The Most Romantic Thing

Creating a More Romantic Marriage

FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript

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Creating a More Romantic Marriage

Day 1 of 8

Guest: Dennis Rainey

From the Series: The Most Romantic Thing

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Music:

Bob: And, welcome to FamilyLife Today. Thanks for joining us on the broadcast. I did it yesterday; I went ahead and declared this the year of romance in my marriage.

Dennis: All right.

Bob: So, we’re going to kick off a year-long romantic adventure.

Dennis: Should we call Mary Anne right now and see how you did on day one?

Bob: I don’t know.

Dennis: We’ll save that for a little later. All right? You know, I ran across something that, even though it’s the day after Valentine’s Day, I found it fascinating to go back and look at, really, the historical significance of this day. Valentine was a Pagan priest who lived in the third century. He was not a Christian, but he really found it very difficult to stomach that these Christians were being persecuted. He put his foot down – so much so that they threw him into prison. While he was in prison, he converted to Christianity and was asked to renounce his faith. He didn’t. He stayed in prison for a long time. One historian said that during his last days, Valentine often thought of his family and friends who were not allowed to come visit him. Tradition has it that in order to communicate his love, he would reach out his window bars and pick the violets which grew outside. He then pierced the heart-shaped leaves with a message like “Remember your Valentine.” Then he sent the message home with some homing pigeons supplied by his family. Toward the end of his life, the message changed to a simple “I love you.” Finally, when he refused to renounce his faith in Christ, Valentine was clubbed to death in his cell February 14, 268 A.D. You know, that’s interesting that yesterday is a day that we celebrate love, but so much of the world’s celebration of this love is not from an agape - God’s love for us, which caused us to love him. Instead, it’s a narcissistic kind of love. You know, if anybody ought to have the right kind of love on Valentine’s Day, or for that matter, throughout the year, it ought to be Christians.

Bob: Yeah. I would hope that over the last two and a half weeks, Dennis, as you and Barbara have shared on this series and on this subject of romance, that message has come crystal clear – that the foundation for romance in marriage has got to be the solid commitment between a husband and a wife. If for any reason folks have not been able to be with us over the last two and a half weeks, I would encourage them to get the cassette tapes of these broadcasts, and together, with their spouse, listen to this discussion on romance. It will give them an opportunity to interact over what romance ought to be in marriage.

Dennis: I really agree. I think a lot of times in marriage, we really miss each other because we’re communicating what communicates love to us, not what communicates love to my wife. There are a lot of men who would really benefit from hearing Barbara talk straight about what a woman is looking for in romance from her husband.

Bob: Or, from hearing you talk straight to women about how men view romance. If you’re interested in getting this cassette series, call us toll free at 1-800-FL-TODAY. We’ll get you the information you need.

Dennis: Well, I’m excited about today because we’re going to give our listeners the privilege of hearing the most creative ideas we’ve been able to gather from our FamilyLife marriage conference speaker team, from our FamilyLife staff here in Little Rock, and from some of our FamilyLife marriage conference messages that have been given over the past year. What I would encourage you to do right now, if you’re driving, pull out a 3 by 5 card or open your daytimes; or if you’re at home, get yourself a piece of paper and a pencil, because you’re going to hear at least a half dozen ideas that you ought to be able to use at some point in your marriage over the coming year.

Bob: If you’re driving, please write these down only at stoplights when you come to an appropriate point.

Dennis: That’s right. There could be liability back here against FamilyLife Today.

Bob: Well, we kick things off with someone from our staff, Lance Coffman, sharing about the most romantic birthday he ever had.

Lance: “Yesterday was my birthday, and it was a very special time. Just to show you how special I felt… I guess, to sum it up, she was thinking of me throughout the whole time. What I mean by that, is Sunday she took me to the Macaroni Grill. But, see, it was a gift certificate given to her, and it was just a special time that she would take that to spend on me for my birthday lunch. She said, ‘Okay. That’s a [unintelligible] of what’s to come.’ Anyway, we went to bed that night. I woke up the next morning and went to the bathroom, and plastered all over the mirror was posters: ‘Happy Birthday, Lance. Happy Birthday, No. 30.’ Then she gave me a card and a present. Then she cooked me breakfast. I was off to work. Around 10:30, the guys called me over, and Denise brought some oatmeal cookies. They sang me ‘Happy Birthday,’ and I went back to work. But, Denise, said, ‘Lance, call me before you come home.’ I said, ‘Okay.’ So, I called her before I came home, saying ‘I’m coming home.’ So, I come home, and there’s a note on the door. It’s around 5:15. I don’t leave work early. The note said, ‘Lance, ring the doorbell before you come in.’ See, usually, I just come in. This time, I was going to ring the doorbell. So, I rang the doorbell, and Denise opens the door. She’s in a black tuxedo with tails. She goes, ‘Mr. Coffman, happy birthday. Your dinner’s ready.’”

Woman: “This happened on Valentine’s Day last year, when I’d asked Jeff to stop at the store and get me some groceries. I really think that he forgot it was Valentine’s Day, and I’d been on the phone with my friend. She got flowers and a little necklace. I thought to myself, ‘I know he forgot, and I’m not going to get anything.’&...