We plan our wills, our finances, our health, and our vacations.

When we are planning a vacation, we go through great lengths to plan and organize everything. Where are stops are going to be, how long we will be staying there, and what we are going to wear....etc. The list is endless. When my wife and I go on a short weekend trip, she takes enough clothes for a month.

When we plan a marketing scheme for our business, we leave no stone unturned.

What about the greatest, and we hope, the longest journey of your life? Your marriage.

I know that this is almost a foreign word in our society today, but I am from the old school and I still believe that a life long commitment to one partner carries with it some of the most awesome results that you can never truly explain, and that no amount of money can ever buy. It also brings with it some twists and turns, bumps and bruises, negotiations and compromises, and that is what makes it so great.

I love hockey, and when I used to play, I took a lot of bumps and bruises, twists and turns, compromises and negotiations, but boy was it fun. All of us would limp off the ice, get our gear and limp off to home and we were smiling and taking about what a great game we just played. It was fun! We played because we loved the game, no matter if we took a hit every now and then.

Do you love your spouse? Have you made a game plan to make this commitment succeed? You need too.

Now you who aren't married and just living together will never understand what I am talking. about. LOVE IS A COMMITMENT! You don't have a relationship, that can feel what I just described, unless you have a lifelong commitment. No running out the back door when goes just don't go your way. You work it out. Negotiations and compromise.

If your marriage relationship doesn't have a destination, how will you know when you arrive? And why wait for love to materialize out of stardust, when you could choose excitement and romance—now?

There is a simple yet profound plan for a marriage of depth and warmth and excitement! A Plan, you ask? Exactly! Good marriages are no accident. The rules are simple enough, you just need an outline to follow. Tough times can strike any family relationship. But deciding to love—in practical ways outlined here—can result in relationships that are tougher when the tough times come, and they will come.

Six elements to staying in Love:

1. Making your spouse feel truly honored and loved by you.
2. Learning the art of touching tenderly (without sex)
3. Keeping courtship alive (continue to date)
4. Re-opening a heart closed by anger (this may take a lot of work)
5. Building -- or rebuilding trust in a relationship
6. Becoming best friends with your family

I will go deeper into each one of these points on another hub, but I can assure you, if you implement these into your marriage, you will see a major change occur. That change may take some time and lot of perseverance on your part, and don't be surprised that the biggest change just might be in you.