5 Ways To Have A Stronger Marriage
I went to my sister Katie’s, house tonight; 2 minutes from mine. I don’t know what I was expecting to find. Maybe a quiet house with a few older curious kids poking their heads in. I shouldn’t have been surprised to find a house buzzing with little friends opening up the fridge and gaggles of little girls coming in and out letting in the warm summer night.
Katie and her husband Jon Knudson were nice enough to sit down with me to share their wisdom about marriage. They live in Salt Lake City, Utah and are the parents to 6 kids. They’ve been married 14 years.
I’ve admired Jon & Katie for a long time. It’s always been quietly apparent to me that they are very together. You can tell that they deeply care about each other and work well together. Perhaps you know someone similar. So what is it that’s different? What are they doing that works? I sat down with them and asked them what marriage advice they have for anyone looking to strengthen their relationship.
What they shared was very motivating and actionable. I came away with some things I want to do better. My hope is that something here will be of help to you wherever you are on your own journey.
I recorded our interview on a Podcast I recently started called “Found Pearls” where I sit down with someone who shares with me meaningful advice and thoughts on various challenging topics.
The Knudson’s “pearls” (small but significant truths) about marriage, is the first episode. I really do love what they shared and encourage you to listen. It’s half an hour long. Here is the link to the Podcast:
Podcast Episode 1 Overview: 5 Ways To Have A Stronger Marriage
1. Communicate
It’s the age old marriage advice but there’s a reason it is. Jon and Katie explain more why that is so important for their marriage.
2. Serve Each Other
Jon quoted Stephen R. Covey, writer of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective people, who is also interestingly Mitchell’s grandpa, who said that “Love is a verb.” In other words it is something that you do rather than something that you fall in and out of. Katie and Jon both talk about how finding something every day that you can do for the other person, not because you expect something in return, but simply because you love them, can make all the difference in any relationship.
3. Have Fun Together
When stress is high, things are financially tight, you each have worries, kids come etc. etc. it becomes hard to take the time to just be together and enjoy one another. It’s important that no matter where life takes you that you take time to have fun together.
4. Be Unified
There’s no winning while the other loses and there’s no losing while the other wins. It’s not give and take. It’s give and give. It’s best to be unified. That doesn’t mean that you have to be the same.
5. Center Your Marriage on Jesus Christ
This isn’t a blog necessarily for Christians, or even people of religion, but in preparing to be interviewed I told them to just be themselves and to be honest. They said that a huge factor in their success in marriage is that both of them are trying every day to be more like Jesus Christ. In doing that they are kinder, more patient and loving toward one another which strengthens their marriage.
For those that are not familiar with it, they mention in the podcast about going to the temple together, which is a reference to their faith in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The temple is a place that members of the church go to together to be sealed as couples and families forever and to find peace and direction in their lives.
They go into each of these points more in depth on the podcast.
Please leave in the comments anything that has worked for you or that you found helpful! Thanks again to Katie and Jon for your willingness to offer some great advice!
