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Family Archives - Page 3 of 4 - SYMBIS Assessment

Jul 03
Love2

Becoming a Step Parent: How to Ease into Your New Role

By Communication, Marriage, Parenting 4 Comments

It’s a gift to enter into a family with kids. The children are blessed to have so much love around them, and your heart is in such a great place to want to be a part of their life. You can never have too much love in a family! In some ways, the children will soak up this new relationship with you and will love having another parental figure in their life. However, there is another part to this equation. Change is sometimes a hard thing, especially for children. Children tend to struggle and show resistance when they are confronted…

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Apr 24
Love1

What to do When Career Goals Collide

By Careers, Communication 5 Comments

When you are both passionate about your future and your careers, your dreams and goals can sometimes collide. Life will take you many directions, and career goals can shift and change. For example, you may have been promoted and asked to work in another city. Or perhaps a new baby is in your future. On the flip side, maybe one of you lost your job and you are starting fresh. When it comes to careers, it’s important to remember that your career is not only an expression of your gifts, but the tool that provides for your family. Balancing your…

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Dec 05
Love1

Planning Your Wedding Part 3: Constructively Resolving Conflict

By Communication, Conflict, In-laws & Family 7 Comments

It’s common for family members to clash with the engaged couple (or one another) during a busy season of wedding planning. Weddings seem to provide endless opportunities for families to squabble about traditions, decor, music, and other minutiae down to the smallest details. Unfortunately, family members do this to the detriment of peace, and the bride and groom’s happiness. Last week in part 2, we talked about the importance of boundaries–and how having strong boundaries can make your wedding planning process more enjoyable. But even with the healthiest of boundaries in place, conflict can still arise. It’s incredibly uncomfortable and…

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Nov 28
Love4

Planning Your Wedding Part 2: Establishing Healthy Boundaries with Family

By Communication, In-laws & Family 2 Comments

Boundaries are critically important in marriage. They protect you as a couple from negative outside influences, helping you to strengthen and maintain a healthy relationship from within. If you don’t have boundaries yet, you need to have a discussion with your fiance about what those boundaries need to entail. The wedding planning season isn’t the easiest time to enact boundaries, but if you don’t already have them as a couple, it’s a good time to establish them. That’s because planning your wedding is one of your first big opportunities to exercise boundaries. While the two of you attempt to plan…

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Jul 25
Love2

Tips for Navigating Difficult In-Law Relationships – Part 2

By Communication, Conflict, In-laws & Family 12 Comments

Most married couples are uncomfortably familiar with some level of stress when it comes to their in-laws. Maybe you’re dealing with invasion of your privacy, criticism, or jealousy, to name a few issues. The bottom line is, you married one another’s families when you married each other–now, you need to be able to work together to navigate the difficult situations that may arise from time to time. This week, we’re completing our two-part series on challenging in-law relationships. (If you missed part 1, you can catch up here.) Read on to learn a few more ways you and your spouse…

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Jul 18
Love6

Tips for Navigating Difficult In-Law Relationships – Part 1

By Conflict, In-laws & Family 26 Comments

It’s very common for married couples to experience conflict with their in-laws on one or both sides of the family. Sometimes this can be a minor annoyance; other times, it’s a major source of stress. Whatever your situation, it’s challenging to navigate these complex–and sometimes difficult–relationships. In-law conflict is almost inevitable for every marriage. The good news is, it’s possible to navigate it successfully while continuing to enjoy relationships with both of your families. Let’s dive into some of the things you and your spouse can do to ease the tension between your marriage and your extended families. Present a…

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May 09
Love6

My Spouse Won’t Come to Church. Help!

By Communication, Conflict, In-laws & Family 27 Comments

It’s incredibly painful when your spouse isn’t interested in engaging with you spiritually. This could be a difference you’ve had since early in your relationship, or it could be a new development. Whatever the case, experiencing a spiritual mismatch in your marriage is challenging. There are a number of scenarios that can create a spiritual divide between spouses: You started your marriage with similar beliefs, but your spouse has since decided to leave church The two of you disagree on the finer points of doctrine or theology, and haven’t been able to find a church to attend together…so you attend…

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Dec 13
Love15

The Married Couple’s Ultimate Guide to Beating Holiday Burnout (Part 2)

By Time 5 Comments

Holidays are a wonderful time of year, but sometimes they can become a source of burnout that puts a damper on your spirit and your ability to enjoy this time together. Whether one or both spouses is feeling this way, holiday burnout can strain your relationship and inhibit your ability to enjoy what should be an otherwise peaceful and happy time. Instead of stressing us out, the holidays are meant to be a time of year to reflect, celebrate together, and enjoy a season of giving. In last week’s post, we shared three tips for avoiding (or overcoming) burnout together…

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Nov 08
Love16

How to Handle In-Law Conflict During the Holidays (Part 2)

By Communication, Conflict, In-laws & Family 5 Comments

Dealing with in-law conflict is hard any time of year…but it’s so much harder during the holidays. Today, we’re continuing the conversation about how to handle issues with your spouse’s parents (or yours) this holiday season. Check out part 1 here. If your spouse rejects your family Maybe, for whatever reason, your spouse dislikes your family. And when they join you at gatherings on your side of the family, they act snarky, sarcastic, rude, or completely uninterested in being there. When you’re trying to manage your spouse’s behavior, that can take all the enjoyment out of your family’s holiday celebrations….

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Nov 01
Love19

How to Handle In-Law Conflict During the Holidays

By Communication, Conflict, In-laws & Family 3 Comments

If you’re engaged or newly married, you might be wondering why holiday in-law conflict is such a big deal…and you might even be thinking of ways to try to avoid is completely. Unfortunately, no matter who your parents are, how much they love you, or how much they support you as a couple, your families are different. Those differences are going to create some inevitable conflict once you’re married…especially when it comes to holiday gatherings. Every family functions by its own unspoken rules; we like to say each family has its own “code,” whether they realize it or not. They…

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