10 Secrets to a Happy Marriage

I got this e-mail from one of my college mentors. I added some of my own...

10 Secrets to a Happy Marriage

1. God has you here to serve one another. Love acted out is serving.

2. Women need respect and nurturing. Love your wife so she knows you'd lay your life down for her. Continue to date her and admire her. Share a hobby - find something you can do to have fun together.

3. Laugh often.

4. Be patient. Love crumbles quickly under the weight of unmet expectations.

5. Spend more time trying to fix yourself than your spouse.

6. Keep short accounts. The Bible says, "Do not let the sun go down while you are angry." Make it a habit to forgive.
7. Determine up front that divorce is not an option
8. Learn about love languages. Not all people show love or receive it the same way. You want a back rub and your spouse wants a clean kitchen. The love languages are fairly simple: acts of service, time, physical touch, gifts and words of affirmation. Learn them. Love is better received when it's in the language that person speaks.
9. Words of affirmation are a love language for all men.
10. Men are born to be leaders. He cannot lead unless she gives him the confidence to do so. If you love your husband, build him up. Confident men do not seek love outside the home.

This is all good advice, but there are a few more secrets:

1. For the love of all that is holy, put the toilet seat down so that your 9-month pregnant wife does not fall in.
2. Farting is never appropriate or welcome in bed. No wafting the covers if "it was a good one."
3. Doing the dishes is just as romantic as flowers, but we still want both.
4. There's nothing sexier than your man coming home with a box full of cheese fries.
5. Wives: don't be afraid of a little hot wax, that's all I'm saying...