May 27
Love21

Staying for the Kids: Can Your Marriage Be Saved?

By Communication, Conflict, Scripture, Self Reflection, Time One Comment

I feel lonely in my marriage, and at this point, I’m only staying for my child. Can our marriage be saved? Loneliness in marriage is a very common thing. If you’re female, you’re probably craving emotional intimacy that just isn’t there right now. And if you’re male, you might be missing activities or time that you and your wife used to share. We often crave a level of intimacy that no relationship can deliver consistently–at least, to the degree we’re expecting. Spouses want to “get” each other on the deepest level, and they want to know that, despite everything going…

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May 25
Love14

Building an Intimate Marriage: Fun

By Uncategorized 9 Comments

Marriage takes a lot of hard work, and the work pays off. There are days that are full and busy and stressful, so it’s always a good idea to be intentional about adding in the fun. We’re guessing when you first met your spouse, you had a ton of fun together: romantic dates, adventures, lots of laughing. How can we keep the fun alive during years 1, 5, 30, and 50? An intimate marriage isn’t just built in the serious conversations and the physical affection. It’s built in the fun, too. Here are some simple ideas to add some fun…

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May 20
Love23

What to Do When Your Dreams Have Come True

By Careers, Communication, Conflict, In-laws & Family, Scripture, Self Reflection One Comment

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…

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May 18
Love9

Don’t Tell Your Wife She Doesn’t Cook Like Your Momma

By Uncategorized 9 Comments

The newlywed years are a blissful, wonderful time for your marriage. You’re on a high from getting married, honeymooning, dreaming, and building your new life together. At some point, that high will begin to dissipate as you ease into the rhythm of everyday life. When you’re in blissful ignorance of one another’s shortcomings, you’re not wasting time on lobbing criticism at each other. Everything the other person does is beautiful, and you make it a point to show gratitude for one another for the most seemingly mundane things…that is, until the mundane takes over, and you become critical. Tripping Over…

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May 13
Love18

Independent Woman: Making Your Unconscious Roles Conscious Choices

By Communication, Conflict, Self Reflection, Time No Comments

I was raised by a single mom. As a wife, how can I be submissive without compromising my independence? You’re a wife who was raised by a single mom. That means that growing up, you saw a really strong example of an independent, capable provider-mother who ran your household. Your mom was an exceptional role model for you. Unfortunately, being raised by one strong parent can make it challenging for you to figure out what your roles are in a marriage relationship. You may have many idealized dreams in your mind, but you don’t feel comfortable trying to live them…

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May 11
Love26

Dating Your Spouse Doesn’t Have To Be Hard

By Communication, Conflict, Self Reflection, Time 12 Comments

Many married couples–ourselves included–recommend regular date nights as a way to keep your marriage healthy and strong. Taking intentional time to connect with one another away from kids and other distractions is essential, but we often over-complicate it. Time is often the commodity that we have the most difficulty finding. Once that time is set aside, it’s important to plan how you will spend it. If you already sense yourself buckling under the pressure of creating the perfect date, remember this: dating your spouse doesn’t have to be hard! Here are 7 tips to take the pressure off of your…

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May 06
Love10

Clarifying Content: How to Stop Reading Your Spouse’s Mind

By Uncategorized One Comment

I feel that I listen to my wife, but sometimes I seem to miss what she is saying. Help! It can be too easy to find yourself in the middle of a disagreement with your spouse over something one of you did or didn’t say. Sometimes, we might think we’re listening to our husband or wife, but perhaps we’re not really getting the message. We humans are quick to mis-hear, jump to conclusions, or assume we know what the other person is saying–when maybe, we really don’t. There is a huge potential for misunderstanding, especially when it comes to the…

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May 04
Love37

9 Things to Consider Before Saying “I Do”

By Communication, Conflict, In-laws & Family, Scripture, Self Reflection, Time 2 Comments

The dating and engagement periods of your relationship are a beautiful time for both of you. Romance is blossoming, you’re building dreams together, and anything seems possible. Often, when we’re dating or engaged, we overlook some important areas of our lives that we need to consider before we walk down the aisle. In the haze of falling in love and promising happily-ever-afters, these 9 things (that you seriously need to consider!) often fall by the wayside. Goals Before you take the leap into the lifelong covenant of marriage, it’s important to consider the goals and dreams that both of you…

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Apr 29
Love23

How to Make Your Husband Feel Genuinely Loved

By Communication, Conflict, Self Reflection, Time No Comments

What is the most effective way a wife can communicate love to her husband? If you want to make your husband (or wife) feel genuinely loved, where do you begin? All of us receive love in different ways; this is widely known as the concept of “love languages.” If you learn to speak your spouse’s love language, you can connect with them on a much deeper level. Connecting with your spouse and making them feel truly, deeply loved involves carefully considering what would be most effective. Take some time to recall things you’ve done for your husband or wife that…

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Apr 27
Love38

How to Stop Controlling Your Spouse

By Communication, Conflict, Self Reflection, Time 70 Comments

Why do we try to stay in control? Often, when we’re trying to control others (in this case, our spouse), we’re acting out of fear. Perhaps it’s fear of the unknown, or just the simple fear of not getting something that we deeply desire. Whatever the case, the primary motivating factor in controlling behavior is often fear. Fear itself can have many different triggers. If you’ve been betrayed by your spouse in the past (in the case of infidelity–or any other breach of trust, for that matter), you might resort to control in order to alleviate your fear of further…

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