Grace Fox - One-Minute Romance for Couples

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS EUGENE, OREGON Cover by Dugan Design Group, Bloomington, Minnesota Cover illustration chuwy / Getty Published in association with The Steve Laube Agency, LLC, 5025 N. Central Ave., #635, Phoenix, Arizona 85012. ONE-MINUTE ROMANCE FOR COUPLES Copyright 2015 Grace Fox Published by Harvest House Publishers Eugene, Oregon 97402 www.harvesthousepublishers.com 978-0-7369-5651-2 (pbk.) 978-0-7369-5652-9 (eBook) All rights reserved . No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of authors and publishers rights is strictly prohibited.

Contents R omancethe long-lasting typestarts with good communication. Trouble is, life sometimes gets in the way. A national survey recently disclosed that most married couples spend only three to four minutes in meaningful conversation daily. They spend the remaining 1,437 immersed in work, worries, parenting, play, sleep, hobbies, or watching TV. Perhaps time isnt an issue for your marriage, but meaningful communication lags because one partner finds talking difficult. He or she honestly doesnt know what to say or ask.

Sometimes it suffers because we mistakenly think we know everything there is to know about each other. Or we settle for surface conversation rather than striving for deeper talk that connects our hearts. My husband and I knew each other only six weeks before he proposed. Ours was a long-distance, five-month engagement. We married on February 20, 1982, took a three-week honeymoon, and then headed for a missionary career in Nepal. Our first home was a mud and rock hut with a thatch roof.

No electricity. No running water. Isolation and stress glued us together. Television and technology were nonexistent where we lived, so we spent evenings playing Scrabble and reading aloud. Circumstances taught us quickly how to communicate beyond surface stuff. Three years later we returned to North America, and life started getting in the way.

We discovered that meaningful communication took a lot more intentionality than before. So we began going on regular dates and asking each other creative questions, and these became some of our favorite activities. Thanks to questions, were still discovering gems about each other, and we always have something engaging to talk about. We stash questions in the glove compartment of our car and discuss them when we drive. We keep them in our bedside table so we can consider one or two before bedtime. We take them on dates and even when we visit a hotel hot tub.

I encourage you to do the same with this little book. May you enjoy these questions, and may your romance be the long-lasting type. Cheering for your marriage, Grace www.gracefox.com If you could remodel any room in our house, which one would you choose? Describe the completed look, including furniture. List three free and simple activities you enjoy. What free and simple activities do we enjoy together? How can we do them more often? To what biblical character would you liken yourself? Why? If you were to do a random act of kindness for someone today, what would it be? Why? If your friends gave you an award, what would it be? Isaiah 40:31 says God promises renewed strength to those who wait on Him. Describe a situation in which you experienced Gods strength.

What did that look like? What part of your body do you like most? What part of my body do you like most? If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why? If you could meet any person from history, who would it be? Why? You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it (Bill Cosby). Describe an experience in which humor lessened pain or lightened a heavy load. Describe the best Christmas present you received as a child. Describe the ideal vacation for our family (money and time being no object). Where would we go? What would we do? How can we simulate it while staying within our means? Complete this sentence: The quality I appreciate most about you is Describe the ultimate romantic getaway.

Where would we go? What would we do? Whats the last creature comfort youd want to give up? Erich Segal wrote in the 1970 movie Love Story , Love means never having to say youre sorry. Do you agree? Why or why not?