What's the 2-2-2-2 Rule for healthy marriages?

2 - Every two weeks go on a date.
2 - Twice a week be sexually intimate.
2 - Two times a year take a trip overnight without kids.
2 - Every two years go somewhere multiple nights without the kids.

The four 2's can bless your marriage.

Shower together.
Kiss longer.
Lock the bedroom door.
You're married.
Enjoy each other.

The goal isn't just to stay married.

The goal is to stay married ... and continuing to flirt, touch, and choose each other, because we're still in love years from now.

My husband. Every day. Married 49 years. Tells me I’m beautiful. My hair looks nice. He loves me. Calls me “Dove”, my nickname since I was 16. And I treat him equally well. So blessed.

Christian Wives: It's okay to be a Proverbs 31 woman in the streets, and a Song of Solomon woman in the sheets.

Both books made it into the Bible, ladies.

I did a funeral for a man that had been married to his wife for 55 years. "It wasn't just any 55 years, it was 55 good years," his widow told me.

After the service I found myself standing alone at his casket along with his wife. She was trying to figure out how to say her last goodbye before they closed her husband's casket for the final time.

She looked at me, smiled and said, "He kissed me every night at bedtime and hugged me every morning when we got up. He faithfully sent me flowers, and still told me everyday that I was beautiful." I felt as if I was listening in on a private conversation as she continued to tell me, "He often called me Hazel." I asked how she got that nickname and she said, "My eyes are hazel, and he always told me how beautiful my eyes were." I smiled at her as my heart hurt for her.

It was then she continued to talk, but now she spoke to him and not to me. "Thank you for being so good to me," she said with tears and a smile, "I will miss you, and I will see you soon." She patted him on the hand, kissed him on the forehead and nodded to me and said softly, "Okay, I'm ready. Let's go."

As I drove to the cemetery to say a few last words for the family, I realized that I had been privileged to witness a very holy last moment between a husband and wife. I couldn't help but be thankful and inspired by this man who was no longer alive.

I sat for a moment by myself to collect my thoughts ... and then I prayed, "Lord, please raise up more men who will hug their wife every morning, kiss her every night and remind her every day that she's beautiful."

~Trey

20 WAYS TO ROMANCE YOUR SPOUSE!

1. Tell her she looks amazing.
2. Tell him he looks incredible.
3. Send her a sweet text message.
4. Send him a sexy text message.
5. Plan the entire date night and take her out.
6. Cook their favorite dinner.
7. Wear something sexy to bed.
8. Do something with him he likes to do.
9. Put on some perfume.
10. Hide a love note for them to find.
11. Hold her hand.
12. Sit on his lap.
13. Praise them in front of the kids.
14. Praise them in front of their friends.
15. Snuggle on the couch.
16. Take a bath or shower together.
17. Offer a massage.
18. Initiate sex.
19. Buy her favorite candy for her.
20. Tell them how proud they make you.

Registration is open for TWO upcoming events. Mississippi (Memphis Tennessee) and Jacksonville NC. Come join us. Both events will be free.

Comment SOUTHAVEN or JACKSONVILLE and we'll shoot you the link with more info.

If strangers, coworkers and friends see a better side of you than your spouse sees, something is terribly wrong.

SEXUAL FACTS ABOUT MEN THAT WIVES MUST KNOW: (read until the end)

1 - Men think about intimacy every day, not because they are bad, because it's how they connect.

2 - Testosterone peaks in the morning.

3 - Men feel connected and in love through intimacy, while women need love to be intimate.

4 - When a man is stressed intimacy is often his escape, not his burden.

5 - Rejection in bed hurts men deeper than you think.

6 - A man who is satisfied at home becomes more loyal and protective.

7 - For him, sex is not just sex it's feeling wanted and connection.

SEXUAL FACTS ABOUT WOMEN THAT HUSBANDS MUST KNOW

1 - For many women, emotional connection fuels sexual desire. Feeling loved, valued, and understood matters.

2 - Women want to feel desired, not just sexually available. Pursue her affectionately outside the bedroom, too.

3 - Stress and exhaustion can interfere with a woman's sexual desire. Helping carry her burdens can make intimacy easier.

4 - Many women need time to become sexually aroused. Don't rush intimacy. Affection, patience, and foreplay matter.

5 - Women want to feel beautiful and wanted. Your compliments, attention, and affection can strengthen her confidence.

6 - Emotional safety matters in the bedroom. Feeling respected, accepted, and free from pressure helps intimacy flourish.

7 - Women can enjoy and desire sex just as much as men. Don't assume she isn't interested simply because she expresses desire differently.

8 - For many women, sexual intimacy strengthens emotional connection. Sex isn't just physical pleasure; it can communicate love, trust, and closeness.

Men and women often have more in common sexually than we realize. Both want to feel loved, desired, respected, and connected. Sexual desire varies greatly from person to person, so these are common patterns rather than universal facts.

10 GREAT rules for Marriage Sex ...

WAYS TO MAKE YOUR MARRIAGE LAST:

1. Be kind.
2. Be sexually generous.
3. Be there.
4. Be grateful.
5. Be helpful.
6. Be forgiving.
7. Be faithful.

Don't make your spouse jealous of how you treat other people ... make other people jealous of how well you treat your spouse.

When I was newly married I told a woman at church that I didn’t like when my husband worked nights because I wanted us to sleep together. She laughed and said something like, “Oh you’re still in the honeymoon phase, you’ll enjoy having the bed to yourself later.” Well, she was wrong. Several years later, even when my sleep quality is less, I still prefer my husband next to me.

WAYS TO MAKE YOUR MARRIAGE LAST:

1. Be kind.
2. Be sexually generous.
3. Be there.
4. Be grateful.
5. Be helpful.
6. Be forgiving.
7. Be faithful.

Someone asked us recently how often we go on dates, and Lea relied, “Since we became empty-nesters it’s like we’re on one long continuous date.”

Lea and I will both admit that we are REALLY enjoying the empty nest stage of our lives. One reason is that we didn't just focus on raising our kids over the past 30+ years of our marriage; we also spent time investing in our marriage.

When you spend all your time investing in your children and choose to wait to build your marriage AFTER your children leave home, you'll probably find that you have both an empty nest and an empty marriage. Many couples do this, and sadly it's the reason there is a little spike in the divorce rate immediately after empty nest begins for many.

So while your children are at home, love them, raise them, discipline them, give them your attention, but don't be so singularly focused on raising them that you forget you are also husband and wife. Continue to date, flirt, hold hands, spend some money on a getaway trip, and build intimacy while raising your children. When you do ... these things will just come naturally after the kids leave home someday.

Put some time and money into your marriage while the kids are at home ... and the return will be amazing.

~ Trey

16 HEALTHY THINGS FOR A SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGE

1. Make your partner a priority.
2. Keep up your appearance.
3. Remember to say thank you.
4. Keep the romance alive.
5. Take an interest in the other’s interests.
6. Make time for some fun together.
7. Now that you’ve chosen your love, love your choice.
8. Communicate your needs.
9. Strive to put your spouse’s needs first.
10. Make God a HUGE part of your marriage.
11. Be liberal with forgiveness.
12. Talk about everything together.
13. Be loyal to your spouse.
14. Don’t make a big deal out of small things.
15. Share the responsibility of making a home & marriage.
16. Make time for one another.

Hey MEMPHIS TN ... Hope to see you in Southaven Mississippi.

MARRIAGE TIP: If it's important to your spouse, it should be important to you.

Husbands, PLEASE don't listen to garbage like this.

Such horrible advice.

If a husband cheats simply because he doesn't feel he's getting enough sex during a period of time in his marriage, he's not a high quality husband ... he's simply a cheater and NOT a faithful man.

Despite what you may read on some of X's "Husband Pages" ... it's TOTALLY okay to ask your wife if tonight is a good night for sex. It's called initiating and BOTH husband and wife should do it.

Don't believe the lie that "sex between two people who want each other just happens naturally," and you don't ever have to say anything about.

Healthy married sex communicates your wants, needs and desires.