God is the source of love – He created it!
How can we prepare ourselves for lifelong love and commitment?
Today as Jo talks with husband and wife team Bill and Pam Farrel about what to know about communication and commitment before you walk into a marriage. Bill and Pam’s book is The Before-You-Marry Book of Questions.
They unpack the following points:
- The joys and cautions of ‘puppy love’ in a dating relationship.
- Compatibility
- Our minds are patterned to look for the “exhiliration” of chemistry and instant connection, only to look for another partner when the exhiliration and excitement end. Strong marriages are built on commitment and covenant rather than fleeting feelings of romance.
- Warning signs
- The four love personalities
- Is this person good with their money? Is your judgment clouded because you’re involved with them sexually? Is there any mental, emotional, or physical abuse.
- What to discuss before marriage
- Pam points out the the three most common areas of conflict within marriage are money, children, and sex. Each of these needs to be brought up in your dating and engaged relationship before you decide to get married.
- The dynamics of a healthy friendship with your spouse.
- How to love your spouse when you don’t understand them?
- Do you enjoy being around this person? Can you laugh together? Are you able to sit in a room and be quiet with them?
Bill points out that these steps are not meant to scare us but prepare us. Marriage is not something to be feared, but something to be stewarded. “It’s such a powerful relationship; there’s nothing else on earth like it. We need to go into it asking honest question – do we have what it takes to become a successful couple?” With God’s help and direction, we can enter marriage with confidence that we’re making a wise choice. Bill says, don’t rush things; our goal is long-term gain. “Know how to be in love and how to wait.”
This program has been pre-recorded.
Image: Flickr
