I Vow: Never Give Up, Day 5

Read: Matthew 19:1-6, Genesis 2:4-25
Over the past few weeks you’ve learned from God’s Word how to build a thriving marriage by doing these five things: seeking God, fighting fair, having fun, staying pure, and never giving up. Sure, these five things sound easy to do, but it will take a lot of work from both of you, but your marriage is worth it. Don’t let your marriage become part of rising statistics. Remember that God placed you together just as He placed Adam and Eve together in Genesis 2. You were designed to complement each other, to be companions, to love each other, and to carry out God’s divine will for your marriage and your lives.
Talk: Discuss what next steps you need to take in order to ensure you continue to grow and protect your marriage.
Pray: Thank God for all you’ve learned about each other and your marriage over the past few weeks. Ask Him to help guide the next steps you take towards a long, healthy marriage.
Do: Do something special to express your love to your spouse and your devotion to ensuring that your marriage lasts for a lifetime.

I Vow: Never Give Up, Day 4

Read: Titus 2:1-10, 1 Peter 5:1-5
When it comes to growing your marriage and fighting for your marriage, you can’t do it alone. You need other married couples mentoring both of you. Allowing a more mature, wiser couple to speak into your marriage during both the good and bad times is essential to having a long and healthy marriage.
Talk: Discuss these questions with your spouse: who are some couples you admire for their strong marriage? What can we learn from them?
Pray: Ask God to bring the right couples into your life that will help grow your marriage.
Do: If you don’t have a couple mentoring your marriage, decide with your spouse on a couple you can approach to ask to become your marriage mentors. If you already have marriage mentors, do something special for them today to thank them for the positive influence they have on your marriage.

I Vow: Never Give Up, Day 3

Read: Nehemiah 4:1-23
Family is worth fighting for. Your marriage is worth fighting for. Don’t give up when times get tough and instead do as Nehemiah said, “…fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” If you are heading towards divorce, fight against it. If your relationship with your spouse is strained, fight against it and seek restoration. If you’ve been hurt by your spouse and you’re holding a grudge, fight against it. Let that grudge go and forgive them.
Talk: Admit any grudges you have with your spouse and forgive them. Discuss those areas of your marriage that need restoration.
Pray: Ask God to equip you with the tools you need to fight for your marriage when it comes under attack.
Do: Commit to staying actively involved in reading God’s Word together and praying together by choosing a new reading plan or devotional to begin next week.

I Vow: Never Give Up, Day 2

Read: Ephesians 6:10-20, John 10:7-10
God never promised us an easy life. As followers of Christ, we will face difficult times. The same goes for our marriages. We have a spiritual enemy whose purpose according to John 10:10 is to steal, kill, and destroy. Our spiritual enemy wants to take you out and he would love nothing more than to take your marriage out as well. Just knowing the fact that your marriage will be attacked will help you fight for your marriage.
Talk: Discuss with your spouse some of the ways you feel your marriage is under spiritual attack.
Pray: Ask God to help you recognize when your marriage is under attack and guide you on the best ways to fight for your marriage.
Do: Work on a simple project together or do one of your chores together. As you work together, enjoy a time of quality conversation.

I Vow: Never Give Up, Day 1

Marriage is not easy. Do you remember your vow of loving each other for better or for worse? You are guaranteed to face tough times together as a couple, but you cannot give up when times get tough. It’s not an option. This week you will read from God’s Word about the importance of not giving up in your marriage and discuss ways you can do this in your marriage.

Read: Matthew 5:31-32, Mark 10:1-12

It seems many married couples have lost their will to fight. We see evidence of this in the growing divorce rate. God’s Word tells us divorce should never be an option. When times get tough in your marriage, the word “divorce” should never enter into your vocabulary. Your marriage is worth fighting for. Never give up! 

Talk: Discuss with your spouse how you’ve seen divorce impact your family and the families of those you know.

Pray: Ask God to help remove the word divorce from your vocabulary and give you both the will and determination to never give up when times get tough.

Do: Look up your wedding vows or find some vows online you both like and recite them to each other. Take time to write new vows that will help shape the vision for the future of your marriage.

I Vow: Stay Pure, Day 5

Read: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, Colossians 3:1-25
When impurity enters into a marriage, the results can be devastating. Take a moment today to visualize the wake of destruction that would result if you were impure in your marriage. Visualize explaining to your kids, visualize losing your reputation, visualize losing the respect of your spouse and family, visualize breaking the heart of God, and visualize one day meeting God and giving an account of your actions. Do everything you can to stay pure. Your marriage depends on it!
Talk: Ask your spouse to share with you one way you can be more present in your marriage.
Pray: Spend time praying for each other today. Pray that God will give you the desire to remain pure at all costs.
Do: Give your spouse a hug or a kiss every time you see them today.

I Vow: Stay Pure, Day 4

Read: Psalm 119:1-16
The second type of purity everyone must focus on is inward purity. This type of purity refers to the condition of your heart. In fact, if you are struggling with outward purity, it’s likely the result of a lack of inward purity. Inward purity begins in your heart through a relationship with Christ, and you maintain inward purity by nurturing and continually growing your relationship with Him. Inward purity is also the result focusing your mind and thoughts on Christ and not on things that are impure. Be passionate about pleasing God and living a life of total purity, both inside and out.
Talk: Share with your spouse the current condition of your heart. Discuss what things both of you need to do in order to maintain inward purity.
Pray: Ask God to help both of you make inward changes you need to make in order to have a pure heart.
Do: Publicly express your love for your spouse today. A great way to do so would be to post something positive about your spouse on Facebook or Twitter or to speak well of them in front of others.

I Vow: Stay Pure, Day 3

Read: Ephesians 5:1-21
There are two types of purity everyone must focus on. The first is outward purity, which is the way in which you behave. Think about this: if your spouse were to watch a video of the way you behaved for an entire day, would they be proud or disappointed? Does the way you dress reflect purity? Does the way you talk reflect purity? Does what you look at or watch reflect purity?
Talk: Ask each other this question: What outward changes do you need to make to reflect a life of purity?
Pray: Ask God to convict you of any outward changes you need to make and to help you make those changes as you both strive for purity.
Do: Find a new or fun recipe and cook something together. While you cook, enjoy some great conversation.

I Vow: Stay Pure, Day 2

Read: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, Romans 13:12-14
Unfortunately, the amount of impurity is growing in marriages and causing an increasing number to break apart. Studies show there are three primary reasons for the increase in impurity. First, there are more temptations today than in the past thanks largely to such technologies as texting, social media, and the many websites dedicated to pornography. Second, people are getting married later in life. Finally, there is a growing sense of entitlement causing people to justify such things as living together before marriage, viewing pornography, or even having affairs. Because these and other factors make it easier to lose your purity before and during marriage, it’s vital you do not compromise and put yourself at risk.
Talk: Ask your spouse: how are we compromising and putting ourselves at risk when it comes to purity?
Pray: Ask God to protect your marriage from all impurity and to help you address any at-risk issues there may be in your marriage.
Do: Write a short love letter to your spouse today and find a creative way to give it to them.

I Vow: Stay Pure, Day 1

Purity is absolutely vital to having a long and healthy marriage. Too often it is lack of purity that causes marriages to fail. This week you will learn the importance of purity in your marriage and discuss ways you can ensure your marriage remains pure.

Read: Hebrews 13:1-8

God’s Word is very clear about purity. You must keep yourself pure so your marriage can remain pure. You must not allow toxins into your life that can tarnish your purity and destroy your marriage.

Talk: Confess to your spouse something in your life that you’ve placed ahead of your spouse and God.

Pray: Ask God to help you remove those things that are distracting you from focusing on your spouse and that could bring impurity into your marriage.

Do: Give up something this week you love as a sign of your commitment to purity in your marriage.