What does your husband consider relaxing?

One of the most marriage-testing conversations a couple can have takes place in the aisles of your local video store. You want romance and subtitles – he wants guns and grunts.

Let him win the media wars as you suggest an action-packed, car-chasing-things-exploding thriller.

Prayer for Today
Dear God, help me enjoy the things my husband enjoys. Let him see that I try to connect with him in ways that are big and small.

Getting Creative

• It doesn’t matter if this happens at home or the local Cineplex. Just find the movie and go.

• Don’t want your husband’s suspicions aroused? If you’re renting, perhaps get two movies – one you both agree on and one just for him.

Your Project:
Find a movie that he will love and watch it together – without whining.

By Paula Friedrichsen

Last week I sat on the floor of my den and looked at family pictures for over three hours. I didn’t intend to spend all afternoon looking at pictures. I had simply decided to dust off the photo albums and move on to my next project. But one thing led to another, [Read more...]

Keep it simple today. Put a Post-It in his briefcase, on his dashboard, in his wallet; anywhere he will find it. Make it fun, make it flirty, but just make sure he is the one who will find it. Wink-wink.

Prayer for Today
Wherever he is God, remind my husband that he is loved and thought of.

Getting Creative
Think about your husband’s day and all the places he might find your note:

• The spare change tray in his car
• His drawer in the bathroom
• Under his car keys
• Your mailbox
• In his shoe
• In the medicine cabinet

Your Project:
Leave a cute and flirty note for your husband to find.

Back to food.

One of our favorite getaway spots is a little bed and breakfast in the mountains. When you ask my husband why he likes it so much, you very well might hear about the cheese and cracker plate with fruit that is always waiting for us when we arrive.

It’s time to take a little of the B&B experience home.

Why not have a snack to share when he gets home? Some of his favorite nuts and chocolates up in your room, or some cheese and crackers out on the patio could be just the transition he needs after a long day.

Prayer for Today

Dear God, remind me to treat my husband with more care and honor than any guest who comes into our home.

Getting Creative

• My husband loves a special kind of root beer that we cannot keep in the house. (With four teenagers it’s hard to keep them from eating anything within their line of sight.) If I want to make sure he can have a cold drink after work, I hide it under the veggies in the crisper – no chance of the kids looking there.
• If your husband gets home before you do, plan ahead by hiding a treat in the fridge for him. Call during the day to let him know that it’s waiting for him.

My husband loves to go out to dinner. He promises me it has nothing to do with my cooking; he just likes the whole experience of dining on the town. Recently, I went to his favorite Mexican restaurant and got a gift card with just enough on it to cover dinner for two. When he drove into the garage that evening, I ambushed him and let him know that dinner was on me tonight.

With the car still running I jumped in and we headed to our slightly impromptu date night. That has probably been the most successful project for me so far – he still talks about how great it was to come home and see that it was all planned out.

Prayer for Today
Dear God, it’s my deepest desire that my husband knows he is loved and cherished. Let my words, planning and actions reflect that everyday.

Getting Creative

• If you don’t know whether your husband will be in the kind of mood that an ambush dinner requires, present him with the gift card to be used tonight, or another night of his choice.

• Steaks on the BBQ when he gets home may be just the thing your man would love.

• The aroma of cooking can be as much a part of this project as the food itself. Having lasagna baking in the oven with garlic bread ready to go would be most husbands’ dreams come true.

Your Project:
Make it his favorite meal – whether it’s eating out or eating in.

I keep a pretty frenetic pace in life. That along with the fact that we have four kids, has meant, sadly, sleeping in for my husband has become nothing but a distant memory.

Make an opportunity today to let your husband have the morning he would like. If he wants to sleep in, do what’s needed to make that happen. If his idea of a great morning is getting up and going for a run, or going to look at classic cars, make that happen – whether you go together or he wants to go by himself to linger, no worries. Any answer here is valid – just as long as it’s something that blesses him.

Obviously this is best done on his day off, so swap days accordingly.

Prayer for Today
Dear God, I pray that my husband finds places of rest in his day. Let me contribute to that today.

Getting Creative

• Let him in on your plans for his day off. You can ask him earlier in the week what he would like to do on his day off. Find out if you really need a babysitter, or would he like to hike with you and the kids in a nearby park?

• Start planning early in the week. The sooner you start planning, the less stress there will be to arrange for any last minute details. Remember, the point is not to stress you out; it’s to bless your guy.

Your Project:
Whatever it takes to let him have some time off, make it happen. That simple.