Category

Marriage

8 Ways to Deepen Your Intimacy During Difficult Times

By Intimacy, Marriage 2 Comments

Difficult times can refine or break your relationship. That’s why it’s so important to stay connected. Through intentional action, it’s possible to deepen your intimacy during hard seasons. Let’s look at eight ways you and your spouse can deepen your intimacy, despite being in the midst of a difficult time. 1. Listen to one another. Communication is important at all times in a relationship. But during difficult times, it becomes more important than ever. As a couple, take time to talk with, and listen to, each other. Your conversations don’t always have to be centered around the hard things that…

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How Your Response to Life Change Affects Your Marriage

By Communication, Marriage, Relationships One Comment

Once you’re married, it doesn’t take much time at all to get a feel for how your and your spouse each respond to life change. How you respond to change can affect your marriage, for better or worse. And it can tell you and your spouse a lot about one another. Some couples experience drastic life changes early on in their marriages, while others might be married a little longer before they do. But every couple will face stressors, upheaval, and unexpected change at some point in their marriage–and maybe more than once. So how do your individual responses to…

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6 Issues That Can Sabotage Any Marriage (and How to Fix Them)

By Conflict, Marriage 4 Comments

Looking to prevent problems in your marriage before they begin? There are six major–but subtle–marriage saboteurs you should be on the lookout for. Let’s take a look at what they are, and how to fix them. 1. Having too many obligations. Life is busy–we get it. But staying too busy can actually sabotage your marriage. When you and your spouse are so consumed with day-to-day obligation, it can be easy for those obligations to crowd your intimacy out. How to fix it: You can’t put a marriage on autopilot. It takes daily commitment to keep that spark alive. Be intentional…

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Deeper Empathy in Marriage: What’s the Secret?

By Communication, Marriage 3 Comments

In marriage, it’s crucial to be able to empathize with one another. We like to think about it as trading places–taking a walk in one another’s shoes. Empathy is the key to a happy, successful marriage…but what is the key to empathy? We like to think of self-awareness as the number one secret to achieving empathy in marriage. Being aware of your own emotions, and able to look at them objectively, allows you to step outside yourself and pay closer attention to what your spouse is feeling or going through. When you lack self-awareness of your emotional state, you get…

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The Ultimate Conflict Resolution Roundup

By Conflict, Marriage, Relationships No Comments

Looking for resources to help you and your spouse with conflict resolution? You’ve come to the right place. We’ve created a roundup of our top posts to help you and your partner navigate conflict. Let’s dive in. Problem Solving Working through problems together is one of the most important things a couple will learn to do over the course of marriage. Here are some tips for solving problems constructively. 4 Tips For Constructively Resolving Conflict With Your Spouse Locked in a disagreement? Not sure what to do next? Here are 4 tips for helping you and your spouse resolve conflict….

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Does Brutal Honesty Have a Place in Marriage?

By Communication, Conflict, Marriage 6 Comments

Do you pride yourself on being “brutally honest”? Many of us do, but should it really be a point of pride in marriage? While the old adage “the truth hurts” can be true, we should do our best to avoid being honest in a hurtful way. But oftentimes, we find ourselves in situations where we may try to justify harshness as a way to sway our spouses one way or the other. The Bible is full of wisdom on how we should treat one another. While we should absolutely be honest with our spouses, scripture also teaches us to be…

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Can Marriage Mentors Help with Conflict Resolution?

By Marriage, Relationships 2 Comments

Are you dealing with a conflict in your marriage? Struggling to reach a workable solution–or just stuck in a stalemate? Marriage mentors can provide the support you need to help you and your spouse resolve conflict in your relationship, whether it’s a long- or short-term problem. Married couples face good and bad times throughout their marriages. It’s just a given. But sometimes, we find ourselves locked into an issue we can’t seem to shake. If you and your spouse are going through a hard time, there’s help available. One way to get support for your marriage is by connecting with…

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How to Back Your Empathy with Action

By Marriage, Relationships 3 Comments

Empathy is more than just taking an internal walk in your partner’s shoes. Instead, real empathy requires action. Without action, empathy won’t go very far in your relationship. As James D. Parker said, “Empathy alone matters little if we fail to act.” Empathy is transformative. It helps us see, hear, and understand one another like nothing else. And, when properly cultivated, it inspires action. We must back our empathy with action if we want to show our spouses how much we truly love them. So how can we back our empathy with action? Let’s dive in. 1. Set aside your…

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How Facts vs. Feelings Influence Your Spouse

By Communication, Marriage, Relationships One Comment

In marriage, spouses influence one another significantly–both consciously and unconsciously. Knowing whether your spouse is more influenced by facts or by feelings can add a great deal of productivity to your conversations. We’re all influenced primarily by either facts or feelings. When spouses’ primary points of influence clash, this can lead to difficulties in communication. But when we know the driving force behind one another’s primary influences, we can better anticipate how to communicate successfully. So how do you determine whether your spouse is influenced by feelings or facts? How to Know if Your Spouse is Influenced by Facts People…

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6 Tips and Ideas for Your Small Wedding Ceremony

By Marriage 6 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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