Category

Communication

Feb 22
Love23

Balancing Act: Marriage and Friendships

By Communication, Self Reflection, Time 7 Comments

Friendship is a great blessing. Can you imagine going through life without friends? (We sure can’t!) Our friendships make up some of the closest relationships in our lives, and that doesn’t stop when we get married. But when we go through a huge change in life, like beginning a dating relationship or getting married, it shifts the landscape of our relationships. Even though these changes occur, it’s important to find a new balance together, because maintaining our close relationships is important. So how do we do that? Focus on Your Marriage First When you get married, it can be difficult…

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Feb 15
Love18

5 Romantic Date Ideas to Maximize Your Quality Time

By Communication, Time 11 Comments

Valentine’s Day may have come and gone (and we hope it was fantastic!), but we’re big fans of celebrating love year-round. One of the best ways to express our love is by reserving some of our good energy for one another. When it comes to time, it’s very easy for couples to give each other their leftovers. Our lives are so busy these days, and jobs, kids, activities, and other obligations can quickly sap our energy before we’re able to give our best to one another. In fact, by the time most couples come together at the end of the…

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Feb 08
Love24

How to Fight a Good Fight

By Communication, Conflict One Comment

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” – Romans 12:18 Conflict is an unpleasant state to find yourself in, no matter what the situation. But the idea of facing conflict in your marriage can be downright paralyzing, whether you’ve been married for years and have developed bad fighting habits, or you’re newlyweds and disagreements are relatively new territory. The good news is, conflict can actually be good for your marriage. Fighting a good fight has the power to create a deeper level of connection between you and your spouse. If you…

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Nov 18
Love22

Help! How Do I Turn Off the Guilt?

By Communication, Conflict No Comments

The smallest things push my “guilt button,” and I know this has a negative effect on my marriage. What should I do? “I could’ve done this.” “I should’ve done that.” “If I could do it over, I would’ve done this.” How many times have you spoken to yourself this way? Do you ruminate often about things you probably shouldn’t worry about? Do you have a constant wave of regret and second-guessing that leads to an unhealthy self-perception? These thought patterns can easily become addictive and toxic if you allow yourself to settle into them. Did you know that loading yourself…

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Nov 16
Love24

Emotional Intimacy: How to Connect on a Deeper Level

By Communication, Self Reflection 8 Comments

You and your spouse have a good marriage–great, even–but you’re ready to take it to the next level. Maybe you’re physically intimate, but you want more of that intimacy to extend to your emotional life. In today’s post, we’re sharing five tips for increasing the emotional intimacy in your relationship. Each of these tips builds on the next to help you create the deep, fulfilling connection you’re craving. Nurture Trust In order for your marriage to be as emotionally intimate as possible, you and your spouse must be able to trust one another implicitly. This means that both of you…

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Nov 11
Love17

Chores & Housekeeping: Who Should Do What?

By Communication, Conflict, Time No Comments

I don’t do all the housework in our home, and my husband hates it! How do I tell him I can’t do it all on my own? Today’s busy culture has changed a lot about what life and work looks like. Full-time jobs now look very different than they used to, and both men and women are often stretched to their limit. So what do you do if you want to hire a little extra help around the house–and your husband or wife is totally against the idea? It’s difficult to approach your spouse and acknowledge a personal limitation. And…

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Nov 09
Love18

3 Ways to Soothe Your Spouse’s Anxiety

By Communication, Conflict 6 Comments

Anxiety. Most of us have been there: an issue that–to the outside world–seems arguably small balloons into a crushing, suffocating weight. Our hearts race. Our palms sweat. We descend into a spiraling panic, and find that it’s difficult (and even hopeless) to stop the feeling of dread building inside our chests. Most of us know what anxiety feels like when it’s happening to us, but it can be difficult to know how to help someone we love when they are being riddled with it. It’s easy to feel at a loss, not knowing what to do or say. Can’t they…

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Nov 04
Love17

Help! My Husband Won’t Go Back to School

By Careers, Communication, Conflict 2 Comments

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…

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Nov 02
Love25

Broken Trust? Here’s How to Rebuild.

By Communication, Conflict, In-laws & Family 17 Comments

When trust has been damaged or destroyed in a marriage, the rebuilding process takes a huge amount of patience, skill, and–above all–time. After your very foundation has been shaken, restoring trust in your marriage is literally a relationship makeover. You and your spouse must work together over time to rebuild the trust you lost, and both of you have a lot of work to do to get there. But with determination and an absolute commitment to restoration, your marriage can be healthy again. You might not realize it now, but if you’ve been betrayed by your spouse, you can begin…

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Oct 26
Love21

Date Night: 5 Ways to Make It Great

By Communication, Time One Comment

Dating your spouse is a great way to sustain and nurture the intimacy in your marriage. We highly recommend taking the time to have a regular date night with your husband or wife. Taking time away from your day-to-day life to focus on one another is a fantastic way to stay connected in spite of whatever else is going on in your life. Today, we’re sharing a few ways you and your spouse can create awesome dates–and great memories along the way. Tie Up Loose Ends at Home This may sound like a strange way to create an amazing date,…

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