One of the things I LOVE about social networking is that every so often I stumble upon an account that I absolutely fall in love with. I have been following Beating 50 Percent since just before Evan and I tied the knot last summer and have been completely caught up in the lives of Jeremy and Audrey Roloff, their precious daughter Ember, Audrey’s shop: Always More, and everything else they offer.
One of the products that they offer on their Beating 50 Percent website is a journal called the Navigator’s Council. I heard testimonies of how this journal was transforming marriages but (like most newlyweds) I thought I wouldn’t need something to generate communication with my Husband. While we were dating, and during our period of engagement, Evan and I had excellent communication. We could talk for hours on end, about anything and everything. It was so easy and came so naturally in this stage of our relationship that of course when our communication plummeted downward just after we got married, I thought something was seriously wrong.
After tons of hours reviewing and weeks of contemplating, I purchased the journal. I believe it was as part of a Black Friday sale, in hopes of giving it to Evan as a Christmas gift. Well… He found out that I bought it, and though we tried to hold off to start at the beginning of the year, we realized we needed to start this book a little early.
Evan was skeptical at first, but aren’t most men when you bring home some “fix/enhance your marriage” type book? We can both be rather single-minded and tend to think we can figure things out on our own, so why would we need a book to help us figure it out right? Wrong. After just a few weeks, our marriage was already seeing daylight again. We were out of a newlywed communication rut and we were thriving in the way we talked with one another, purposely setting some time together on the same night every week (Monday nights work best for us), and making sure we were always on the same page.
I love how each week starts with a short devotional to bring God to the forefront of your marriage, week, and everything that follows. As Christians we should always be keeping Jesus at the forefront of all we do. And in marriage, the only way to bear good fruit is if you both constant pursuing God first, and then each other. I love how Jeremy and Audrey consistently remind us of this simple fact and keep us focused on what really matters.
Evan is a tech guy, and I am a write it all out kind of girl. Because we alternate who is reading/writing each week, it has helped us to keep a better track of our schedules, making sure we are adamant about scheduling a date night every week, and I am never more amazed by how we paraphrase each other’s answers to each question. It helps us to understand how each other is feeling, forgive any sins or anger toward one another that we may not have confessed prior to our Navigators night, and figure out together how to work through the hard stuff.
I love how lately, we often find ourselves going on side tangents about what happened at work that day, or did I forget to tell you about this, or what are you dreaming or craving and how can I help? What started as maybe a 30 minute read, write, and answer conversation has turned into a 1-2 hour get it all out on the table, fall harder, and more madly in love, weekly intention. Making communication a priority has completely transformed our marriage. Every week I feel like I know my husband a little deeper, a little more intimately, and definitely more passionately. We prioritize our time with each other and aren’t afraid to cut back in areas that interfere with that.
I FEEL LIKE I KNOW MY HUSBAND DEEPER,
MORE INTIMATELY, MORE PASSIONATELY
Whether you are newly married, or you’ve been married for years, I strongly recommend getting your own copy of Navigator’s Council. It’s been the best thing we’ve ever done for our marriage and I can guarantee it would be the best thing you do for yours. Especially if you think that you’re good at communicating, I urge you to try the Navigator’s Council and see if it changes your perspective. You can download your very own copy here!
Have you ever used the Navigator’s Council? Tell me how it has influenced your marriage!
What do you like about it? Would you recommend it to others?
Share with me in the comments below!
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