One of my favorite verses on marriage for husbands is Proverbs 5:19, “… be intoxicated always in her love.” Nowhere in the Bible do we find any command to be intoxicated except in Proverbs 5:19. I love that. Husbands are to be so in love with their wives that from the outside it appears that they are intoxicated. Make note: this does not happen naturally. Day-by-day, ever Husband is called to take intentional action to develop a deeper, more intimate romance in their marriage. So, here are thirty ways Husbands can love their wives:
- Take your wife out to dinner and tell her how you’ve seen God’s grace at work in her life recently.
- Devote an evening a week for the next two months to read through a book to strengthen your marriage (idea 1, idea 2)
- Cut something from your budget and use that money to date your wife.
- Schedule a weekend to watch the kids and send your wife off for a personal retreat.
- Find a married couple whose marriage is struggling. Adopt them for five months. Take them on double dates once a month for the next five months and coach them toward a healthier marriage.
- Pray with your wife every day for the next thirty days.
- Make a list of ten things your wife loves to do. Each time you take your wife on a date, do one of those ten things together.
- Start a hobby with your wife.
- Write a small note describing why you are thankful for your wife for the next ten days.
- Spend an evening reading a book of the Bible out loud together.
- Go to dinner and see a movie that your wife wants to watch.
- Take an evening, after the kids are in bed, to ask your wife intentional questions.
- Take a twelve-month honeymoon with your wife. Relive your honeymoon by scheduling a twenty-four-hour getaway for every month of the year. Each month go somewhere new with your wife.
- Watch the kids one night and have your wife go out with her friends for dinner.
- Think about something your wife never had as a girl and give that to her.
- Write a love letter to your wife. Tell her all over again what she means to you.
- Give your wife a massage.
- Tuck your wife into bed. Kiss her. Pray over her. Stroke her hair as she falls asleep.
- Invite your wife to work. Ask her to come to visit you at work so that she can see your world away from home.
- Serve your wife breakfast in bed.
- Go on a walk.
- Sit down with your wife and write down all that you are both thankful for, together.
- Draw a bubble bath for your wife and tell her to stop what she is doing and hop in.
- Assign a day of “bed rest” to your wife. Make her take a day to rest, relax, and not accomplish anything productive.
- Call your wife in the middle of the day to say, “I love you.”
- Pick a TV show you and your wife like and watch it together every week.
- Cancel work for the day and do something special with your wife.
- Prepare a basin of soapy water and wash your wife’s feet.
- Notice when your wife is unusually tired, drained, or stressed out. On such days step in and take one or two responsibilities off your wife’s plate.
- Eat apart from your kids occasionally. Let the kids eat pasta at a kids’ table while you dine by candlelight with your wife in the adjoining room.
*I’ve adapted a few of these ideas from Justin Buzzard’s excellent book, Date Your Wife. I highly recommend it.