We live on a broken planet; in a culture increasingly underwhelmed by vows, divorce and extramarital affairs. But infidelity is anything but casual. It’s real. It destroys lives on earth and fractures eternity.
As Christians living in a digital world we need to get intentional about honoring the covenant of marriage— for ourselves—and for a mislead world looking on. A Christ-centered marriage puts a “no trespassing” sign in the enemy’s face and tells everyone around you that values such as “marriage, fidelity, honor, respect, family, faith, and love” will never go out of fashion in your home.
When that message is celebrated on the very public stage of social networks—where hundreds, even thousands, look on—your marriage becomes a very real and very powerful expression of God’s Love for the world. In fact, your marriage, lived out faithfully online, can become a life-altering encounter to people who may never step foot in a church.
Here are 37 ways to honor your spouse & protect marriage in the online space:
- Make your marriage your #1 priority in your home.
- Start and end your day with prayer—together.
- Go dark (get offline!) on the weekends and in the evenings to honor face-to-face time with your
spouse and family.
- Lift one another up in public by posting affirmations, encouragements, and thank you notes on your
spouse’s Facebook (FB) wall.
- Digitally cheer on one another’s goals and accomplishments.
- Take a picture of flowers, or other cool things you see throughout your day and send them your
sweetheart’s phone or post them on their FB wall.
- Post a music video of your favorite love song and tell your spouse why it reminds you of them.
- Ask your FB friends what song you should dance to with your spouse on date night (you’ll be amazed
at the interaction you get!)
- Make a list of 10 things you love about your spouse or your relationship and post it on your spouse’s
FB wall or your own (make sure you tag your spouse so they don’t miss your post)!
- Ask your spouse out on a date on his/her FB wall and post link to the restaurant’s menu to get them
excited about the night.
- Post a picture of one of your children and tell your spouse what you love about that child and how
grateful you are for your family.
- If you are out shopping for a gift for your spouse, take a photo of the item choices and share a “this
one” or “that one” photo on their FB wall. Have them (and their friends) choose which one you should bring home.
- Go to the park, set up a picnic, take a video or photo and post it on their FB wall (or email or text)
asking them to join you.
- Post in your status update when you decide to “take off early to go take my spouse somewhere
special” or “to spend time with my family.”
- If you have extra courage: Write a love letter as if you were just falling in love with the person. Post it
in a Facebook Notes and put it on your wall. Tag your spouse.
- .Post a condensed version of how you met your spouse and ask friends to post how they met their
spouse.
- Post “definitions” of words in your status update. Define loyalty, love, faithfulness, passion, joy, agape
. . . in God’s words. Tag your spouse.
- Write “I Love You, XXX” in unique places such as the bathroom mirror, in the snow, or on your arm.
Take a photo and post it on their wall.
- Once a month write a “Top 5 Reasons Why” list to your spouse. Why I Love You, Why I Thank God for
You, What I Miss About You, What I Appreciate the Most About You. Post it on their page briefly or in a Facebook Note to them.
- Send romantic texts every day. Can’t think of any?
- Ask your FB friends for their favorite recipes and then cook it for your spouse. Take a photo of the
dish and post it later thanking everyone for helping make your date night special.
- At least 1x a week, post this on your spouse’s wall: “In case you didn’t know . . . . (fill in the blank).”
- Buy your sweetheart his or her domain name. See if his/her name is available at whois.net.
- Make a customized playlist on iTunes and give it to your sweetheart.
- Post scriptures from the bible’s Song of Solomon (don’t get carried away . . . there is such a thing as
sharing Too Much Information).
- Make a virtual commitment to your spouse. Fill out this certificate online that you can print out and
keep.
- Post romantic, funny, inspiring messages on your loved one’s page. If you aren’t good with words, try
this site.
- Set up a blogger website dedicated just to your family. Celebrate every week or month with posting
milestones, love notes, prayers for one another, and fun photos. Setting up a blogger account takes about 5 minutes.
- Publically pray for your spouse by posting a prayer on their Facebook wall. Use their name
repeatedly in the prayer.
- Write a poem. Then use Google Translator to translate a poem into either French or Italian, or any
romantic language you choose.
- Make “I love you” posters for your kids to hold, take their picture, and post it on your spouse’s wall.
Or, have the kids or a friend take a photo of you doing the same.
- Send your spouse a romantic, fun e-card to brighten his or her day. Free e-card resources: Blue
Mountain or Hallmark.
- Post a free coupon for dinner, dancing, breakfast in bed, a long romantic walk by the lake, a short trip
to the beach, or just some unplugged time together. Print free coupons.
- Ask your spouse to go on a special date with you. Can’t think of one? Check out these ideas.
- Simply write “I Love You,” on their Facebook wall now and then.
- Read this excellent article on how to put a spiritual hedge around your marriage. Share it with your
spouse and couples you know.
- Post this link on your sweetheart’s wall. Tell him or her you plan to make the 50 years+ photo album
someday.
How do you and your spouse deal effectively with living a digital life? Are there challenges?
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