Conversations with Your Spouse

When Erick and I were receiving pre-marital counseling, our pastor told Erick that he (Erick) will have to work at "drawing me out" (Proverbs 20:5) because I am not very chatty :-)  I must say that Erick has become quite skilled at it.  I saw this on Between Two Worlds and thought it was helpful.

*This obviously is not a picture of Erick and I, but some of you might recognize this cute couple.

How to Spark Substantive Conversations with Your Spouse (or with your children and close friends too!)

Tony Reinke:

[David]
Powlison suggested three categories of questions to ask your husband or
wife. Each of these categories can be asked on a daily basis. And each
of these categories are simple and broad, but certainly provide helpful
reminders. Here are the three:

1. What are your present burdens?

The Bible tells us that we are born for trouble (Job 5:7).
So what is the trouble? A sin? A responsibility? An issue at work? A
particular conflict? What weighs you down? What was your lowlight of
this day? These burdens are the “heat of life.”

2. What are your present joys?

What were your highlights from the day? These joys are the “dew of blessing.”

3. What is your calling?

This
could include the mundane tasks, or broader life-purpose questions.
What are your duties for this day? What do you need to do? What are
your goals for this day? For example, a parent could say, “Today, I
don’t want to lose my temper with the kids.” It could be as simple as
this.

For more on this, see Powlison's very helpful little booklet on Renewing Marital Intimacy.

(Found on Between Two Worlds)