Investing time with the important people in your life builds them up – and you too! People are more important than anything else, right?  In this 16th mid-marriage encouragement video we talk about people who make a difference in our life. Do we see them enough – spend time with them?

How do you make time for the important people in your life?

Sometimes those people who are most important aren’t the “squeaky wheels”, or the loudest in our life – perhaps they hesitate to make a fuss. And yet – they remain the vital relationships which make the most difference in our quality of life.

Make a Plan

Whether you visit, use a video chat service, or even the telephone, remaining connected to the important people in your life improves the quality of all your lives. Make a plan and reach out to those in your life you miss. Write those dates on a calendar, and follow through.

It’s not those things we actually do that we regret… too often it’s those actions we never get around to doing that cause the deepest regret.

Get off the “woulda, coulda, shoulda” merry-go-round and make a difference in everyone’s world!

Make a Plan for “Show and Tell” with Important People

Robert and I have been deliberate this year about making memories with our adult children and grandboy.

We meet once a week for an hour or so and have a “show and tell“. This is our way to remain connected. We each share one item (show or tell) from our life that week. And then we go on our way….  It’s too easy for the weeks to go by, and we’ve not spent any quality time with each other.

show and tell with important people

Do you have a plan for regular quality time with children to build memories? This may take some work as your children enter their teen years, and then move on as adults into their own lives. Leave a comment if you have a plan – I’d love to know what you do!

Make a Plan to Visit Important People

Do you have family and friends that live far away? We do too.

This year our son created a plan for us to travel to a church convention, and then swing by our parents (his grandparents) in Canada. This allowed us time to visit with our adult children while living together in an AirB&B house and also to meet up with friends we haven’t seen in a while at the Sunday event. After that, we spent two days with our parents. It took someone to make a plan. This year it was our son and daughter-in-love who made the plan, and I’m so thankful. (We have photos of our travels on our Instagram page.)

Who makes the plan in your family to travel to visit important people? How often do you make the time to visit those who are important, but who don’t make a lot of “noise” even though they’d love to see you?

Who prays with you?

An active prayer life is important. Making time to pray alone is imperative. Praying together as husband and wife is a powerful experience. (If you’ve not tried praying together, then just start simple – read this post to learn how.)

Who else do you pray together with? Do you have a praying church family or small group? Do you pray with them? What about a trusted minister?

Don’t let time or distance stop you from praying with people who have a strong prayer life. Reach out. Make a plan to pray with people on a regular basis. These important people who pray will make the difference in your “up” moments and in your crisis moments.  (Don’t just wait till it’s a crisis!) Start now.

Plan to pray with others – it’s a wonderful defense.

Who are the important people in your life?

Do you have a plan to invest time with them… soon? Stop procrastinating! 

(PS- we have found that the video service Zoom.us is the easiest venue to make a digital visit with far-away people!)

Making a commitment to spend time with important people…

Use a calendar – a planner – set goals…  If the “event” of a phone call or video chat is on the calendar, it’ll happen!  Here’s a resource called the “Commit30 Planner” we think is wonderful! If you scroll down after you click you’ll see an option to view all the pages in the planner. It includes a 30-day challenge for each month, motivational sayings and more… I’m in love with this product because it’s both attractive and useful! (This is an affiliate link, which means that if you click to purchase Robert and I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. We really appreciate your support.)

 

 

 

 

Opt In Image
Is Procrastination Poisoning Your Marriage?
Address it! Move past procrastination to a great marriage!

Take a look at the book on Amazon!

In this book, the nine reasons we all procrastinate are spelled out in detail as they appear in marriage, and solutions, and strategies are suggested for each area.

Also included are links to free downloads of the lists: 101 things to say and text to your spouse, 101 things to do for/with your spouse, 35 conversation starters and more. Reading this book will give you the big picture surrounding procrastination in all its forms, and the practical strategies to move past procrastination!

The goal is translating what you learn about procrastination in your marriage, to the rest of your life - so as husband and wife you're leading a meaningful life!