Category

Careers

May 02
2

How to Help Your Spouse Survive a Career Crisis

By | Careers | 4 Comments

Let’s say your spouse comes home from a long day at work, looking downtrodden. When you ask about their day, they reveal that there’s been a layoff. Devastated, your spouse shows you the pink slip he or she was handed at the end of the shift. Your mind starts churning: What’s going to happen? How will we pay the bills? It’s easy to react emotionally–even to feel a bit of panic–but when the initial shock wears off, it’s going to be time for action. Your spouse will need to kick the job search into high gear…but you can be helpful…

Read More
Apr 25
1

My Spouse Wants to Go Back to School. Now What?

By | Careers, Time | 7 Comments

So your spouse wants to go back to school. Maybe this comes as a shock to you: College? Graduate School? Now? Or maybe this has been an ongoing conversation for a while, but now your spouse says it’s time. The pressure’s on. You’re not sure your spouse going to undergraduate or graduate school is the best idea for your family right now. The thought of reducing or losing your spouse’s income makes you sweat buckets, and you’re not sure if you’re up to the challenge of shouldering more financial burden and responsibility at home–not to mention the possibility of student…

Read More
Jul 26
20

Help! My Spouse Wants Me to Make More Money

By | Careers, Communication, Conflict | 9 Comments

You’ve weighed your career decisions, filtered your values and what’s most important to you, and decided on a job that will help you not only bring in a good income, but also balance those values and pursuits in the best possible way for your family–or so you thought. Suddenly, you’re getting outside pressure from your spouse to up your game…and you’re not sure where it’s coming from. Money is a hot-button issue in most marriages, but the it tends to really hit a nerve where individual income is concerned. Whether one or both spouses is working, it’s not uncommon for…

Read More
Apr 12
17

Help! My Spouse Has a Successful Career (And I Don’t)

By | Careers, Communication, Self Reflection | 10 Comments

Developing your careers—at any time in your marriage—is hard work for both of you. While it would be nice if both spouses could progress toward their career goals at the same pace, that’s not realistic, and it’s very unlikely. That means, at some point, one of you will be arguably more successful in your career than the other. If your wife or husband has a more successful career than you during this season, it’s normal to feel left behind, inadequate, and maybe even a little jealous. While you should definitely acknowledge your feelings, it’s dangerous to let them take root…

Read More
Nov 04
17

Help! My Husband Won’t Go Back to School

By | Careers, Communication, Conflict | One Comment

Is there any way I can talk my husband into going back to school to further his career? We’re really struggling financially! Let’s say you’re a few years into marriage, and perhaps your husband’s career prospects aren’t looking very rosy. Maybe your income isn’t comfortable, or his professional status isn’t what you believe it should be. It’s important that you pause to consider your motivations behind these feelings. First, remember that you married your husband for his qualities, and that those qualities may now lend themselves to his current career situation. His vocation may be fulfilling for him, whether or…

Read More
Jul 22
24

Clash of Careers: Whose Is More Important?

By | Careers, Communication, Conflict, In-laws & Family, Self Reflection, Time | No Comments

Our career pursuits can sometimes clash. Whose career should take priority? When you and your spouse are both very passionate about the future, your career, and your dreams (both individual and shared), those things can sometimes collide.What do you do when that happens? Whose career and dreams should take precedence? In marriage, it’s important to negotiate a shared relationship–because when the goals and dreams of two people in a marriage clash, things can get very complicated. Today, we’re talking about ways to work together through conflicting career goals. Goals often require one spouse to sacrifice on the other’s behalf. Even…

Read More
May 20
23

What to Do When Your Dreams Have Come True

By | Careers, Communication, Conflict, In-laws & Family, Scripture, Self Reflection | No Comments

I’m 27, married, bought a house, have 3 children. I feel like everything is downhill now. HELP! It’s amazing to have accomplished the dreams you set for yourself at a young age. How exciting, to have all the things in your life you’ve wanted for as long as you can remember! But now you’re in a place where you feel like there’s nothing else to look forward to. What do you do? If you don’t have any unfinished dreams or anything to look forward to, you’re not in a good place. You’ve cleared a space in your life to begin…

Read More
Mar 09
30

5 Ways To Support Your Spouse’s Dreams

By | Careers, Communication, Conflict, Scripture, Self Reflection | 16 Comments

The Bible says when two marry, they become one flesh (Mark 10:8). Though that reference is often interpreted to be speaking of sex, it is talking about so much more. Marriage is the joining of two lives, of soul and of flesh. It is committing “until death do us part” to each other’s thoughts and dreams, joys and sufferings, hopes and fears. It is a forever support system, and if you commit to staying married, an ever-evolving life. One of the greatest gifts that God can give us is the opportunity to chase our dreams. If you’re married to a…

Read More
Mar 02
30

4 Ways Worry Can Devastate Your Marriage

By | Careers, Communication, Conflict, In-laws & Family, Self Reflection, Time | 11 Comments

It’s easy to get bogged down by worry, but it’s essential to resist the pull. Worrying prevents you from living life fully, and from truly experiencing the richness of your relationships–especially your marriage. In Matthew 6:27, Jesus asks, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” Worry occupies your mind, but it accomplishes nothing. It steals your time and misdirects your focus. It borrows trouble, creating all manner of worst-case scenarios in your mind that will probably never come to be. At its very worst, worry can turn you into a destructive person before…

Read More
Feb 19
18

When Debt Controls Your Marriage

By | Careers, Communication, Conflict, Self Reflection | No Comments

My Wife and I Don’t Know How to Tell Ourselves ‘No’ and Are in $20,000 Debt. What Do We Do Now? When you and your spouse have dug yourselves into a lot of debt, it can make you feel pretty hopeless. Interestingly, that oppressive feeling can cause you to spin into even more bad choices, continuing the pattern that got you into debt in the first place. It’s a common, but dangerous, belief to think, “If I can’t get out of this debt, why try?” But that’s not the solution. And the good news is, you’re not alone! In today’s…

Read More