One of the most rewarding things we can do is help others.  Pick a family mission this week you can work on together that helps other people. This might be through a program in your church,  a local charity, a soup kitchen, or just volunteering to help a neighbor. Discuss it, pick a date, and enjoy your time together.

Buy your wife something unique that will make her feel like a queen. It doesn't have to be expensive, just something thoughtful that shows you are thinking about her and that you care. This may require some recon work and carefully crafted questions to find something she would like. Do the work to make it memorable.  

Let her know you are glad she is your queen. Her favorite body lotion, a manicure/pedicure, costume jewelry, perfume, check out Groupon for other ideas.

Find a project around the house that you can involve your whole family : yard cleanup, gutters, raking leaves, fall planting... Here is a project our family finished yesterday under our deck. The transformation was amazing.

Our family needs us to go to battle for them in spiritual matters.  Pray each day for your wife and your children by name out loud.  Areas to consider as you go to God for help: your marriage, protection, children's future spouse...

Give your wife a break.  Take care of dinner, the kids, and anything else she is responsible for and give her the night off.  Let her enjoy some time pampering herself. 

Write your wife an encouraging note. Give a couple specific examples of things you really appreciate about her. Let her know how important she is to you and how much you love her. Leave the note in an usual place that she will find at an unexpected time, like her car, the kitchen, refrigerator, etc.

Keeping the house in order can be overwhelming, particularly if you have small children. Plan a power hour. Have your wife go through the entire house room by room, putting a post-it note on each door listing what cleaning needs to be done in that room.

Divide the rooms up between family members and start a timer. Younger children may need to partner with someone. Make it a competition to beat the clock and finish within an hour. Then go out and celebrate with ice cream.

As the weather begins to cool, it is a great time to find a local fall festival or county fair.  Check local papers or google where to go. Take your whole family and enjoy the festivities.  Bring your camera and capture the memories.

One of the most important things that Dan and I implemented at our palace a long time ago was our weekly roundtable meeting. Marriage has a business side that has to be managed. When we don’t manage it well, people get confused and disconnected, no one knows where they are supposed to be, and someone forgets to pick up the children.

That’s why we implemented our weekly meeting where everyone brings their calendar of choice to the table and we hammer out our schedules together for the week. That way everyone knows how to pray for each other. They know where they’re going and when. They know when we’re sharing dinner together, and who’s picking up whom. This is a crucial aspect to keeping the chaos out of your castle and living the palace life.

For more practical ideas on how to rule your kingdom well and manage the business side of your marriage, pick up a copy of our bestselling books “Marriage Warrior” or “Chaos in the Castle or Peace...

One of the most important things we can do for our children is provide a united front. Children are masters at dividing and conquering to get what they want. 

Make it a goal to always stand with your wife in any decisions made. Your children need to know what mom says goes, and you support her 100%.  Your wife needs to know you always have her back.  If there are things you do not agree with, then talk about them privately and come up with a plan you both agree on.