I have to admit, it seems a little weird to write about romance on my daughter’s blog…but I promised her I would, so here we go!

My wife (Tina) and I met in the seventh grade and were good friends for several years. Around our junior year in high school we began dating, our senior year we were engaged, then we married a month after graduation. Like all young married couples, our plans were simple…we could live off of our love.

At this point, it is important to know for the first seven years of our marriage, Tina was a Christian, and I was not. I did my best to shower her with my love in a variety of ways. It wasn’t until after becoming a Christian, that I realized my love for my wife was lacking. I grew up in a home that showed love for each other, but nothing like the love God showed when He sent His only Son to die on the cross for me. Nothing like the love that Christ demonstrated on the cross, when He traded my sinfulness, for His Righteousness. My love needed to change! I needed to love the Lord with all my heart, which allowed me to love my wife in a much deeper way then I ever could have without Him. Since this time, my wife and I have tried to use Ephesians 5:22-6:4 as a guide for our marriage and family.

Over the years, we have had to work at keeping love alive and well. I will share with you some of the things we did, not so that you might duplicate them, but to share some ideas, and stress the importance of making it a priority.

1.     My wife used to like to dance with me, and had been bugging me to take her for years. I struggled with where to go, that wouldn’t be a bar or dance hall environment. When I finally took the time to put my mind to it, this is what I came up with. I cleared everything out of our dining room, because it had a hardwood floor. Strung heart-shaped lights around the room, brought in two wooden stools, a boom box with a lot of her favorite music, lit some candles, arranged a boutique of roses, and waited for her to come home from work. We had a wonderful night of dancing together.

2.     I arranged a dozen red roses, after I placed a white tag on each stem, explaining to her the dozen reasons I loved her.

3.     For several years, as part of her anniversary gift, I would send her one red rose for each year we were married, and a pink rose for each of our daughters.

4.     On Valentine’s Day, I snuck into her office, decorated it all up, and set up a scavenger hunt for her to find her gifts in several location throughout the corporate office.

5.     For our 20^th anniversary, I was taking her to Hawaii. She was having a very stressful time right before we left, so I needed to cheer her up. I bought a beach pail and filled it with several items. It had suntan lotions, a CD with calming ocean waves, a Barbie doll wearing a bikini and carrying a suitcase with a nightie inside. Fastened to the pail was 10 big helium balloons. I gave her a card that read: “Each morning you come to work…pop a balloon to release pressure. When the balloons are gone…so are we! Can’t wait to spend this time with you!”

6.     For our 21^st anniversary, I wrote a poem and had it published in a book. On the author’s page, I dedicated it to my wife and daughters by name.

7.     We always went away for the night for Valentine’s Day and our anniversary.

8.     We set a date night, one a week, for us to do something as a couple.

9.     Occasionally, I would pick her up after work on Friday night, and wisp her off for the weekend. I already had everything packet in the car, and made arrangements for the girls.

These were just a few of the bigger things that meant a lot to her. Everything doesn’t have to be at this level, because some things were much cheaper, or even free. Here is a sample of some of those: I would buy her cards and flowers and not just for holidays. Those probably meant even more to her. I would put our anniversary on the local radio station, or put an ad in the paper. I would clean the house, or cook supper. I would cook, and serve her breakfast in bed. We would have couple devotions, and we would go on walks. There are a few things that we ALWAYS do: I open her doors, we hold hands, kiss, hug, and say we love each other!

As you have read, our romance started early in life. God is good, and after almost 31 years of marriage, 3 daughters, and 4 grandchildren, our romance is as strong as ever! I give God the credit, because on my own…I don’t know if it would have been possible.

I have to admit, it seems a little weird to write about romance on my daughter’s blog…but I promised her I would, so here we go!

My wife (Tina) and I met in the seventh grade and were good friends for several years. Around our junior year in high school we began dating, our senior year we were engaged, then we married a month after graduation. Like all young married couples, our plans were simple…we could live off of our love.

At this point, it is important to know for the first seven years of our marriage, Tina was a Christian, and I was not. I did my best to shower her with my love in a variety of ways. It wasn’t until after becoming a Christian, that I realized my love for my wife was lacking. I grew up in a home that showed love for each other, but nothing like the love God showed when He sent His only Son to die on the cross for me. Nothing like the love that Christ demonstrated on the cross, when He traded my sinfulness, for His Righteousness. My love needed to change! I needed to love the Lord with all my heart, which allowed me to love my wife in a much deeper way then I ever could have without Him. Since this time, my wife and I have tried to use Ephesians 5:22-6:4 as a guide for our marriage and family.

Over the years, we have had to work at keeping love alive and well. I will share with you some of the things we did, not so that you might duplicate them, but to share some ideas, and stress the importance of making it a priority.

1.     My wife used to like to dance with me, and had been bugging me to take her for years. I struggled with where to go, that wouldn’t be a bar or dance hall environment. When I finally took the time to put my mind to it, this is what I came up with. I cleared everything out of our dining room, because it had a hardwood floor. Strung heart-shaped lights around the room, brought in two wooden stools, a boom box with a lot of her favorite music, lit some candles, arranged a boutique of roses, and waited for her to come home from work. We had a wonderful night of dancing together.

2.     I arranged a dozen red roses, after I placed a white tag on each stem, explaining to her the dozen reasons I loved her.

3.     For several years, as part of her anniversary gift, I would send her one red rose for each year we were married, and a pink rose for each of our daughters.

4.     On Valentine’s Day, I snuck into her office, decorated it all up, and set up a scavenger hunt for her to find her gifts in several location throughout the corporate office.

5.     For our 20^th anniversary, I was taking her to Hawaii. She was having a very stressful time right before we left, so I needed to cheer her up. I bought a beach pail and filled it with several items. It had suntan lotions, a CD with calming ocean waves, a Barbie doll wearing a bikini and carrying a suitcase with a nightie inside. Fastened to the pail was 10 big helium balloons. I gave her a card that read: “Each morning you come to work…pop a balloon to release pressure. When the balloons are gone…so are we! Can’t wait to spend this time with you!”

6.     For our 21^st anniversary, I wrote a poem and had it published in a book. On the author’s page, I dedicated it to my wife and daughters by name.

7.     We always went away for the night for Valentine’s Day and our anniversary.

8.     We set a date night, one a week, for us to do something as a couple.

9.     Occasionally, I would pick her up after work on Friday night, and wisp her off for the weekend. I already had everything packet in the car, and made arrangements for the girls.

These were just a few of the bigger things that meant a lot to her. Everything doesn’t have to be at this level, because some things were much cheaper, or even free. Here is a sample of some of those: I would buy her cards and flowers and not just for holidays. Those probably meant even more to her. I would put our anniversary on the local radio station, or put an ad in the paper. I would clean the house, or cook supper. I would cook, and serve her breakfast in bed. We would have couple devotions, and we would go on walks. There are a few things that we ALWAYS do: I open her doors, we hold hands, kiss, hug, and say we love each other!

As you have read, our romance started early in life. God is good, and after almost 31 years of marriage, 3 daughters, and 4 grandchildren, our romance is as strong as ever! I give God the credit, because on my own…I don’t know if it would have been possible.