Creating and sustaining a blissful relationship or marriage relies on a very important, basic secret: meeting each other's most important emotional needs. But how do you do this when all you can think about is how YOUR needs are NOT being met?

Start by trying to identify and meet your partner's needs first. If it's hard to put a finger on what those may be, consider what many couples name these as their top emotional needs: admiration, affection, conversation, domestic support, family commitment, financial support, honesty and openness, physical attractiveness, recreational companionship and sexual fulfillment.

Whether or not these are your or your partner's most important needs, the essential fact to recognize is that just as you have needs that you want met - your partner has important emotional needs too. Sometimes your needs can be met simply by refocusing your efforts from trying to GET your needs met and focusing instead on how to meet your partner's needs. Want the best partner? Then BE the best partner.

Take a moment to read Wilfred Arlan Peterson's poem, "The Art of Good Marriage." No matter where your relationship is today, the secrets to relationship bliss may just be a prose away...

Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.
A good marriage must be created.
In marriage the little things are the big things.
It is never being too old to hold hands.
It is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a day.
It is never going to sleep angry.

It is at no time taking the other for granted;
the courtship should not end with the honeymoon,
it should continue through all the years.
It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.
It is standing together facing the world.
It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.
It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice,
but in the spirit of joy.

It is speaking words of appreciations and demonstrating gratitude
in thoughtful ways.
It is not looking for perfection in each other.
It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding and a sense of humor.
It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.
It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.
It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.
It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal,
dependence is mutual and the obligation is reciprocal.

It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.

"Love is not something we find, love is something we DO." - Anon

Eric and Julianna Montgomery are living examples of how to stay "happily married." They have been happily married for over 11 years. Together they help couples to make their relationship be the best it can be. Through their music ministry, wedding ministry, and helping couples create relationship "mission statements" they reveal the secrets to sustaining a loving, blissful relationship.