides ‘an avenue of grace’ for couples)

Below are snippets of advice and tips the couple offered:
 

  • “The difference between a creek and a river is that boulders and rocks can alter the flow of a creek because its shallow. But they don’t alter the flow of a river because it’s deeper. God intended marriage to be like a river, not a creek.”
     
  • “If you do a little different thing each day—get up early with the kids or make a call so your spouse doesn’t have to—these build up over time to say ‘I love you.’ ”
     
  • “In the words of St. Therese the Little Flower, ‘Do little things with great love.’ When you see your spouse do something extra, compliment them. Remember that small things add up to a great marriage.”
     
  • “Do you date your spouse? As you get busier and have more kids, you need to stoke the fire of your marriage. It’s easier to stoke a fire than to build a fire again after it’s gone out.”
     
  • “Take 15 minutes a day to talk with your spouse about how each of you is doing. That’s about 1% of your day.”
     
  • “One of the best ways to insure a healthy and holy marriage is to pray together. Maybe it’s the Our Father, the rosary, spontaneous prayer or making a holy hour together. A holy hour guarantees at least one hour of silence in your week! It’s a date night with Jesus.”
     
  • “The greatest gift you can give your kids is to love your spouse. Kids notice the little things you say and do for your spouse, and it’s important to them.” †

 

See more from our Fall 2021 Marriage Supplement

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