Since Ken and I just celebrated our wedding anniversary, I have been thinking about marriage. One of the things that I must constantly work on in my marriage is to work on my marriage. That doesn’t make much sense, does it? Said another way, I must fight the tendency to get lazy in my marriage. Now, in life I am anything but lazy in life. On a typical day, I can be pulled 100 different directions. I work full-time for the church, I manage our home. I cook. I clean. I mow the lawn. (I love yard work - I actually do!) I do laundry. With four kids, I used to say that I did laundry for a living. (I don’t love laundry!)

Here’s the thing. I can get so busy with various tasks that my husband gets ignored. My marriage can get put on the back burner. I can get lazy in building and protecting my marriage. Proverbs 24:30-34 says, “I walked by the field of a lazy person…I saw that it was overgrown with nettles. It was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down. Then, as I looked and thought about it, I learned this lesson: A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest - then poverty will pounce you like a bandit, scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.”

Just a little sleep, just a little slumber, just a little folding of the hands… and poverty will pounce on you like a bandit. Suddenly, you find that your garden, your life, your marriage is full of weeds. So, here is my Marriage Advice 101 - always, always put effort into your marriage. Be the #1 source of encouragement to your spouse. Don’t take your spouse for granted. Be friendly. Be kind. Be unselfish. Be a good listener. Be a servant. One of the things that I must always work on in my marriage is to work on my marriage.