Romance—the long-lasting type—starts 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 isn’t an issue for your marriage, but meaningful communication lags because one partner finds talking difficult. He or she honestly doesn’t 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.

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, we’re 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.

May you enjoy these questions, and may your romance be the long-lasting type.

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List three free and simple activities you enjoy. What free and simple activities do we enjoy together?

Isaiah 40:31 says God promises renewed strength to those who wait on Him. Describe a situation in which you experienced God’s strength. What did that look like?

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? Why?

Describe the best Christmas present you received as a child.

Complete this sentence: The quality I appreciate most about you is…

Someone said, “When I stopped thinking about what I wanted from God and started focusing on what God wanted from me, my life got better.” What’s your response to that? What do you think God wants from you?

Describe the ultimate romantic getaway. Where would we go? What would we do?

What do you consider the most important action needed to divorce-proof our marriage?

Recall your most memorable Christmas. How old were you? What made it more memorable than others?

What’s your favorite Scripture verse? Why is it so meaningful to you?

From One-Minute Romance for Couples by Grace Fox