Speaking Your Truth: How to Become More Bold

By Scripture, Self Reflection 6 Comments

“There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests…” – Luke 6:26 We’ve all been there. You are deep in a conversation with peers or loved ones and a certain topic comes up. While you listen to the person speaking you find that you’re lost, or perhaps you disagree. You smile and nod, and look around to see how everyone else is processing it. Will you seem ignorant if you ask a question? Or worse, speak up and have no one else agree…

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Strengthening the Intimacy in Your Relationship

By Communication, Marriage, Scripture 20 Comments

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. – 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Intimacy is the soul-to-soul and heart-to-heart connection that a couple has between them. It’s the defining moment in a relationship where you truly get each other. However, intimacy is fluid in a marriage. It’s easy to get distracted…

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How to Keep Romance Alive in Your Marriage

By Communication, Marriage 5 Comments

“Kiss me and kiss me again, for your love is sweeter than wine.” —Song of Solomon 1:2 With Valentine’s Day quickly approaching romance is often a topic on our minds. But how do you keep the romance alive after years of marriage? It’s not a surprise that we all go through different seasons of marriage. Some weeks, months, or even years, are harder and less romantic than others. This is normal and can take some work to rekindle the flame, but you can get through it. If you work hard at keeping the romance alive, it will be a game…

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Relationship Woes: How to Turn a Negative Attitude Around

By Communication, Self Reflection 4 Comments

“All that you achieve and all that you fail to achieve is the direct result of your own thoughts.” -James Allen Most everyone has experienced a bad attitude in their relationship. Believe it or not, there are ways you can turn this negativity around. After all, we aren’t born with bad attitudes – they are developed in our minds over time. With effort, we can protect ourselves against the bad attitude disease. There is no simple procedure to eliminating bad attitudes forever, but there are ways you can take a negative attitude and nip it in the bud. Today, we…

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Communication: The Most Important Skill to Have in a Relationship

By Communication 4 Comments

It’s no secret. The most important skill you can have in any relationship, especially a marriage, is communication. Experts agree that if you want to have a healthy relationship you need to learn how to communicate well. Communication is the foundation to getting connected and creating intimacy. And in order to have this intimate connection with your partner, it’s crucial that you have good communication skills. It’s mystifying sometimes when you want to connect, and are ready to, yet your communication suddenly breaks down and you don’t know why. Today we want to discuss two fundamental skills in communication that…

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Why Celebrating Your Spouse is Important: Part 2

By Communication 2 Comments

“Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind.” – William Shakespeare Last week we started our two-part series on how celebrating our spouse can sculpt a positive marriage. By saying positive comments, celebrating good news, and creating an awe wall, you will be well on your way to reinforcing a happy relationship. When we celebrate each other we feel closer, happier, and more secure in ourselves and our relationship. This week, we want to discuss an additional three ways that you can celebrate your spouse. 4. Don’t neglect the celebration of sex There’s no dancing around this topic,…

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Why Celebrating Your Spouse is Important: Part 1

By Communication 11 Comments

“There is no such thing in anyone’s life as an unimportant day.” – Alexander Woolcott Have you ever felt like a part of you was imprisoned or undiscovered in your marriage? Or perhaps your spouse isn’t recognizing all parts of you? And on the contrary – maybe you aren’t recognizing your spouse? Researchers often refer to couples who “sculpt” each other. Both positive and negative moments can take an effect on your relationship by reinforcing patterns both good and bad. This “sculpting” can either reveal more of your partner by celebrating who they are, or if you are negative (or…

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How to Listen With The Third Ear

By Communication 12 Comments

The first duty of love in any relationship is to listen. When we are heard we feel known, loved and understood. Listening is an essential ingredient in good communication. But in order to be a good listener, you need to learn how to listen with the third ear. By doing this, you don’t just listen to the actual words that are spoken, you learn to feel the emotions that flow within the conversation as well. So how can you learn to listen with the third ear? Tune in to the message beneath the words If you can hear, you can…

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How to Battle Busyness and Win

By Time 2 Comments

Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of. -Benjamin Franklin We’ve all been in a situation where we do something we don’t necessarily want to do. Imagine it’s a Sunday afternoon and you plan on relaxing and recharging. The phone rings and you pick it up – agitated at the person who called you. If you don’t want to talk, then why answer? Just because the phone is ringing, doesn’t mean you have to respond. This is the key. We are in control with what we do with our time….

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Spender or Saver? How to Compromise With Your Spouse This Holiday Season

By Communication, Conflict 3 Comments

Holiday season is upon us and gift giving is in full swing. But what happens when you and your spouse disagree on how much is too much? Perhaps you’d like to give your kids or a loved one a gift that your spouse finds is over the top. Or vise-versa, your spouse prefers to spend but you prefer you stick to a strict budget. Everyone expresses love in their own unique way, and for some people gift giving is the best way they know how to give and receive love. In fact, did you know that most relationships have a…

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