New York Times reported yesterday, “For much of the 20th century, the Boston Red Sox were a symbol of frustration and pain for an entire region…But for the first time since 1918, Boston was able to celebrate the victory at home, winning in front of an announced crowd of 38,447 at Fenway Park.”

Although I’m a NY Yankee fan, I could definitely understand the joy and elation as the Red Sox won yet another World Series title. Winning a World Series title anywhere would be great but winning at home in front of your home fans and in your ball-park (especially after 90+ years) is PRICELESS. Winning at home makes any athlete feel proud and the celebration is that much sweeter.

Like the Boston Red Sox, we too can win at home – in our marriage, family and relationships! While many fans are excited to celebrate with the Red Sox, I’m sure the team can tell of the countless failures between each World Series win at home: strike outs, no home run games, defeats and lonely rides home. Yet in the end, they finally won a Series at home.

I’m sure David Ortiz and other Red Sox players will let you know what got them to the World Series winning game was not simply the hope of winning or images of holding the trophy. What got them to the World Series and ultimately winners is Practice – Practice – Practice! Practicing week in and week out – throwing pitches, stealing bases, running drills, hitting ball after ball, etc.! All of us want to win whatever “World Series” we are playing for but it starts with practice and discipline.

In marriage and relationships, here are a few daily drills to run through as you practice your Journey for Life:

•  Effective Communication – if a pitcher and catcher are not on the same page the game is over! Learning to communicate effectively is a skill that takes practice and something that most of us struggle with. We can embrace effective communication by practicing daily in listening to each other without interrupting and being aware of our tone. Many times how we say things is just a crucial as what we are trying to communicate.

• Setting a Winning Culture – Love and Respect – let’s face it, marriage takes building a culture of love and respect daily not just for big moments. To make any relationship work there must be a culture of showing love and respect. Anyone can say “I love you” but it takes a champion to show your spouse or loved one you love them.

• Stretching – John Gottman calls this “turning towards each other”. This concept is based on the idea of staying connected through small interactions that pour into each other’s “emotional bank account”. Set aside regular date nights and moments to connect with each other and build your friendship.

• Team work – we’ve all heard it said before, “There is no “I” in team.” In a healthy marriage it takes two working together and striving to make it last. A daily routine of valuing one another, showing appreciation, affirming the others contributions, respecting different strengths being brought to the table, and fighting for unity goes a long way.

New York Times reported,

“I’ve been around superstars in this game,” Red Sox catcher David Ross said. “I’ve never been around a superstar [David Ortiz] who cares more about winning than he does.”

There is a David Ortiz in all of us trying to make marriage work. As long as we have the desire to win in our marriage more than anything and practice daily, we can all win our MARRIAGE WORLD SERIES!