May 27
Love0

7 Secrets to a Peaceful, Fun Engagement

By Engagement No Comments

Engagement can be a roller coaster of emotions, both good and bad. Suddenly, you and your fiance have gone from being a carefree dating couple to planning a wedding. Often, wedding planning comes with a fair amount of stress, even though it can also be fun. And let’s not forget family pressures that crop up. Being engaged is a season that’s all about building anticipation for your upcoming wedding and the future you’re planning together. Today, we’re talking about seven secrets to keeping your engagement peaceful and fun. 1. Remember why you’re here. If you’re in the midst of planning…

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May 20
Love0

What Smart Love Looks Like, and Why It’s Important

By Relationships One Comment

In order to forge healthy relationships, it’s crucial to practice something we like to call smart love. Smart love allows us to make intelligent and informed decisions in all our relationships–ultimately strengthening and improving them. Today, we’re taking a look at what smart looks like, and a few ways you can practice it in your own relationships. It applies to relationships of all kinds, but for today’s purposes, we’ll focus on dating and engagement. Smart Love is Patient and Discerning Patience and discernment are incredibly important components of smart love. That’s because smart love is determined to find a good…

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May 13
Love0

6 Tips and Ideas for Your Small Wedding Ceremony

By Marriage 3 Comments

Are you and your fiance planning a small wedding ceremony? Whether you’ve planned a small wedding from the beginning of your engagement or have found yourself changing your plans, there are several things you can consider to make the experience memorable. Many couples opt for a small wedding for different reasons. Some choose to keep the budget and the guest list to a minimum because of how they’ve prioritized their spending. Others choose to elope. Still others may be faced with circumstances such as illness that prevent them from planning a large gathering. During this unusual season of collectively facing…

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May 06
Love1

How Overcoming Insecurity Leads to Healthier Relationships

By Relationships, Self Reflection 3 Comments

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt Part of being an emotionally and psychologically healthy individual–and thus, having healthier relationships–is overcoming insecurity. Insecurity is a problem that plagues countless people worldwide, and it really hampers our ability to relate well with one another. Psychological health is largely an inside job, and insecurity is a psychologically unhealthy state to live in. Being psychologically healthy means we’re healthy in our spirit, character, feelings, and thoughts. But when we’re insecure, our thoughts don’t tend to be very healthy. Today, we’re taking a look at how overcoming insecurity…

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Apr 29
Love1

5 Ways Fear Sabotages Emotional Health

By Self Reflection No Comments

In order to become emotionally healthy, we have to root out and face the things we’re afraid of. Many of the things we’re chronically afraid of are not obvious, so it’s our job to be honest with ourselves as we begin to uncover them. The hidden fears that hurt our relationships with ourselves and our loved ones are often tied to goals and dreams we’d love to pursue. And when we don’t pursue what we love, it hurts our authenticity, consequently, our relationships. Let’s take a look at 5 ways fear sabotages our emotional health–and how to overcome it. 1….

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Apr 22
Love0

3 Reasons Why It’s Time to Take Control of Your Emotional Health

By Marriage, Relationships, Self Reflection One Comment

Our emotional, psychological, and spiritual health influences every person we come into contact with–especially our spouse. Strong relationships are dependent upon our ability to feel truly significant, complete, and selfless as individuals. We all have the power to take control of our emotional health–and, in turn, our relationships. There are many things you can do to nurture your health in these areas, and investing that time and effort in yourself will pay dividends not only now, but in the future as well. Here are three reasons why it’s time to take control of your emotional, psychological, and spiritual health. 1….

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Apr 15
Love0

10 Tips for Weathering an Uncertain Season Together

By Communication, Marriage, Relationships 3 Comments

We all face uncertain seasons from time to time. If you’re married, you have the added bonus of having a partner you can weather these storms with. Unfortunately, sometimes uncertainty and stress can divide us rather than bringing us together. If you’re facing a difficult time right now, it’s important to find ways to come together rather than being torn apart. You can do this by exercising a combination of vulnerability, selflessness, patience, and empathy. Let’s look at 10 tips to help you and your spouse weather an uncertain season together. 1. Be open about your struggles. Uncertainty produces a…

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Apr 08
Love0

How to Make Memories Together in a Time of Upheaval

By Marriage, Relationships, Time 5 Comments

During at time of upheaval, our lives feel very out of control. It’s very easy to get bogged down by the uncertainty, negativity, and anxiety associated with difficult times–whether economic, health-related, or otherwise. That’s why it’s so important to intentionally make memories together during the hard times. It seems counterintuitive, but working to make happy memories helps you and your spouse find positive things to focus on. Rather than feeling deprived of happy times, you have the power to create them yourself. This can be pivotal for couples and families who are feeling the stress of a difficult time. Today,…

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Apr 01
Love0

Help! We’re Stuck at Home Together–What Now?

By Communication, Marriage One Comment

So you and your spouse have found yourselves spending an extended period of time in your home together. Maybe one of you is sick, recovering from surgery, or out of work. Perhaps you’re snowed in for a few days. Or, if you’re like many of us around the world right now, you’re self-quarantining in the face of a global pandemic. Whatever the reason, the two of you are suddenly spending a lot more time together at home. It’s important to look at this time as an opportunity to rekindle your bond, deepen your relationship, and make happy memories together. Whether…

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Mar 31
Love0

Five Practical and Proactive Things You Can Do At Home

By Communication, Marriage, Parenting, Relationships, Self Reflection One Comment

Dear Friends, We want to help you in some small way. Our family of four (including our college-student son who is now home from Chicago) has gone into full social-distancing mode here in Seattle to help “flatten the curve” of COVID-19. Chances are that your family is doing the same. The good news? We’re seeing a lot more of each other than we normally do. The challenge? Well, we’re seeing a lot more of each other than we normally do! So, how do you create a safe, healthy, and happy home in these difficult days? We’ll leave the medical advice…

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